English Standard Version ESV
The Message Bible MSG
27 There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
27
Some Sadducees came up. This is the Jewish party that denies any possibility of resurrection. They asked,
28 and they asked him a question, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.
28
"Teacher, Moses wrote us that if a man dies and leaves a wife but no child, his brother is obligated to take the widow to wife and get her with child.
29 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children.
29
Well, there once were seven brothers. The first took a wife. He died childless.
30 And the second
30
The second married her and died,
31 and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died.
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then the third, and eventually all seven had their turn, but no child.
32 Afterward the woman also died.
32
After all that, the wife died.
33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife."
33
That wife, now - in the resurrection whose wife is she? All seven married her."
34 And Jesus said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage,
34
Jesus said, "Marriage is a major preoccupation here,
35 but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage,
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but not there. Those who are included in the resurrection of the dead will no longer be concerned with marriage
36 for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
36
nor, of course, with death. They will have better things to think about, if you can believe it. All ecstasies and intimacies then will be with God.
37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.
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Even Moses exclaimed about resurrection at the burning bush, saying, 'God: God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob!'
38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him."
38
God isn't the God of dead men, but of the living. To him all are alive."
39 Then some of the scribes answered, "Teacher, you have spoken well."
39
Some of the religion scholars said, "Teacher, that's a great answer!"
40 For they no longer dared to ask him any question.
40
For a while, anyway, no one dared put questions to him.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.