Matthew 22:1-22

Parable of the Marriage Feast

1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying,

2 "¹The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king * who gave a ²wedding feast for his son.

3 "And he ³sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling * to come.

4 "Again he ⁴sent out other slaves saying, 'Tell those who have been invited, "Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast."'

5 "But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another * to his business,

6 and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them.

7 "But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.

8 "Then he said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.

9 'Go therefore to ⁵the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.'

10 "Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.

11 "But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw ⁶a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes,

12 and he said to him, '⁷Friend, how did you come in here without * wedding clothes?' And the man was speechless.

13 "Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into ⁸the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

14 "For many are ⁹called, but few are ¹⁰chosen."

Tribute to Caesar

15 ¹¹Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said.

16 And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the ¹²Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial * to any.

17 "Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a ¹³poll-tax to ¹⁴Caesar, or not?"

18 But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, "Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites?

19 "Show Me the ¹⁵coin used for the poll-tax." And they brought Him a denarius.

20 And He said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?"

21 They said to Him, "Caesar's." Then He said to them, "¹⁶Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's."

22 And hearing this, they were amazed, and ¹⁷leaving Him, they went away.

Cross References

• 1. Matthew 13:24; Matthew 22:2-14; Luke 14:16-24
• 2. Luke 12:36; John 2:2
• 3. Matthew 21:34
• 4. Matthew 21:36
• 5. Ezekiel 21:21; Obadiah 14
• 6. 2 Kings 10:22; Zechariah 3:3, 4
• 7. Matthew 20:13; Matthew 26:50
• 8. Matthew 8:12; Matthew 25:30; Luke 13:28
• 9. Matthew 24:22; 2 Peter 1:10; Revelation 17:14
• 10. Matthew 24:22; 2 Peter 1:10; Revelation 17:14
• 11. Matthew 22:15-22: {Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:20-26}
• 12. Mark 3:6; Mark 8:15; Mark 12:13
• 13. Matthew 17:25
• 14. Luke 2:1; Luke 3:1
• 15. Matthew 17:25
• 16. Mark 12:17; Luke 20:25; Romans 13:7
• 17. Mark 12:12

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "was compared to"
• [b]. Lit "a man, a king"
• [c]. Lit "made"
• [d]. Or "field"
• [e]. Lit "those reclining" at the table
• [f]. Or "invited"
• [g]. Lit "took counsel"
• [h]. Lit "in word"
• [i]. Lit "it is not a concern to You about anyone;" i.e. You do not seek anyone's favor
• [j]. Or "permissible"
• [k]. Or "wickedness"
• [l]. The denarius was a day's wages