English Standard Version ESV
The Message Bible MSG
1 And he began to speak to them in parables. "A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country.
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Then Jesus started telling them stories. "A man planted a vineyard. He fenced it, dug a winepress, erected a watchtower, turned it over to the farmhands, and went off on a trip.
2 When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.
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At the time for harvest, he sent a servant back to the farmhands to collect his profits.
3 And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
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"They grabbed him, beat him up, and sent him off empty-handed.
4 Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully.
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So he sent another servant. That one they tarred and feathered.
5 And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed.
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He sent another and that one they killed. And on and on, many others. Some they beat up, some they killed.
6 He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'
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"Finally there was only one left: a beloved son. In a last-ditch effort, he sent him, thinking, 'Surely they will respect my son.'
7 But those tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'
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"But those farmhands saw their chance. They rubbed their hands together in greed and said, 'This is the heir! Let's kill him and have it all for ourselves.'
8 And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.
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They grabbed him, killed him, and threw him over the fence.
9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.
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"What do you think the owner of the vineyard will do? Right. He'll come and clean house. Then he'll assign the care of the vineyard to others.
10 Have you not read this Scripture: "'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
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Read it for yourselves in Scripture: That stone the masons threw out is now the cornerstone!
11 this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?"
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This is God's work; we rub our eyes - we can hardly believe it!"
12 And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.
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They wanted to lynch him then and there but, intimidated by public opinion, held back. They knew the story was about them. They got away from there as fast as they could. Paying Taxes to Caesar
13 And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk.
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They sent some Pharisees and followers of Herod to bait him, hoping to catch him saying something incriminating.
14 And they came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?"
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They came up and said, "Teacher, we know you have integrity, that you are indifferent to public opinion, don't pander to your students, and teach the way of God accurately. Tell us: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"
15 But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, "Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it."
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He knew it was a trick question, and said, "Why are you playing these games with me? Bring me a coin and let me look at it."
16 And they brought one. And he said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said to him, "Caesar's."
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They handed him one. "This engraving - who does it look like? And whose name is on it?" "Caesar," they said.
17 Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they marveled at him.
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Jesus said, "Give Caesar what is his, and give God what is his." Their mouths hung open, speechless.
18 And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying,
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Some Sadducees, the party that denies any possibility of resurrection, came up and asked,
19 "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.
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"Teacher, Moses wrote that if a man dies and leaves a wife but no child, his brother is obligated to marry the widow and have children.
20 There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring.
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Well, there once were seven brothers. The first took a wife. He died childless.
21 And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise.
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The second married her. He died, and still no child. The same with the third.
22 And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died.
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All seven took their turn, but no child. Finally the wife died.
23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife."
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When they are raised at the resurrection, whose wife is she? All seven were her husband."
24 Jesus said to them, "Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?
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Jesus said, "You're way off base, and here's why: One, you don't know your Bibles; two, you don't know how God works.
25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
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After the dead are raised up, we're past the marriage business. As it is with angels now, all our ecstasies and intimacies then will be with God.
26 And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?
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And regarding the dead, whether or not they are raised, don't you ever read the Bible? How God at the bush said to Moses, 'I am - not was - the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?
27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong."
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The living God is God of the living, not the dead. You're way, way off base."
28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?"
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One of the religion scholars came up. Hearing the lively exchanges of question and answer and seeing how sharp Jesus was in his answers, he put in his question: "Which is most important of all the commandments?"
29 Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
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Jesus said, "The first in importance is, 'Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one;
30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'
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so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.'
31 The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
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And here is the second: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' There is no other commandment that ranks with these."
32 And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him.
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The religion scholar said, "A wonderful answer, Teacher! So lucid and accurate - that God is one and there is no other.
33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."
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And loving him with all passion and intelligence and energy, and loving others as well as you love yourself. Why, that's better than all offerings and sacrifices put together!"
34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
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When Jesus realized how insightful he was, he said, "You're almost there, right on the border of God's kingdom." After that, no one else dared ask a question.
35 And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, "How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?
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While he was teaching in the Temple, Jesus asked, "How is it that the religion scholars say that the Messiah is David's 'son,'
36 David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, "'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.'
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when we all know that David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, said, God said to my Master, "Sit here at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet."
37 David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?" And the great throng heard him gladly.
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"David here designates the Messiah 'my Master' - so how can the Messiah also be his 'son'?" The large crowd was delighted with what they heard.
38 And in his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces
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He continued teaching. "Watch out for the religion scholars. They love to walk around in academic gowns, preening in the radiance of public flattery,
39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts,
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basking in prominent positions, sitting at the head table at every church function.
40 who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation."
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And all the time they are exploiting the weak and helpless. The longer their prayers, the worse they get. But they'll pay for it in the end."
41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums.
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Sitting across from the offering box, he was observing how the crowd tossed money in for the collection. Many of the rich were making large contributions.
42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.
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One poor widow came up and put in two small coins - a measly two cents.
43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.
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Jesus called his disciples over and said, "The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together.
44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."
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All the others gave what they'll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn't afford - she gave her all."
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.