New Living Translation NLT
Common English Bible CEB
1 Jesus also told them other parables. He said,
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Jesus responded by speaking again in parables:
2 “The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son.
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“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding party for his son.
3 When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come!
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He sent his servants to call those invited to the wedding party. But they didn't want to come.
4 “So he sent other servants to tell them, ‘The feast has been prepared. The bulls and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!’
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Again he sent other servants and said to them, ‘Tell those who have been invited, "Look, the meal is all prepared. I've butchered the oxen and the fattened cattle. Now everything's ready. Come to the wedding party!" '
5 But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his business.
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But they paid no attention and went away—some to their fields, others to their businesses.
6 Others seized his messengers and insulted them and killed them.
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The rest of them grabbed his servants, abused them, and killed them.
7 “The king was furious, and he sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their town.
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“The king was angry. He sent his soldiers to destroy those murderers and set their city on fire.
8 And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor.
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Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding party is prepared, but those who were invited weren't worthy.
9 Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’
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Therefore, go to the roads on the edge of town and invite everyone you find to the wedding party.'
10 So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.
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“Then those servants went to the roads and gathered everyone they found, both evil and good. The wedding party was full of guests.
11 “But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding.
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Now when the king came in and saw the guests, he spotted a man who wasn't wearing wedding clothes.
12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply.
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He said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' But he was speechless.
13 Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
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Then the king said to his servants, ‘Tie his hands and feet and throw him out into the farthest darkness. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth.'
14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
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"Many people are invited, but few people are chosen."
15 Then the Pharisees met together to plot how to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested.
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Then the Pharisees met together to find a way to trap Jesus in his words.
16 They sent some of their disciples, along with the supporters of Herod, to meet with him. “Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You teach the way of God truthfully. You are impartial and don’t play favorites.
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They sent their disciples, along with the supporters of Herod, to him. "Teacher," they said, "we know that you are genuine and that you teach God's way as it really is. We know that you are not swayed by people's opinions, because you don't show favoritism.
17 Now tell us what you think about this: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
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So tell us what you think: Does the Law allow people to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"
18 But Jesus knew their evil motives. “You hypocrites!” he said. “Why are you trying to trap me?
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Knowing their evil motives, Jesus replied, "Why do you test me, you hypocrites?
19 Here, show me the coin used for the tax.” When they handed him a Roman coin,
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Show me the coin used to pay the tax." And they brought him a denarion.
20 he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”
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"Whose image and inscription is this?" he asked.
21 “Caesar’s,” they replied. “Well, then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”
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"Caesar's," they replied. Then he said, "Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."
22 His reply amazed them, and they went away.
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When they heard this they were astonished, and they departed.
23 That same day Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They posed this question:
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That same day Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Jesus.
24 “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.’
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They asked, "Teacher, Moses said, If a man who doesn't have children dies, his brother must marry his wife and produce children for his brother.
25 Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children, so his brother married the widow.
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Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married, then died. Because he had no children he left his widow to his brother.
26 But the second brother also died, and the third brother married her. This continued with all seven of them.
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The same thing happened with the second brother and the third, and in fact with all seven brothers.
27 Last of all, the woman also died.
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Finally, the woman died.
28 So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.”
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At the resurrection, which of the seven brothers will be her husband? They were all married to her."
29 Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.
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Jesus responded, "You are wrong because you don't know either the scriptures or God's power.
30 For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven.
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At the resurrection people won't marry nor will they be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like angels from God.
31 “But now, as to whether there will be a resurrection of the dead—haven’t you ever read about this in the Scriptures? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said,
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As for the resurrection of the dead, haven't you read what God told you,
32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ So he is the God of the living, not the dead.”
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I'm the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He isn't the God of the dead but of the living."
33 When the crowds heard him, they were astounded at his teaching.
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Now when the crowd heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again.
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When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had left the Sadducees speechless, they met together.
35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question:
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One of them, a legal expert, tested him.
36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
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"Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’
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He replied, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind.
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
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This is the first and greatest commandment.
39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
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And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself.
40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
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All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands."
41 Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question:
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Now as the Pharisees were gathering, Jesus asked them,
42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They replied, “He is the son of David.”
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"What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" "David's son," they replied.
43 Jesus responded, “Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah ‘my Lord’? For David said,
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He said, "Then how is it that David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, called him Lord when he said,
44 ‘The said to my Lord, Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’
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The Lord said to my lord, ‘Sit at my right side until I turn your enemies into your footstool'?
45 Since David called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?”
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If David calls him Lord, how can he be David's son?"
46 No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
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Nobody was able to answer him. And from that day forward nobody dared to ask him anything.