^aOn one of the days while ^bHe was teaching the people in the temple and ^cpreaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders ^dconfronted Him, 2 and they declared, saying to Him, “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?” 3 But He replied to them, “I will also ask you a ¹question, and you tell Me: 4 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?” 5 They discussed among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, since they are convinced that John was a ^aprophet.” 7 And so they answered that they did not know where it came from. 8 And Jesus said to them, “Neither am I telling you by what authority I do these things.”

9 ^aBut He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and leased it to ¹vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time. 10 At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, so that they would give him his share of the produce of the vineyard; but the vine-growers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 And he proceeded to send another slave; but they beat him also and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 And he proceeded to send a third; but this one too they wounded and threw out. 13 Now the ¹owner of the vineyard said, ‘What am I to do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will ^arespect him.’ 14 But when the vine-growers saw him, they discussed with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir; let’s kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 And so they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the ¹owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and ^aput these vine-growers to death, and will give the vineyard to others.” However, when they heard this, they said, “^bMay it never happen!” 17 But ¹Jesus looked at them and said, “Then what is this statement that has been written:‘^aA STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED,THIS HAS BECOME ^bTHE ²CHIEF CORNERSTONE’? 18 ^aEveryone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”

19 The scribes and the chief priests ^atried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and yet they feared the people; for they were aware that He had spoken this parable against them. 20 ^aAnd so they watched Him ¹closely, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order ^bthat they might catch Him in some statement, so that they could hand Him over to the jurisdiction and authority of ^cthe governor. 21 And the spies questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You ¹are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God on the basis of truth. 22 Is it ¹permissible for us ^ato pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 23 But He saw through their trickery and said to them, 24 “Show Me a ¹denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” 25 And He said to them, “Then ^apay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 26 And they were unable to ^acatch Him in a statement in the presence of the people; and they were amazed at His answer, and said nothing.

27 ^aNow some of the ^bSadducees (who maintain that there is no resurrection) came to Him, 28 and they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ^aif ¹a man’s brother dies, ²leaving a wife, and he is childless, that his brother is to ³marry the wife and raise up children ⁴for his brother. 29 So then, there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and died childless; 30 and the second 31 and the third ¹married her; and in the same way ²all seven ³died, leaving no children. 32 Finally the woman also died. 33 Therefore, in the resurrection, ¹which one’s wife does the woman become? For ²all seven ³married her.”

34 Jesus said to them, “The sons of ^athis age marry and the women are given in marriage, 35 but those who are considered worthy to attain to ^athat age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; 36 for they cannot even die anymore, for they are like angels, and are ^asons of God, being ¹sons of the resurrection. 37 But as for the fact that the dead are raised, even Moses revealed this in ^athe passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord ^bTHE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB. 38 ^aNow He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for ^ball live to Him.” 39 Some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.” 40 For ^athey did not have the courage to question Him any longer about anything.

41 ^aBut He said to them, “How is it that they say the ¹Christ is ^bDavid’s son? 42 For David himself says in the book of Psalms,‘^aTHE LORD SAID TO MY LORD,“SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,

44 Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord,’ and so how is He his son?”

45 ^aAnd while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes, ^awho like to walk around in long robes, and love personal greetings in the marketplaces, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, 47 who ¹devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive all the more condemnation.”

^aOn one of the days while ^bHe was teaching the people in the temple and ^cpreaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders ^dconfronted Him, 2 and they spoke, saying to Him, “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?” 3 Jesus answered and said to them, “I will also ask you a ¹question, and you tell Me: 4 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?” 5 They reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a ^aprophet.” 7 So they answered that they did not know where it came from. 8 And Jesus said to them, “Nor ¹will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

9 ^aAnd He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to ¹vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time. 10 At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, so that they would give him some of the produce of the vineyard; but the vine-growers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 And he proceeded to send another slave; and they beat him also and treated him shamefully and sent him away empty-handed. 12 And he proceeded to send a third; and this one also they wounded and cast out. 13 The ¹owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will ^arespect him.’ 14 But when the vine-growers saw him, they reasoned with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the ¹owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and ^adestroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others.” When they heard it, they said, “^bMay it never be!” 17 But ¹Jesus looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written:‘^aTHE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED,THIS BECAME ^bTHE CHIEF CORNER stone’? 18 ^aEveryone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

19 The scribes and the chief priests ^atried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and they feared the people; for they understood that He spoke this parable against them. 20 ^aSo they watched Him, and sent spies who ¹pretended to be righteous, in order ^bthat they might ²catch Him in some statement, so that they could deliver Him to the rule and the authority of ^cthe governor. 21 They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You ¹are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. 22 Is it ¹lawful for us ^ato pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 23 But He detected their trickery and said to them, 24 “Show Me a ¹denarius. Whose ²likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” 25 And He said to them, “Then ^arender to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 26 And they were unable to ^1acatch Him in a saying in the presence of the people; and being amazed at His answer, they became silent.

27 ^aNow there came to Him some of the ^bSadducees (who say that there is no resurrection), 28 and they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ^aIF A MAN’S BROTHER DIES, having a wife, AND HE IS CHILDLESS, HIS BROTHER SHOULD ¹MARRY THE WIFE AND RAISE UP CHILDREN TO HIS BROTHER. 29 Now there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and died childless; 30 and the second 31 and the third ¹married her; and in the same way ²all seven ³died, leaving no children. 32 Finally the woman died also. 33 In the resurrection therefore, which one’s wife will she be? For ¹all seven ²had married her.”

34 Jesus said to them, “The sons of ^athis age marry and are given in marriage, 35 but those who are considered worthy to attain to ^athat age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; 36 for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are ^asons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in ^athe passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord ^bTHE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB. 38 ^aNow He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for ^ball live to Him.” 39 Some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.” 40 For ^athey did not have courage to question Him any longer about anything.

41 ^aThen He said to them, “How is it that they say ¹the Christ is ^bDavid’s son? 42 For David himself says in the book of Psalms,‘^aTHE LORD SAID TO MY LORD,“SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,

44 Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord,’ and how is He his son?”

45 ^aAnd while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes, ^awho like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, 47 who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”