Markos 12

1 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach began to speak to them in meshalim (parables). A man, a Baal Bayit, planted a kerem (vineyard), and he put around [it] a fence and dug a pit for the yekev (winepress) and built a migdal (tower), and he leased it to koremim (vine keepers) and then the man went on a journey. [YESHAYAH 5:1-7]2 And the Baal Bayit sent an eved to the tenants, the koremim, in the season [of katzir (harvest)] in order that from the koremim he might receive from the perot (fruit) of the kerem (vineyard).3 But they seized the eved and they beat him and sent him away empty.4 And again the Baal Bayit sent to the tenants, the koremim, another eved; and that one they struck on the rosh and insulted.5 And the Baal Bayit sent another; and that one they killed, and many others, some beating, and others killing.6 Still he had one BEN AHUV [T.N. see 9:7]. Lemaskana (finally), the Baal Bayit sent him to them saying, They will respect BENI.7 But those koremim said to themselves, This one is the Yoresh (Heir) the Bechor. Come, let us kill him, and the nachalah, the bechorah, will be ours.8 And having seized [him], they killed him and threw him out of the kerem.9 What then will the Baal Bayit of the kerem do? He will come and destroy the koremim and will give the kerem to others.10 Have you not read the Kitvei Hakodesh? EVEN MAASU HABONIM HAYTAH LEROSH PINAH; MEIET HASHEM HAYTAH ZOT, HI NIFLAT BEINEINU (The stone which the ones building rejected, this one has come to be for [the] chief cornerstone.11 From Adonoi this came to be and it is wonderful in our eyes? [TEHILLIM 118:22,23]12 And they were seeking to seize him, and they were afraid of the multitude, for they knew that against them he told the mashal. And leaving him, they went away.13 And they send to him some of the Perushim (Pharisees) and the Herodians in order that they might catch him in a dvar.14 And having come, they say to him: Rabbi, we have daas that you are an ish Emes and you do not show deference toward anyone. Ki ein masso panim (For there is no partiality) with you but rather on the Derech Hashem you give Divrei Torah in Emes. Is it mutar to give a poll tax to Caesar or not? Should we give or should we not give?15 But Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, having seen their tzeviut (hypocrisy), said to them, Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius that I may look [at it].16 And they brought [one]. And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach says to them, Whose demut is this and whose inscription? And they said to him, Caesar's.17 And he said to them, The things of Caesar, give to Caesar, and the things of Hashem [give] to Hashem. And they were amazed at Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach.18 And [the] Tzedukim come to Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, the ones who say that there is not to be a Techiyas HaMesim, and they were questioning him, saying,19 Rabbi, Moshe (Rabbeinu) wrote to us that if an ACH of someone should die and leave behind an isha UVEN EIN LO (and there is no son to him) YEVAMAH YAVO ALEIHA ULEKAKHAH LO LISHA VHAYAH HABECHOR ASHER TELED YAKUM AL SHEM ACHIV HAMET (the brother of her husband must come to her and he must take her to him as wife and the Bechor she bears shall raise up the name of the dead brother. DEVARIM 25:5)20 Now there were shiva achim. And the first took a wife and, dying, did not leave a descendant.21 And the second took her and he died, not having left behind a descendant. And the third likewise.22 And the seven did not leave a descendant.23 In the Techiyas HaMesim, when they are made to stand up alive, of which of them will she be [the] isha? For seven had her as wife.24 Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, said to them, Is not this the reason you are in error, having daas neither of the Kitvei Hakodesh nor of the gevurat Hashem?25 But concerning the Mesim that are made to stand up alive, they do not marry nor are they given in nisuim, but are like the malachim in Shomayim.26 But concerning the Mesim, that they are made to stand up alive, have you not read in the sefer Moshe at the bush, how Hashem spoke to him, saying, ANOCHI ELOHEI AVRAHAM ELOHEI YITZCHAK VELOHEI YAAKOV, SHEMOT 3:6)27 Hashem is not the G-d of the Mesim (Dead ones) but of the Chayyim (Living ones). You are greatly mistaken.28 And one of the Sofrim approached and heard them debating, and seeing that Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach answered them well, asked him, Which mitzvah is rishonah of all the mitzvot?29 Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach answered, SHEMA YISROEL ADONOI ELOHEINU ADONOI ECHAD is harishonah.30 VAHAVTA ES ADONOI ELOHECHA BKHOL LVAVCHA UVECHOL NAFSHECHA UVECHOL MODECHA. [DEVARIM 6:4,5]31 And the shneyah is this, VAHAVTA LREACHA KAMOCHA [VAYIKRA 19:18]. There is not another mitzvah greater than these.32 And the Baal Torah said to him, Well spoken, Rabbi, beemes you have said that Hashem is ECHAD (one, DEVARIM 6:4), and EIN OD and there is no other [YESHAYAH 45:18] except him. [DEVARIM 4:35,39; YESHAYAH 45:6,14; 46:9]33 and to have ahavah for him BECHOL LVAVCHA (with all your heart) and with all your binah UVECHOL MODECHA (with all your strength DEVARIM 6:5) and LREACHA KAMOCHA (your neighbor as yourself, VAYIKRA 19:18) is greater [than] all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices. [SHMUEL ALEF 15:22; HOSHEA 6:6; MICHOH 6:6 8]34 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, when he saw that this Torah teacher answered with chochmah (wisdom), said to him, You are not far from the Malchut Hashem. And no one was daring to put a she'elah (question) in front of Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach again.35 While Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was saying shiurim (Torah talks) in the Beis Hamikdash, he was saying: How is it that the Sofrim say that Moshiach is [merely] ben Dovid?36 Dovid himself said by the Ruach Hakodesh, NEUM HASHEM LADONI: SHEV LIMINI, AD ASHIT OYVECHA HADOM LRAGLECHA [SHMUEL BAIS 23:2; TEHILLIM 110:1]37 Dovid himself calls Moshiach Adon; how then is Moshiach [merely] ben Dovid? And the large multitude found it a huge oneg (pleasure) to listen to him.38 And in his torah, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was saying, Beware of the Sofrim (Scribes, Torah teachers, rabbonim), the ones enamored of strutting about in extremely long kaftans and with equally lengthy Birkat Shalom greetings in the marketplaces,39 And places of honor in the shuls and places of honor at the seudot (banquet dinners).40 Beware particularly of the ones devouring the batim (houses) of the almanot (widows) and making a grand show of davening long tefillos. Mishpat (Judgment) will fall more heavily on these.41 And having sat [down] opposite the Beis Hamikdash Otzar (Treasury), Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was observing how the multitude throws copper [coins] into the Otzar. And many ashirim (rich people) were throwing [in] much. [MELACHIM BAIS 12:9]42 And a poor almanah (widow) came and threw [in] two leptas, which is a kodrantes.43 And having summoned his talmidim, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said to them: Omein, I say to you that this poor almanah has put in more tzedakah (charity contribution) than all those contributing to the Otzar,44 For everyone threw in from their abundance, but this almanah from her need has put in everything she had, all her michyah (subsistence).

MARK 12

Renters of a Vineyard

(Matthew 21.33-46; Luke 20.9-19)

1  t Jesus then told them this story:
A farmer once planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it and dug a pit to crush the grapes in. He also built a lookout tower. Then he rented out his vineyard and left the country.
2 When it was harvest time, he sent a servant to get his share of the grapes.

3 The renters grabbed the servant, beat him up, and sent him away without a thing.
4 The owner sent another servant, but the renters beat him on the head and insulted him terribly.

5 Then the man sent another servant, and they killed him. He kept sending servant after servant. They beat some of them and killed some.
6 The owner had a son he loved very much. Finally, he sent his son to the renters because he thought they would respect him. 7 But they said to themselves, “Someday he will own this vineyard. Let's kill him! That way we can have it all for ourselves.”

8 So they grabbed the owner's son, killed him, and threw his body out of the vineyard.
9 Jesus asked, “What do you think the owner of the vineyard will do? He will come and kill those renters and let someone else have his vineyard.

10 t You surely know that the Scriptures say,
‘The stone the builders
tossed aside
is now the most important
stone of all.

11 This is something
the Lord has done,
and it is amazing to us.’ ”

12 The leaders knew that Jesus was really talking about them, and they wanted to arrest him. But because they were afraid of the crowd, they let him alone and left.

Paying Taxes

(Matthew 22.15-22; Luke 20.20-26)

14 They went to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are honest. You treat everyone with the same respect, no matter who they are. And you teach the truth about what God wants people to do. Tell us, should we pay taxes to the Emperor or not?”

15 Jesus knew what they were up to, and he said, “Why are you trying to test me? Show me a coin!”

16 They brought him a silver coin, and he asked, “Whose picture and name are on it?”
“The Emperor's,” they answered.

17 Then Jesus told them, “Give the Emperor what belongs to him and give God what belongs to God.” The men were amazed at Jesus.

Life in the Future World

(Matthew 22.23-33; Luke 20.27-40)

18  t The Sadducees did not believe that people would rise to life after death. So some of them came to Jesus and said:
19  t Teacher, Moses wrote that if a married man dies and has no children, his brother should marry the widow. Their first son would then be thought of as the son of the dead brother. 20 There were once seven brothers. The first one married, but died without having any children. 21 The second brother married his brother's widow, and he also died without having children. The same thing happened to the third brother, 22 and finally to all seven brothers. At last the woman died.

23 When God raises people from death, whose wife will this woman be? After all, she had been married to all seven brothers.

24 Jesus answered:
You are completely wrong! You don't know what the Scriptures teach. And you don't know anything about the power of God. 25 When God raises people to life, they won't marry. They will be like the angels in heaven. 26 t You surely know about people being raised to life. You know that in the story about Moses and the burning bush, God said, “I am the God worshiped by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”t

27 He isn't the God of the dead, but of the living. You Sadducees are all wrong.

The Most Important //Commandment

(Matthew 22.34-40; Luke 10.25-28)

28  t One of the teachers of the Law of Moses came up while Jesus and the Sadducees were arguing. When he heard Jesus give a good answer, he asked him, “What is the most important commandment?”
29  t Jesus answered, “The most important one says: ‘People of Israel, you have only one Lord and God. 30 You must love him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.’

31 t The second most important commandment says: ‘Love others as much as you love yourself.’ No other commandment is more important than these.”
32  t The man replied, “Teacher, you are certainly right to say there is only one God.

33 t It is also true that we must love God with all our heart, mind, and strength, and that we must love others as much as we love ourselves. These commandments are more important than all the sacrifices and offerings that we could possibly make.”

34 When Jesus saw that the man had given a sensible answer, he told him, “You are not far from God's kingdom.” After this, no one dared ask Jesus any more questions.

About David's Son

(Matthew 22.41-46; Luke 20.41-44)

36 t The Holy Spirit led David to say,
‘The Lord said to my Lord:
Sit at my right sidet
until I make your enemies
into a footstool for you.’

37 If David called the Messiah his Lord, how can the Messiah be his son?”t
The large crowd enjoyed listening to Jesus teach.

Jesus Condemns the Pharisees //and the Teachers of the Law of Moses

(Matthew 23.1-36; Luke 20.45-47)

38 As Jesus was teaching, he said:
Guard against the teachers of the Law of Moses! They love to walk around in long robes and be greeted in the market. 39 They like the front seats in the synagogues and the best seats at banquets.

40 But they cheat widows out of their homes and pray long prayers just to show off. They will be punished most of all.

A Widow's Offering

(Luke 21.1-4)

43 Jesus told his disciples to gather around him. Then he said:
I tell you that this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 44 Everyone else gave what they didn't need. But she is very poor and gave everything she had. Now she doesn't have a cent to live on.