Mark 12
Greek: New Testament (NAS)
English: John Barach
Chapter 12
The Parable of the Tenant Farmers
1  Καὶ ἤρξατο αὐτοῖς ἐν παραβολαῖς λαλεῖν, Ἀμπελῶνα ἄνθρωπος ἐφύτευσεν καὶ περιέθηκεν Φραγμὸν καὶ ὤρυξεν ὑπολήνιον καὶ ᾠκοδόμησεν πύργον καὶ ἐξέδετο αὐτὸν γεωργοῖς καὶ ἀπεδήμησεν. 2  καὶ ἀπέστειλεν πρὸς τοὺς γεωργοὺς τῷ καιρῷ δοῦλον ἵνα παρὰ τῶν γεωργῶν λάβῃ ἀπὸ τῶν καρπῶν τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος· 3  καὶ λαβόντες αὐτὸν ἔδειραν καὶ ἀπέστειλαν κενόν. 4  καὶ πάλιν ἀπέστειλεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἄλλον δοῦλον· κἀκεῖνον ἐκεφαλίωσαν καὶ ἠτίμασαν. 5  καὶ ἄλλον ἀπέστειλεν· κἀκεῖνον ἀπέκτειναν, καὶ πολλοὺς ἄλλους, οὓς μὲν δέροντες, οὓς δὲ ἀποκτέννοντες.
1And He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, and put a fence around it, and dug a pit for a winepress, and built a tower; then he leased it out to tenant farmers and went on a journey. 2And at the harvest season, he sent a slave to the farmers so that he might collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3But they took him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4And again he sent another slave to them; that one they struck on the head and treated shamefully. 5And he sent another; that one they killed, and so with many others—some they beat and others they killed.
6  ἔτι ἕνα εἶχεν υἱὸν ἀγαπητόν· ἀπέστειλεν αὐτὸν ἔσχατον πρὸς αὐτοὺς λέγων ὅτι Ἐντραπήσονται τὸν υἱόν μου. 7  ἐκεῖνοι δὲ οἱ γεωργοὶ πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς εἶπαν ὅτι Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ κληρονόμος· δεῦτε ἀποκτείνωμεν αὐτόν, καὶ ἡμῶν ἔσται ἡ κληρονομία. 8  καὶ λαβόντες ἀπέκτειναν αὐτὸν καὶ ἐξέβαλον αὐτὸν ἔξω τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος. 9  τί [οὖν] ποιήσει ὁ κύριος τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος; ἐλεύσεται καὶ ἀπολέσει τοὺς γεωργοὺς καὶ δώσει τὸν ἀμπελῶνα ἄλλοις. 10  οὐδὲ τὴν γραφὴν ταύτην ἀνέγνωτε,
  Λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες,
οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας·
11  παρὰ κυρίου ἐγένετο αὕτη
καὶ ἔστιν θαυμαστὴ ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν; {Psalm 117 (118):22-23}
6He still had one left, a beloved son. He sent him to them last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7But those farmers said to one another, ‘This is the heir! Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8And they took him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers and give the vineyard to others. 10Have you not even read this Scripture:
  ‘The stone which the builders rejected,
this very stone has become the cornerstone;
11this came from the Lord,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” {Psalm 117 (118):22-23}
12  Καὶ ἐζήτουν αὐτὸν κρατῆσαι καὶ ἐφοβήθησαν τὸν ὄχλον, ἔγνωσαν γὰρ ὅτι πρὸς αὐτοὺς τὴν παραβολὴν εἶπεν. καὶ ἀφέντες αὐτὸν ἀπῆλθον.
12And they were seeking to arrest Him, yet they feared the crowd; for they knew that He had told the parable against them. So, leaving Him, they went away.
Taxes to Caesar
13  Καὶ ἀποστέλλουσιν πρὸς αὐτόν τινας τῶν Φαρισαίων καὶ τῶν Ἡρῳδιανῶν ἵνα αὐτὸν ἀγρεύσωσιν λόγῳ. 14  καὶ ἐλθόντες λέγουσιν αὐτῷ, Διδάσκαλε, οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἀληθὴς εἶ καὶ οὐ μέλει σοι περὶ οὐδενός· οὐ γὰρ βλέπεις εἰς πρόσωπον ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλ' ἐπ' ἀληθείας τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ θεοῦ διδάσκεις, ἔξεστιν δοῦναι κῆνσον Καίσαρι ἢ οὔ; δῶμεν ἢ μὴ δῶμεν; 15  ὁ δὲ εἰδὼς αὐτῶν τὴν ὑπόκρισιν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Τί με πειράζετε; φέρετέ μοι δηνάριον ἵνα ἴδω. 16  οἱ δὲ ἤνεγκαν. καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς, Τίνος ἡ εἰκὼν αὕτη καὶ ἡ ἐπιγραφή; οἱ δὲ εἶπαν αὐτῷ, Καίσαρος. 17  ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Τὰ Καίσαρος ἀπόδοτε Καίσαρι καὶ τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τῷ θεῷ. καὶ ἐξεθαύμαζον ἐπ' αὐτῷ.
13And they send to Him some of the Pharisees and of the Herodians so that they might trap Him in a statement. 14And having come, they say to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and are not concerned about anyone’s opinion; for You do not look at the face of men (show partiality), but in truth You teach the way of God. Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar or not? Should we give, or should we not give?” 15But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius so that I may see it.” 16And they brought one. And He says to them, “Whose image is this and the inscription?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17And Jesus said to them, “Give back the things of Caesar to Caesar, and the things of God to God.” And they were utterly amazed at Him.
The Question of the Resurrection
18  Καὶ ἔρχονται Σαδδουκαῖοι πρὸς αὐτόν, οἵτινες λέγουσιν ἀνάστασιν μὴ εἶναι, καὶ ἐπηρώτων αὐτὸν λέγοντες, 19  Διδάσκαλε, Μωϋσῆς ἔγραψεν ἡμῖν ὅτι ἐάν τινος ἀδελφὸς ἀποθάνῃ καὶ καταλίπῃ γυναῖκα καὶ μὴ ἀφῇ τέκνον, ἵνα λάβῃ ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ ἐξαναστήσῃ σπέρμα τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ. {Gen. 38:8} 20  ἑπτὰ ἀδελφοὶ ἦσαν· καὶ ὁ πρῶτος ἔλαβεν γυναῖκα καὶ ἀποθνῄσκων οὐκ ἀφῆκεν σπέρμα· 21  καὶ ὁ δεύτερος ἔλαβεν αὐτὴν καὶ ἀπέθανεν μὴ καταλιπὼν σπέρμα· καὶ ὁ τρίτος ὡσαύτως· 22  καὶ οἱ ἑπτὰ οὐκ ἀφῆκαν σπέρμα. ἔσχατον πάντων καὶ ἡ γυνὴ ἀπέθανεν. 23  ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει [ὅταν ἀναστῶσιν] τίνος αὐτῶν ἔσται γυνή; οἱ γὰρ ἑπτὰ ἔσχον αὐτὴν γυναῖκα.
18And Sadducees come to Him (those who say there is no resurrection), and they were questioning Him, saying, 19"Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if someone’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife but does not leave a child, his brother should take the wife and raise up offspring for his brother. {Gen. 38:8} 20There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and, dying, left no offspring. 21And the second took her and died, not leaving behind offspring; and the third likewise. 22And the seven did not leave offspring. Last of all the woman died too. 23In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as a wife.”
24  ἔφη αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς, Οὐ διὰ τοῦτο πλανᾶσθε μὴ εἰδότες τὰς γραφὰς μηδὲ τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ θεοῦ; 25  ὅταν γὰρ ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστῶσιν οὔτε γαμοῦσιν οὔτε γαμίζονται, ἀλλ' εἰσὶν ὡς ἄγγελοι ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. 26  περὶ δὲ τῶν νεκρῶν ὅτι ἐγείρονται οὐκ ἀνέγνωτε ἐν τῇ βίβλῳ Μωϋσέως ἐπὶ τοῦ βάτου πῶς εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ θεὸς λέγων, Ἐγὼ ὁ θεὸς Ἀβραὰμ καὶ [ὁ] θεὸς [ὁ] Ἰσαὰκ καὶ [ὁ] θεὸς Ἰακώβ; {Exodus 3:6} 27  οὐκ ἔστιν θεὸς νεκρῶν ἀλλὰ ζώντων· πολὺ πλανᾶσθε.
24Jesus said to them, “Is this not why you are led astray—because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? 25For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26But concerning the dead—that they are raised—have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the thorn bush, how God spoke to him, saying: ‘I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob'? {Exodus 3:6} 27He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are very much led astray.”
The Greatest Commandment
28  Καὶ προσελθὼν εἷς τῶν γραμματέων ἀκούσας αὐτῶν συζητούντων, ἰδὼν ὅτι καλῶς ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτόν, Ποία ἐστὶν ἐντολὴ πρώτη πάντων; 29  ἀπεκρίθη ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι πρώτη ἐστίν, Ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ, κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν κύριος εἷς ἐστιν, 30  καὶ ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης καρδίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ἰσχύος σου. {Deut. 6:4-5} 31  δευτέρα αὕτη, Ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν. {Lev. 19:18} μείζων τούτων ἄλλη ἐντολὴ οὐκ ἔστιν.
28And one of the scribes came forward and heard them debating. Seeing that He had answered them well, he questioned Him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” 29Jesus answered, “The first is: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30and you shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart and from your whole soul and from your whole mind and from your whole strength.’ {Deut. 6:4-5} 31The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ {Lev. 19:18} There is no other commandment greater than these.”
32  καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ γραμματεύς, Καλῶς, διδάσκαλε, ἐπ' ἀληθείας εἶπες ὅτι εἷς ἐστιν καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἄλλος πλὴν αὐτοῦ· {Deut. 6:4} 33  καὶ τὸ ἀγαπᾶν αὐτὸν ἐξ ὅλης καρδίας καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς συνέσεως καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ἰσχύος καὶ τὸ ἀγαπᾶν τὸν πλησίον ὡς ἑαυτὸν {Deut. 6:5} περισσότερόν ἐστιν πάντων τῶν ὁλοκαυτωμάτων καὶ θυσιῶν. 34  καὶ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἰδὼν [αὐτὸν] ὅτι νουνεχῶς ἀπεκρίθη εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Οὐ μακρὰν εἶ ἀπὸ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ. καὶ οὐδεὶς οὐκέτι ἐτόλμα αὐτὸν ἐπερωτῆσαι.
32And the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher; in truth You have stated that He is one and there is no other besides Him; {Deut. 6:4} 33and to love Him from the whole heart and from the whole understanding and from the whole strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, {Deut. 6:5} is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34And Jesus, seeing that he answered thoughtfully, said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question Him any longer.
David’s Son and Lord
35  Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἔλεγεν διδάσκων ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ, Πῶς λέγουσιν οἱ γραμματεῖς ὅτι ὁ Χριστὸς υἱὸς Δαυὶδ ἐστιν; 36  αὐτὸς Δαυὶδ εἶπεν ἐν τῷ πνεύματι τῷ ἁγίῳ,
  Εἶπεν κύριος τῷ κυρίῳ μου,
Κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου,
ἕως ἄν θῶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου ὑποκάτω τῶν ποδῶν σου. {Psalm 109 (110):1}
37  αὐτὸς Δαυὶδ λέγει αὐτὸν κύριον, καὶ πόθεν αὐτοῦ ἐστιν υἱὸς, καὶ [ὁ] πολὺς ὄχλος ἤκουεν αὐτοῦ ἡδέως.
35And answering, Jesus was saying while teaching in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? 36David himself said by the Holy Spirit:
  ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”’ {Psalm 109 (110):1}
37David himself calls Him ‘Lord,’ so in what sense is He his son?” And the large crowd was listening to Him with delight.
Warning Against the Scribes
38  Καὶ ἐν τῇ διδαχῇ αὐτοῦ ἔλεγεν, Βλέπετε ἀπὸ τῶν γραμματέων τῶν θελόντων ἐν στολαῖς περιπατεῖν καὶ ἀσπασμοὺς ἐν ταῖς ἀγοραῖς 39  καὶ πρωτοκαθεδρίας ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς καὶ πρωτοκλισίας ἐν τοῖς δείπνοις, 40  οἱ κατεσθίοντες τὰς οἰκίας τῶν χηρῶν καὶ προφάσει μακρὰ προσευχόμενοι· οὗτοι λήμψονται περισσότερον κρίμα.
38And in His teaching He was saying, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and to receive greetings in the marketplaces 39and the seats of honor in the synagogues and the places of distinction at banquets; 40they are the ones who devour the houses of widows and, for a pretense, offer long prayers. These will receive a more severe judgment.”
The Widow’s Offering
41  Καὶ καθίσας κατέναντι τοῦ γαζοφυλακίου ἐθεώρει πῶς ὁ ὄχλος βάλλει χαλκὸν εἰς τὸ γαζοφυλάκιον. καὶ πολλοὶ πλούσιοι ἔβαλλον πολλά, 42  καὶ ἐλθοῦσα μία χήρα πτωχὴ ἔβαλεν λεπτὰ δύο, ὅ ἐστιν κοδράντης.
41And after sitting down opposite the treasury, He was observing how the crowd puts copper coins into the treasury. And many wealthy people were putting in large amounts. 42And one poor widow came and put in two small copper coins (mites), which amount to a quadrans.
43  καὶ προσκαλεσάμενος τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ἡ χήρα αὕτη ἡ πτωχὴ πλεῖον πάντων ἔβαλεν τῶν βαλλόντων εἰς τὸ γαζοφυλάκιον· 44  πάντες γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ περισσεύοντος αὐτοῖς ἔβαλον, αὕτη δὲ ἐκ τῆς ὑστερήσεως αὐτῆς πάντα ὅσα εἶχεν ἔβαλεν ὅλον τὸν βίον αὐτῆς.
43And summoning His disciples, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those putting money into the treasury. 44For they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in everything she had—her entire means of life.”