The Parable of the Tenant Farmers in the Vineyard

¹ And he began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, and put a fence around it, and dug a trough for the winepress, and built a watchtower, and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey.

² And he sent a slave to the tenant farmers at the proper time, so that he could collect some of the fruit of the vineyard from the tenant farmers.

³ And they seized him and¹ beat him² and sent him³ away empty-handed.

1. *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“seized”) has been translated as a finite verb
2. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
3. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation

⁴ And again he sent to them another slave, and that one they struck on the head and dishonored.

⁵ And he sent another, and that one they killed. And he sent¹ many others, some of whom they beat and some of whom they killed.

1. *The words “he sent” are not in the Greek text, but are an implied repetition from earlier in the verse

⁶ He had one more, a beloved son. Last of all he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

⁷ But those tenant farmers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and the inheritance will be ours!’

⁸ And they seized and¹ killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.

1. *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“seized”) has been translated as a finite verb

⁹ What¹ will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenant farmers and give the vineyard to others.

1. Some manuscripts have “What then”

¹⁰ Have you not read this scripture: ‘The stone which the builders rejected, this has become ⌞the cornerstone⌟.¹

1. Literally “the head of the corner”

¹¹ This came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”¹

1. A quotation from Ps 118:22–23

¹² And they were seeking to arrest him, and they were afraid of the crowd, because they knew that he had told the parable with reference to them. And they left him and¹ went away.

1. *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“left”) has been translated as a finite verb

Paying Taxes to Caesar

¹³ And they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to him so that they could catch him unawares in a statement.

¹⁴ And when they¹ came, they said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and ⌞you do not care what anyone thinks⌟,² ⌞because you do not regard the opinion of people⌟³ but teach the way of God in truth. Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?”

1. *Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“came”) which is understood as temporal
2. Literally “it is not a care to you concerning anyone”
3. Literally “because you do not look at the face of men”

¹⁵ But because he¹ knew their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius so that I can look at it!”²

1. *Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“knew”) which is understood as causal
2. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation

¹⁶ So they brought one.¹ And he said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” And they said to him, “Caesar’s.”

1. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation

¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things of Caesar, and to God the things of God!” And they were utterly amazed at him.

A Question About Marriage and the Resurrection

¹⁸ And Sadducees—who say there is no resurrection—came up to him and began to ask¹ him, saying,

1. The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to ask”)

¹⁹ “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if someone’s brother dies and he leaves behind a wife and does not leave a child, that his brother should take the wife and ⌞father⌟¹ descendants for his brother.

1. Literally “raise up”

²⁰ There were seven brothers, and the first took a wife. And when he¹ died, he did not leave descendants.

1. *Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“died”) which is understood as temporal

²¹ And the second took her, and he died without leaving descendants. And the third likewise.

²² And the seven did not leave descendants. Last of all the woman also died.

²³ In the resurrection, when they rise, ⌞whose⌟¹ wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.

1. Literally “who of them”

²⁴ Jesus said to them, “Are you not deceived because of this, because you¹ do not know the scriptures or the power of God?

1. *Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“know”) which is understood as causal

²⁵ For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

²⁶ Now concerning the dead, that they are raised, have you not read in the book of Moses ⌞in the passage about the bush⌟¹ how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob’?²

1. Literally “at the bush”
2. A quotation from Exod 3:6

²⁷ He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are very much mistaken!”

The Greatest Commandment

²⁸ And one of the scribes came up and¹ heard them debating. When he² saw that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”

1. *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came up”) has been translated as a finite verb
2. *Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal

²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

³⁰ And 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.’¹

1. A quotation from Deut 6:4–5; Josh 22:5

³¹ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’¹ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

1. A quotation from Lev 19:18

³² And the scribe said to him, “That is true, Teacher. You have said ⌞correctly⌟¹ that he is one and there is no other except him.

1. Literally “in accordance with truth”

³³ And to love him from your¹ whole heart and from your² whole understanding and from your³ whole strength, and to love your⁴ neighbor as yourself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

1. Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
2. Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
3. Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
4. Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun

³⁴ And Jesus, when he¹ saw that he had answered thoughtfully, said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to put a question to him any longer.

1. *Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal

David’s Son and Lord

³⁵ And continuing, Jesus said while¹ teaching in the temple courts,² “How can the scribes say that the Christ is David’s son?

1. *Here “while” is supplied as a component of the participle (“teaching”) which is understood as temporal
2. *Here “courts” is supplied to distinguish this area from the interior of the temple building itself

³⁶ David 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.” ’¹

1. A quotation from Ps 110:1

³⁷ David himself calls him ‘Lord,’ and how is he his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him gladly.

Warning to Beware of the Scribes

³⁸ And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like walking around in long robes and greetings in the marketplaces

³⁹ and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets,

⁴⁰ who devour the houses of widows and pray lengthy prayers for the sake of appearance. These will receive more severe condemnation!”

A Poor Widow’s Offering

⁴¹ And he sat down opposite the contribution box and¹ was observing how the crowd was putting coins into the contribution box. And many rich people were putting in many coins.²

1. *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“sat down”) has been translated as a finite verb
2. Although often translated “large sums,” the plural here suggests large numbers of individual coins, which would make an impressive noise

⁴² And one poor widow came and¹ put in two small copper coins² (that is, a penny).³

1. *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came”) has been translated as a finite verb
2. This coin was the lepton, worth 1/128 of a denarius
3. This coin was the quadrans, the smallest Roman coin, worth 2 lepta

⁴³ And summoning his disciples, he said to them, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow put in more than all those who put offerings¹ into the contribution box.

1. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation

⁴⁴ For they all ⌞contributed⌟¹ out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in everything she had, her whole means of subsistence.”

1. Literally “put in”