Mark 12:13–14:11

GOD AND CAESAR

¹³Then^ar they sent some of the Pharisees^as and the Herodians^at to Jesus to trap him in his words.^{au 14}When they came, they said to him, “Teacher, we know you are truthful and don’t care what anyone thinks, nor do you show partiality^av but teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful to pay taxes^aw to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

¹⁵But knowing their hypocrisy,^ax he said to them, “Why are you testing^ay me? Bring me a denarius^Eaz to look at.” ¹⁶They brought a coin. “Whose image^ba and inscription^bb is this?” he asked them.

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

¹⁷Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”^bc And they were utterly amazed^bd at him.

THE SADDUCEES AND THE RESURRECTION

¹⁸Sadducees,^be who say there is no resurrection,^bf came to him and questioned him: ¹⁹“Teacher,^a Moses^b wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife behind but no child,^c that man should take the wife^d and raise up offspring for his brother.^{Ae 20}There were seven brothers. The first married a woman, and dying, left no offspring. ²¹The second also took her, and he died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. ²²None of the seven^B left offspring. Last of all, the woman died too. ²³In the resurrection, when they rise,^C whose wife will she be, since the seven had married her?”

²⁴Jesus spoke to them, “Isn’t this the reason why you’re mistaken: you don’t know the Scriptures^f or the power^g of God?^{h 25}For when they riseⁱ from the dead,^j they neither marry nor are given in marriage^k but are like angels^l in heaven. ²⁶And as for the dead being raised—haven’t you read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God said to him: I^m am the God of Abrahamⁿ and the God of Isaac^o and the God of Jacob?^{Dp 27}He is not the God of the dead but of the living. You are badly mistaken.”

THE PRIMARY COMMANDS

²⁸One^q of the scribes^r approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which command is the most important of all?”

²⁹Jesus answered, “The most important^E is Listen, Israel! The Lord^s our God, the Lord^t is one.^{F 30}Love^u the Lord your God^v with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, ^w and with all your strength.^{GHx 31}The second is, Love your neighbor ^y as yourself.^Iz There is no other command^aa greater than these.”

³²Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, teacher. You have correctly said that he is one, and there is no one^ab else except him.^{ac 33}And to love^ad him with all your heart, with all your understanding,^j and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”^ae

³⁴When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”^af And no one dared^ag to question him any longer.

THE QUESTION ABOUT THE MESSIAH

³⁵While^ah Jesus was teaching in the temple, he asked,^ai “How can the scribes^aj say that the Messiah^ak is the son of David?^{al 36}David^am himself says by the Holy Spirit:^an

The Lord^ao declared to my Lord,

‘Sit at my right hand^ap

until I put your enemies under your feet.’^Aaq

³⁷David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How, then, can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.

WARNING AGAINST THE SCRIBES

³⁸He^ar also said in his teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who want to go around in long robes^as and who want greetings in the marketplaces,^{at 39}the best seats^au in the synagogues,^av and the places of honor^aw at banquets.^{ax 40}They devour^ay widows’^az houses and say long prayers^ba just for show. These will receive harsher judgment.”

THE WIDOW’S GIFT

⁴¹Sitting^bb across from the temple treasury,^bc he watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich^bd people were putting in large sums. ⁴²Then a poor^be widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. ⁴³Summoning his disciples,^bf he said to them, “Truly I tell you,^bg this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.^{bh 44}For they all gave out of their surplus,^bi but she out of her poverty^bj has put in everything she had^bk—all she had to live on.”^bl

DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE PREDICTED

13As^bm he was going out of the temple,^bn one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher,^bo look! What massive stones! What impressive buildings!”^bp

²Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings?^bq Not one stone will be left upon another—all will be thrown down.”

SIGNS OF THE END OF THE AGE

³While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives^br across from the temple,^bs Peter,^bt James,^bu John,^bv and Andrew^bw asked him privately, ⁴“Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”

⁵Jesus told them, “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁶Many will come in my name,^a saying, ‘I am he,’^b and they will deceive^c many. ⁷When you hear of wars and rumors of wars,^d don’t be alarmed;^e these things must take place,^f but it is not yet the end. ⁸For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.^g There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines.^B These are the beginning^h of birth pains.ⁱ

PERSECUTIONS PREDICTED

⁹“But you, be on your guard! They will hand you over to local courts,^Cj and you will be flogged^k in the synagogues.^l You will stand before governors and kings^m because of me,ⁿ as a witness^o to them.^{p 10}And it is necessary that the gospel^q be preached to all nations. ¹¹So when they arrest you and hand you over, don’t worry beforehand what you will say, but say whatever is given to you at that time, for it isn’t you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

¹²“Brother will betray^r brother to death,^s and a father his child. Children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. ¹³You will be hated by everyone because of my name,^t but the one who endures to the end will be saved.^u

THE GREAT TRIBULATION

¹⁴“When you see the abomination of desolation^Av standing where it should not be” (let the reader understand), “then those in Judea^w must flee to the mountains. ¹⁵A man on the housetop must not come down or go in to get anything out of his house,^{x 16}and a man in the field must not go back to get his coat.^{y 17}Woe^z to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days!

¹⁸“Pray^aa it^B won’t happen in winter. ¹⁹For those will be days of tribulation,^ab the kind that hasn’t been from the beginning^ac of creation^ac ,which God created, until now and never will be again. ^ad20If the Lord^ae had not cut those days short,^af no one would be saved. But he cut those days short for the sake of the elect,^ag whom he chose.^ah

²¹“Then if anyone tells you, ‘See, here is the Messiah!^ai See, there!’ do not believe it. ²²For false messiahs and false prophets will arise and will perform signs and wonders^aj to lead astray, if possible, the elect. ²³And you must watch! I have told you everything in advance.

THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN

²⁴“But in those days, after that tribulation:^ak The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; ²⁵the stars^al will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.^{am 26}Then they will see the Son of Man^an coming^ao in clouds^ap with great power^aq and glory.^{ar 27}He will send out the angels^as and gather his elect^at from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.^au

THE PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE

²⁸“Learn^av this lesson^aw from the fig^ax tree: As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.^{ay 29}In the same way, when you see these things happening, recognize^C that he^D is near—at the door.

³⁰“Truly I tell you,^az this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things take place. ³¹Heaven and earth^ab will pass away,^bb but my words will never pass away.^bc

NO ONE KNOWS THE DAY OR HOUR

³²“Now concerning that day^bd or hour no one knows—neither the angels^be in heaven nor the Son^bf—but only the Father.^bg

³³“Watch! Be alert!^E For you don’t know when the time^bh is coming.^bi

³⁴“It is like^bj a man on a journey, who left his house, gave authority to his servants,^bk gave each one his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to be alert. ³⁵Therefore be alert,^bl since you don’t know when the master^bm of the house is coming—whether in the evening or at midnight or at the crowing of the rooster or early in the morning. ³⁶Otherwise, when he comes suddenly he might find you sleeping.^{bn 37}And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Be alert!”

THE PLOT TO KILL JESUS

14It^bo was two days before the Passover^bp and the Festival^bq of Unleavened Bread.^br The chief priests and the scribes^bs were looking for a cunning^bt way to arrest Jesus and kill him.^{bu 2}“Not during the festival,” they said, “so that there won’t be a riot among the people.”

THE ANOINTING AT BETHANY

³While^a he was in Bethany^b at the house of Simon the leper,^c as he was reclining at the table,^d a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured it on his head.^{e 4}But some were expressing indignation to one another: “Why has this perfume been wasted? ⁵For this perfume might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii^Bf and given to the poor.”^g And they began to scold her.

⁶Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a noble thing^h for me. ⁷You always have the poorⁱ with you, and you can do what is good for them whenever you want, but you do not always have me.^{j 8}She has done what she could; she has anointed my body^k in advance for burial.^{l 9}Truly I tell you,^m wherever the gospelⁿ is proclaimed in the whole world,^o what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

¹⁰Then^p Judas Iscariot,^q one of the Twelve,^r went to the chief priests^s to betray Jesus^t to them. ¹¹And when they heard this, they were glad and promised to give him money.^u So he started looking for a good opportunity to betray^v him.