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¹Jesus began to speak to them [the chief priests, scribes and elders who were questioning Him] in parables: "A man planted a vineyard and put awall around it, and dug a pit for the wine press and built a tower; and he rented it out to tenant farmers and left the country.

²When the harvest season came he sent a servant to the tenants, in order to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.

³They took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

⁴Again he sent them another servant, and they [threw stones and] wounded him in the head, and treated him disgracefully.

⁵And he sent another, and that one they killed; then many others—some they beat and some they killed.

⁶He still had one man left to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'

⁷But those tenants said to each other, 'This man is the heir! Come on, let us kill him [and destroy the evidence], and his inheritance will be ours!'

⁸So they took him and killed him, and threw his body outside the vineyard.

⁹What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants, and will give the vineyard to others.

¹⁰Have you not even read this Scripture: 'The stone which the builders regarded as unworthy and rejected, This [very stone] has become the chief Cornerstone

¹¹This came about from the Lord, And it is marvelous and wonderful in our eyes'?"

¹²And they were looking for a way to seize Him, but they were afraid of the crowd; for they knew that He spoke this parable in reference to [and as a charge against] them. And so they left Him and went away.

¹³Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus in order to trap Him into making a statement [that they could use against Him].

¹⁴They came and said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are truthful and have no personal bias toward anyone; for You are not influenced by outward appearances or social status, but in truth You teach the way of God. Is it lawful [according to Jewish law and tradition] to pay the poll-tax to [ Tiberius] Caesar, or not?

¹⁵Should we pay [the tax] or should we not pay?" But knowing their hypocrisy, He asked them, "Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a coin (denarius) to look at."

¹⁶So they brought one. Then He asked them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They said to Him, "Caesar's."

¹⁷Jesus said to them, "Pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they were greatly amazed at Him.

¹⁸Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) came to Him, and began questioning Him, saying,

¹⁹"Teacher, Moses wrote for us [a law] that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but leaves no child, his brother is tomarry the widow and raise up children for his brother.

²⁰There were seven brothers; the first [one] took a wife, and died leaving no children.

²¹The second brother married her, and died leaving no children; and the third likewise;

²²and so all seven [married her and died, and] left no children. Last of all the woman died also.

²³In the resurrection, whose wife will she be? For all seven [brothers] were married to her."

²⁴Jesus said to them, "Is this not why you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures [that teach the resurrection] nor the power of God [who is able to raise the dead]?

²⁵For when they rise from the dead, they do not marry nor are they given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

²⁶But concerning the raising of the dead, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?

²⁷He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken and you are deceiving yourselves!"

²⁸Then one of the scribes [an expert in Mosaic Law] came up and listened to them arguing [with one another], and noticing that Jesus answered them well, asked Him, "Which commandment is first and most important of all?"

²⁹Jesus answered, "The first and most important one is: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord;

³⁰and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul (life), and with all your mind (thought, understanding), and with all your strength.'

³¹This is the second: 'You shall [unselfishly]love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

³²The scribe said to Him, "Admirably answered, Teacher; You truthfully stated that He is One, and there is no other but Him;

³³and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to [unselfishly] love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

³⁴When Jesus saw that he answered thoughtfully and intelligently, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that, no one would dare to ask Him any more questions.

³⁵Jesus began to say, as He taught in [a portico or court of] the temple, " How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?

³⁶David himself said [when inspired] by the Holy Spirit, 'The Lord (the Father) said to my Lord (the Son, the Messiah), "Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies under Your feet."'

³⁷David himself calls Him (the Son, the Messiah) 'Lord'; so how can it be that He is David's Son?" The large crowd enjoyed hearing Jesus and listened to Him with delight.

³⁸In [the course of] His teaching He was saying, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes [displaying their prominence], and like to receive respectful greetings in the market places,

³⁹and [they love] the chief seats in the synagogues and the places of distinction and honor at banquets,

⁴⁰[these scribes] who devour (confiscate) widows' houses, and offer long prayers for appearance's sake [to impress others]. These men will receive greater condemnation."

⁴¹And He sat down opposite the [temple] treasury, and began watching how the people were putting money into the treasury. And many rich people were putting in large sums.

⁴²A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a mite.

⁴³Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this poor widow put in [proportionally] more than all the contributors to the treasury.

⁴⁴For they all contributed from their surplus, but she, from her poverty, put in all she had, all she had to live on."

¹As He was coming out of the temple [grounds], one of His disciples said to Him, "Teacher, look what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!"

²Jesus replied to him, "You see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left on another which will not be torn down!"

³As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew 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 fulfilled?"

⁵Jesus began to say to them, "Be careful and see to it that no one misleads you.

⁶Many will come in My name [misusing My name or claiming to be the Messiah], saying, 'I am He!' and will deceive and mislead many.

⁷When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed (frightened, troubled); these things must take place, but the end is not yet.

⁸For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These things are the beginning of the birth pangs [the intolerable anguish and suffering].

⁹"But be on your guard; they will turn you over to courts, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand [as accused] before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them.

¹⁰The gospel [that is, the good news regarding the way of salvation] must first be preached to all the [Gentile] nations.

¹¹When they take you and turn you over [to the court], do not worry beforehand about what to say, but say whatever is given to you [by God] in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit [who will speak through you].

¹²Brother will betray brother to [be put to] death, and a father [will hand over] his child; and children will rise up and take a stand against parents and have them put to death.

¹³You will be hated by everyone because of [your association with] My name, but the one who [patiently perseveres empowered by the Holy Spirit and] endures to the end, he will be saved.

¹⁴"But when you see theabomination of desolation standing [in the temple sanctuary] where it ought not to be (let the reader understand) then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.

¹⁵Whoever is on the housetop must not go down [to enter the house], or go inside to take anything out of his house;

¹⁶whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his coat.

¹⁷And woe to those women who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!

¹⁸Pray that it will not occur in winter,

¹⁹for at that time there will be such tribulation as has not occurred, from the beginning of the creation which God made, until now—and never will [be again].

²⁰And if the Lord had not shortened the days, no human life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose [for Himself], He shortened the days.

²¹Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)!' or, 'Look, He is there!' do not believe it;

²²for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and they will provide signs and wonders in order to deceive, if [such a thing were] possible, even the elect [those God has chosen for Himself].

²³But be on your guard; I have told you everything in advance.

²⁴"But in those days, after [the suffering and distress of] that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,

²⁵and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken.

²⁶Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory [in royal majesty and splendor].

²⁷And then He will send out the angels, and will gather together His elect [those He has chosen for Himself] from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.

²⁸"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: as soon as its branch becomes tender and it puts out its leaves, you recognize that summer is near.

²⁹Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, know [for certain] that He is near, right at the door.

³⁰I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this generation [the people living when these signs and events begin] will not pass away until all these things take place.

³¹Heaven and earth [as now known] will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

³²But of that [exact] day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son [in His humanity], but the Father alone.

³³"Be on guard and stay constantly alert[and pray]; for you do not know when the appointed time will come.

³⁴It is like a man away on a journey, who when he left home put his servants in charge, each with his particular task, and also ordered the doorkeeper to be continually alert.

³⁵Therefore, be continually on the alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—

³⁶[stay alert,] in case he should come suddenly and unexpectedly and find you asleep and unprepared.

³⁷What I say to you I say to everyone, 'Be on the alert [stay awake and be continually cautious]!'"