Mark 12
The full text of Mark 12 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 Then he began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard, put a wall around it, dug a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went abroad.
2 At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them his share of the vineyard's fruit.
3 But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.
4 Again he sent another servant to them, and they struck him on the head and insulted him.
5 He sent yet another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some they beat, and some they killed.
6 He still had one — a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'
7 But those farmers said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'
8 So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 What then will the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and kill the tenants and give the vineyard to others.
10 Haven't you even read this Scripture:
'The stone that the builders rejected
has become the head of the corner;
11 The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?"
12 They were trying to arrest him, but they feared the crowd, because they knew he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.
13 And they sent some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians to him, to catch him in something he said.
14 They came and said to him, "Teacher, we know you are a person of integrity. You aren't swayed by anyone, because you show no partiality — you truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay the tax to Caesar, or not? Should we pay, or shouldn't we?"
15 But knowing their pretense, he said to them, "Why are you trying to trap me? Bring me a denarius—let me see it."
16 They brought one, and he said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They said to him, "Caesar's."
17 Jesus said to them, "Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." And they were utterly amazed at him.
18 Then some Sadducees came to him — they are the ones who say there is no resurrection — and they questioned him:
19 "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife and leaves no child, his brother should take the wife and raise up offspring for his brother.
20 There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and when he died he left no children.
21 The second married her and died, leaving no children. The third did the same.
22 None of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too.
23 At the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife.
24 Jesus said to them, "Isn't this why you go astray—because you don't know the Scriptures or the power of God?"
25 For when the dead rise, they neither marry nor are given in marriage; they are like angels in heaven.
26 But about the dead, that they are raised—haven't you read in the book of Moses, at the burning bush, how God spoke to him: 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?
27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken.
28 One of the scribes came over and heard them discussing the matter. Seeing that he had answered them well, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is first?"
29 Jesus answered, "The foremost is this: 'Hear, Israel — the LORD our God, the LORD is one.
30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
31 The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' No other commandment is greater than these.
32 The scribe said to him, "Rightly spoken, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him.
33 and to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices."
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered with insight, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
35 As Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he said, "How is it that the scribes say the Messiah is the son of David?
36 David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, said:
'The Lord said to my Lord,
"Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies under your feet."'
37 David himself calls him Lord. How then can he be his son?" And the great crowd kept listening to him gladly.
38 In his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who want to walk around in flowing robes, to be greeted in the marketplaces,
39 and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.
40 They devour widows' houses, and for a pretense they make long prayers. These men will receive a heavier judgment."
41 Sitting across from the treasury, he watched the crowd dropping coins into the offering box. Many rich people put in large amounts.
42 Then a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, worth a penny.
43 He called his disciples to him and said, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all the others putting into the treasury.
44 They all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in everything she had—all she had to live on.
Translation notes (43)
- Mark 12:1a The Greek word geōrgoi refers to tenant farmers who cultivate someone else's land in exchange for a portion of the produce.
- Mark 12:1b The opening of this passage deliberately echoes Isaiah 5:1–2, known as the Song of the Vineyard, where God plants a vineyard, walls it, and builds a winepress and tower. In Isaiah's parable, God ultimately destroys the vineyard; however, Jesus inverts this, as the vineyard stands, but the tenants face judgment.
- Mark 12:4a Some later manuscripts add the phrase 'they threw stones at him' before 'struck him on the head,' which is reflected in versions like the KJV and WEB; however, this phrase is not found in the critical Greek text.
- Mark 12:4b The phrase 'struck him on the head' translates the Greek word ekephaliōsan, which appears only once in the New Testament. The exact meaning, whether it refers to a single blow or a repeated beating, is uncertain; some scholars who study word meanings suggest it means 'beat about the head.'
- Mark 12:6a The phrase 'beloved son' (Greek: agapēton) echoes Mark 1:11 and 9:7, where God the Father names Jesus 'my beloved Son.' This is Mark's intentional way of highlighting Jesus' divine identity within the parable.
- Mark 12:6b The word 'respect' translates the Greek verb entrapēsontai, which carries a stronger sense of being morally compelled or shamed into showing deference toward the son's status.
- Mark 12:9a The Greek word kyrios can mean both 'owner' and 'Lord.' This parable echoes Isaiah 5:1–7, where the LORD of hosts is depicted as the owner of the vineyard.
- Mark 12:10a The Greek phrase 'head of the corner' (kephalēn gōnias) quotes Psalm 118:22 (or Psalm 117:22 in the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament). Scholars debate whether this refers to the capstone crowning the structure or the foundation cornerstone, but either way, it signifies the most important stone in the building.
- Mark 12:10b The phrase 'has become' translates a Greek verb (egenēthē) in the passive voice, meaning the action is done to the subject rather than by it. In this context, God is understood to be the one performing the action; compare verse 11.
- Mark 12:14a Greek 'you do not look at the face of people' — a Semitic idiom (cf. Lev 19:15; Deut 10:17) for showing no partiality, not judging by rank or appearance.
- Mark 12:14b The Greek word kēnsos (a Latin loanword, 'census') refers to the Roman poll-tax that was levied on peoples subject to Roman rule.
- Mark 12:14c The critical Greek text includes the repeated question, 'Should we pay, or shouldn't we?' (domen ē mē domen), which shows Mark's lively style of presenting a dilemma; the parallel accounts in Matthew and Luke do not include it.
- Mark 12:15a A denarius was a Roman silver coin, which was roughly a day's wage for a laborer.
- Mark 12:19a "Raise up offspring" (ἐξαναστήσῃ σπέρμα) echoes the levirate-marriage law of Deut 25:5–6 (LXX); the child legally counts as the dead brother's heir.
- Mark 12:20a The Greek phrase 'left no seed' (sperma) is a Semitic idiom, meaning 'left no offspring'.
- Mark 12:21a The Greek word 'seed' (sperma) in this verse means offspring.
- Mark 12:22a Some manuscripts add the phrase 'took her and' before 'left no children'; however, the critical Greek text prefers the shorter reading without this addition.
- Mark 12:23a Some early manuscripts do not include the phrase 'when they rise' (hotan anastōsin).
- Mark 12:25a This can also be translated 'are given in marriage,' which reflects the passive form of the Greek word gamizontai, meaning the action is done to them; however, in later Koine Greek, this verb could sometimes be used with the active meaning 'marry,' where they perform the action themselves.
- Mark 12:26a This can also be translated 'that they rise.' The Greek word egeirontai can be understood as either the subject doing the action to itself (middle voice) or having the action done to it (passive voice); therefore, both translations are acceptable.
- Mark 12:26b The phrase 'At the burning bush' (epi tou batou, literally 'at the bush') is a Jewish way of referring to Exodus 3:6, by naming the passage based on its opening subject.
- Mark 12:27a This can also be translated 'you have strayed far'; the Greek word planasthe means being led astray or wandering from the truth, and it is the same verb used in Mark 12:24.
- Mark 12:28a The Greek phrase prōtē pantōn means 'first of all,' indicating that it is foremost in rank. The scribe is asking which commandment is the most important.
- Mark 12:29a This can also be translated 'the LORD is our God, the LORD alone'—the Greek word heis (Hebrew echad) can mean either 'one' (implying unity) or 'alone/only' (implying exclusivity). The word order and grammatical structure of the Shema allow for several acceptable interpretations.
- Mark 12:29b Mark preserves the fuller form of the Shema (κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν κύριος εἷς ἐστιν, quoting Deut 6:4 LXX); Matt 22:37 and Luke 10:27 abbreviate.
- Mark 12:30a Mark expands the Shema (Deut 6:5) to four faculties (heart, soul, mind, strength). MT has three (heart, soul, might); LXX witnesses vary, with some including διάνοια ("mind/understanding") and others δύναμις or ἰσχύς. Mark's four-term form draws on these LXX traditions.
- Mark 12:30b The word 'Mind' translates the Greek word dianoia, which refers to the ability to think and understand, and is distinct from nous. Some translations render it 'understanding'.
- Mark 12:32a The Greek phrase 'he is one' refers to God, even though God is not explicitly named here; this understanding comes from the Shema quoted in verse 29.
- Mark 12:33a The Greek word ek, meaning 'out of' or 'from,' indicates the source from which love flows; it is rendered 'with' for more natural English.
- Mark 12:33b The critical Greek text reads 'heart, understanding, strength'; however, some manuscripts also include 'soul' (psychēs), which conforms to verse 30.
- Mark 12:34a The Greek word nounekhōs, which appears only once in the New Testament, comes from nous ('mind') and ekhō ('have'); it means 'with insight, sensibly, or with discernment.' This word is traditionally translated as 'wisely' or 'discreetly.'
- Mark 12:35a The Greek word here is Christos, which is traditionally rendered "Christ." The question in this verse examines whether "son of David" fully describes the Messiah, not whether it is a true description (compare verse 37).
- Mark 12:35b The Greek word hieron refers to the entire temple complex, including the outer courts, rather than the inner sanctuary (naos).
- Mark 12:36a This verse quotes Psalm 110:1. In the Hebrew text, the first "Lord" is YHWH and the second is adoni (meaning "my lord"); Mark's Greek translation, following the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, renders both as kyrios, and Jesus' argument relies on this double use.
- Mark 12:36b The critical Greek text reads "under your feet" (hypokatō). Many later manuscripts, however, read "a footstool for your feet" (hypopodion), which matches the Septuagint of Psalm 110:1.
- Mark 12:37a This can also be translated "most of the crowd." The Greek phrase ho polys ochlos can idiomatically mean "the majority of the crowd."
- Mark 12:37b The Greek verb ēkouen is in the imperfect tense, which suggests an ongoing or repeated action. Translating it as "kept listening" captures the sense of the crowd's continuous reception.
- Mark 12:38a Some later Byzantine manuscripts add "to them" after "said," but the critical Greek text omits this phrase.
- Mark 12:40a The Greek word prophasei refers to a pretext, which is an apparent reason used to hide the real motive, indicating a deliberate cover rather than mere display.
- Mark 12:40b The Greek word krima means "judgment" or "verdict." In this context, the warning points to God's final judgment, not merely a stricter earthly ruling.
- Mark 12:41a The Greek word chalkon literally means "bronze" or "copper," and it is used here as a general term for coinage.
- Mark 12:42a The Greek text mentions two lepta, which together equal a kodrantes (a Roman quadrans, the smallest Roman copper coin).
- Mark 12:44a The Greek word bios here refers to the resources by which someone lives day-to-day, rather than "life" itself (zōē); compare 1 John 3:17.
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