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¹ AND it came to pass on one of the days, while he was teaching the people and preaching in the temple, the high priests and the scribes with the elders rose up against him.² And they said to him, Tell us by what authority you do these things, and who gave you this authority?³ Jesus answered and said to them, I will also ask you a word, and you tell me;⁴ The baptism of John, was it from heaven or from men?⁵ And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we should say from heaven, he will say to us, Why then did you not believe him?⁶ And if we should say from men, all the people will stone us; for they regard John as a prophet.⁷ So they said to him, We do not know whence it is.⁸ Jesus said to them, Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

⁹ And he began to say this parable to the people, A man planted a vineyard, and leased it to laborers, and went on a journey for a long time.¹⁰ And at the season he sent his servant to the laborers to give him of the fruit of the vineyard; but the laborers beat him and sent him back empty.¹¹ And again he sent another of his servants; but they beat him also, and treated him shamefully, and sent him back empty.¹² And again he sent the third one; but they wounded him also, and threw him outside.¹³ Then the owner of the vineyard said, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will see him and feel ashamed.¹⁴ But when the laborers saw him, they reasoned with themselves, saying, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.¹⁵ So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore will the owner of the vineyard do to them?¹⁶ He will come and destroy those laborers, and give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, This will never happen.¹⁷ But he looked at them and said, What is it that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same became the cornerstone?¹⁸ Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; and on whomever it falls it will scatter him.¹⁹ The high priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him that very hour; but they were afraid of the people; for they knew that he had spoken this parable against them.

²⁰ So they sent spies disguised as righteous men, to ensnare him by a word, and to deliver him to the judge, and then to the authority of the governor.²¹ So they asked him, and said to him, Teacher, we know that you speak and teach truthfully, and you do not discriminate be- tween men, but you teach the way of God justly.²² Is it lawful for us to pay head-tax * to Caesar or not?²³ But he understood their craftiness and said, Why do you tempt me?²⁴ Show me a penny. Whose image and inscription are on it? They said, Caesar''s.²⁵ Jesus said to them, Give therefore to Caesar that which is Caesar''s and to God what is God''s.²⁶ And they were not able to get a word from him before the people; and they were amazed at his answer, and kept silence.

²⁷ Then came to him some of the men of the Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection; and they asked him,²⁸ Teacher, Moses wrote to us, that if a man''s brother should die, and has a wife without children, let his brother take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.²⁹ Now there were seven brothers; the first married and died without children.³⁰ The second married his wife, and he died without children.³¹ And the third one married her again; and likewise the seven of them; and they died leaving no children.³² And at last the woman also died.³³ Therefore at the resurrection to which one of them will she be a wife? for seven of them married her.³⁴ Jesus said to them, The sons of this world marry women, and women are given to men in marriage.³⁵ But those who are worthy of the other world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither take women in marriage nor are women given in marriage to men.³⁶ For they cannot die again, because they are like angels; and they are sons of God, because they are sons of the resurrection.³⁷ Now concerning the resurrection of the dead, even Moses pointed out; for he referred to it at the Bush when he said, The Lord God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.³⁸ God is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live to him.

³⁹ And some of the men of the scribes answered and said to him, Teacher, you have well said.⁴⁰ And they did not dare again to question him concerning anything.⁴¹ And he said to them, How can the scribes say concerning the Christ, that he is son of David?⁴² And yet David said in the book of Psalms, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand,⁴³ Until I put down your enemies under your feet.⁴⁴ If, therefore David calls him my Lord, how then can he be his son?⁴⁵ And while all the people were listening, he said to his disciples,⁴⁶ Beware of the scribes, who like to walk in long robes, and love to be greeted in the streets, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and the high places at the banquets;⁴⁷ Those who embezzle the property of widows with the pretence that they make long prayers; they will receive a greater judgment.