Luke 20 | King James Version :: ERF Bibleserver

King James Version

1 And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the elders, 2 And spake unto him, saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority? 3 And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me: 4 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? 5 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye him not? 6 But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet. 7 And they answered, that they could not tell whence it was. 8 And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things. 9 Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time. 10 And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. 11 And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. 12 And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out. 13 Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him. 14 But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. 15 So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them? 16 He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid. 17 And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? 18 Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. 19 And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them. 20 And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor. 21 And they asked him, saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, neither acceptest thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly: 22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no? 23 But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me? 24 Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar's. 25 And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's. 26 And they could not take hold of his words before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace. 27 Then came to him certain of the Sadducees, which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked him, 28 Saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man's brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 29 There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died without children. 30 And the second took her to wife, and he died childless. 31 And the third took her; and in like manner the seven also: and they left no children, and died. 32 Last of all the woman died also. 33 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them is she? for seven had her to wife. 34 And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: 35 But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: 36 Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. 37 Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38 For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. 39 Then certain of the scribes answering said, Master, thou hast well said. 40 And after that they durst not ask him any question at all. 41 And he said unto them, How say they that Christ is David's son? 42 And David himself saith in the book of Psalms, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 43 Till I make thine enemies thy footstool. 44 David therefore calleth him Lord, how is he then his son? 45 Then in the audience of all the people he said unto his disciples, 46 Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts; 47 Which devour widows' houses, and for a shew make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation.

New International Reader’s Version

The authority of Jesus is questioned

1 One day Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courtyard. He was announcing the good news to them. The chief priests and the teachers of the law came up to him. The elders came with them. 2 ‘Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,’ they all said. ‘Who gave you this authority?’ 3 Jesus replied, ‘I will also ask you a question. Tell me, 4 was John’s baptism from heaven? Or did it come from people?’ 5 They talked to one another about it. They said, ‘If we say, “From heaven”, he will ask, “Why didn’t you believe him?” 6 But if we say, “From people”, all the people will throw stones at us and kill us. They believe that John was a prophet.’ 7 So they answered Jesus, ‘We don’t know where John’s baptism came from.’ 8 Jesus said, ‘Then I won’t tell you by what authority I am doing these things either.’

The story of the tenants

9 Jesus went on to tell the people a story. ‘A man planted a vineyard,’ he said. ‘He rented it out to some farmers. Then he went away for a long time. 10 At harvest time he sent a slave to the tenants. They were supposed to give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat the slave. Then they sent him away with nothing. 11 So the man sent another slave. They beat that one and treated him badly. They also sent him away with nothing. 12 The man sent a third slave. The tenants wounded him and threw him out. 13 ‘Then the owner of the vineyard said, “What should I do? I have a son, and I love him. I will send him. Maybe they will respect him.” 14 ‘But when the tenants saw the son, they talked the matter over. “This is the one who will receive all the owner’s property someday,” they said. “Let’s kill him. Then everything will be ours.” 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard. And they killed him. ‘What will the owner of the vineyard do to the tenants? 16 He will come and kill them. He will give the vineyard to others.’ When the people heard this, they said, ‘We hope this never happens!’ 17 Jesus looked right at them and said, ‘Here is something I want you to explain the meaning of. It is written, ‘ “The stone the builders didn’t accept has become the most important stone of all.” (Ps 118:22) 18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces. But the stone will crush anyone it falls on.’ 19 The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest Jesus at once. They knew he had told that story against them. But they were afraid of the people.

Is it right to pay the royal tax to Caesar?

20 The religious leaders sent spies to keep a close watch on Jesus. The spies pretended to be sincere. They hoped they could trap Jesus with something he would say. Then they could hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. 21 So the spies questioned Jesus. ‘Teacher’, they said, ‘we know that you speak and teach what is right. We know you don’t favour one person over another. You teach the way of God truthfully. 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?’ 23 Jesus saw they were trying to trick him. So he said to them, 24 ‘Show me a silver coin. Whose picture and words are on it?’ ‘Caesar’s,’ they replied. 25 He said to them, ‘Then give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. And give back to God what belongs to God.’ 26 They were not able to trap him with what he had said there in front of all the people. Amazed by his answer, they became silent.

Marriage when the dead rise

27 The Sadducees do not believe that people rise from the dead. Some of them came to Jesus with a question. 28 ‘Teacher’, they said, ‘Moses wrote for us about a man’s brother who dies. Suppose the brother leaves a wife but has no children. Then the man must marry the widow. He must provide children to carry on his dead brother’s name. 29 There were seven brothers. The first one married a woman. He died without leaving any children. 30 The second one married her. 31 And then the third one married her. One after another, the seven brothers married her. They all died. None left any children. 32 Finally, the woman died too. 33 Now then, when the dead rise, whose wife will she be? All seven brothers were married to her.’ 34 Jesus replied, ‘People in this world get married. And their parents give them to be married. 35 But it will not be like that when the dead rise. Those who are considered worthy to take part in the world to come won’t get married. And their parents won’t give them to be married. 36 They can’t die anymore. They are like the angels. They are God’s children. They will be given a new form of life when the dead rise. 37 Remember the story of Moses and the burning bush. Even Moses showed that the dead rise. The Lord said to him, “I am the God of Abraham. I am the God of Isaac. And I am the God of Jacob.” (Ex 3:6) 38 He is not the God of the dead. He is the God of the living. In his eyes, everyone is alive.’ 39 Some of the teachers of the law replied, ‘You have spoken well, teacher!’ 40 And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Whose son is the Messiah?

41 Jesus said to them, ‘Why do people say that the Messiah is the son of David? 42 David himself says in the Book of Psalms, ‘ “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand 43 until I put your enemies under your control.’ ” (Ps 110:1) 44 David calls him “Lord”. So how can he be David’s son?’

Warning against the teachers of the law

45 All the people were listening. Jesus said to his disciples, 46 ‘Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in long robes. They love to be greeted with respect in the market. They love to have the most important seats in the synagogues. They also love to have the places of honour at banquets. 47 They take over the houses of widows. They say long prayers to show off. God will punish these men very much.’