Luke 20

Living_Oracles^{(i) 1} One of those days, as he was teaching the people in the temple, and publishing the good tidings, the chief priests, and the scribes, with the elders, came upon him, ² saying, Tell us by what authority you do these things; or who is he that empowered you? ³ He answering, said to them, I also have a question to put to you. Tell me, then, ⁴ Was the commission which John had to immerse, from heaven, or from men? ⁵ But they reasoned thus among themselves, If we say, From heaven, he will reply, Why, then, did you not believe him? ⁶ And if we say, From men, all the people will stone us; for they are persuaded that John was a prophet. ⁷ They therefore answered, that they could not tell whence. ⁸ Jesus replied, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things. ⁹ Then he spoke to the people this parable: A man planted a vineyard, and farmed it out, and having traveled, continued long abroad. ¹⁰ The season being come, he sent a servant to the husbandmen, to receive of the produce of the vineyard; but they beat him, and sent him back empty. ¹¹ Afterward, he sent another servant, whom they, having beaten, and used shamefully, also sent away empty. ¹² He afterward dispatched a third to them. Him, likewise, they wounded and drove away. ¹³ Then the proprietor of the vineyard said, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; they will surely reverence him, when they see him. ¹⁴ But when then husbandmen saw him, they reasoned thus among themselves, This is the heir, come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be our own. ¹⁵ And having thrust him out of the vineyard, they killed him. What, therefore, will the proprietor of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶ He will come and destroy those husbandmen, and give the vineyard to others. And some of his hearers said, God forbid. ¹⁷ Jesus, looking on them, said, What, then, means that expression of scripture, "A stone which the builders rejected, is made the head of the corner. ¹⁸ Whosoever shall fall upon that stone, shall be bruised; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will crush him to pieces"? ¹⁹ At that time, the chief priests and the scribes, knowing that he had spoken this parable against them, would have laid hands on him, but feared the people. ²⁰ And they watched him, and set spies upon him, instructing them to personate conscientious men, and surprise him in his words, that they might deliver him to the power and authority of the procurator. ²¹ These accosted him with this question, Rabbi, we know that you speak and teach uprightly, and that, without respect of persons, you faithfully recommend the way of God. ²² Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Cesar, or not? ²³ He perceiving their subtlety, answered, ²⁴ Why would you entangle me? Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription has it? They answered, Cesar's. ²⁵ He replied, Render, therefore, to Cesar, that which is Cesar's, and to God, that which is God's. ²⁶ Thus they could not surprise him in his discourses before the people; wherefore, admiring his answer, they kept silence. ²⁷ Afterward, some of the Sadducees, who deny a future state, came to him ²⁸ with this question: Rabbi, Moses has enjoined in his writings, that a man whose brother dies childless, outlived by his wife, shall marry the widow, and raise issue to his brother. ²⁹ Now there were seven brothers; the first of whom, having taken a wife, died childless; ³⁰ the second married the widow, and also died childless; ³¹ the third married her, as did likewise the rest; and all seven died, leaving no children. ³² Last of all, the woman also died. ³³ To which of them, therefore, will she be wife, at the resurrection; for she had been married to all the seven? ³⁴ Jesus answering, said to them, The people of this world marry, and are given in marriage; ³⁵ but, among them who shall be honored to share in the resurrection, and the other world, there will be neither marrying nor giving in marriage; ³⁶ for they can not die any more; because, like the angels, they are children of God, being children of the resurrection. ³⁷ But that the dead are raised, even Moses has suggested, calling the Lord who appeared in the bush, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. ³⁸ Now he is not a God of the dead, but of the living; for they are all alive to him. ³⁹ Then some of the scribes said to him, Rabbi, you have spoken well. ⁴⁰ After that, they did not venture to ask him any more questions. ⁴¹ And he said to them, Why is it affirmed that the Messiah must be a son of David? ⁴² Yet David himself says, in the book of the Psalms, "The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, ⁴³ till I make thy foes thy footstool." ⁴⁴ As David thus calls him his Lord, how can he be David's son? ⁴⁵ Then, in the audience of all the people, he said to his disciples, ⁴⁶ Beware of the scribes, who love to walk in robes, and affect salutations in public places, and the principal seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost places at feasts; ⁴⁷ who devour the families of widows, and make long prayers for a disguise. These shall suffer the severest punishment.