Matthew 22 - The Message (MSG)

The Story of the Wedding Banquet

22 1-3 Jesus responded by telling still more stories. “God’s kingdom,” he said, “is like a king who threw a wedding banquet for his son. He sent out servants to call in all the invited guests. And they wouldn’t come!

4 “He sent out another round of servants, instructing them to tell the guests, ‘Look, everything is on the table, the prime rib is ready for carving. Come to the feast!’

5-7 “They only shrugged their shoulders and went off, one to weed his garden, another to work in his shop. The rest, with nothing better to do, beat up on the messengers and then killed them. The king was outraged and sent his soldiers to destroy those thugs and level their city.

8-10 “Then he told his servants, ‘We have a wedding banquet all prepared but no guests. The ones I invited weren’t up to it. Go out into the busiest intersections in town and invite anyone you find to the banquet.’ The servants went out on the streets and rounded up everyone they laid eyes on, good and bad, regardless. And so the banquet was on—every place filled.

11-13 “When the king entered and looked over the scene, he spotted a man who wasn’t properly dressed. He said to him, ‘Friend, how dare you come in here looking like that!’ The man was speechless. Then the king told his servants, ‘Get him out of here—fast. Tie him up and ship him to hell. And make sure he doesn’t get back in.’

14 “That’s what I mean when I say, ‘Many get invited; only a few make it.’”

Paying Taxes

15-17 That’s when the Pharisees plotted a way to trap him into saying something damaging. They sent their disciples, with a few of Herod’s followers mixed in, to ask, “Teacher, we know you have integrity, teach the way of God accurately, are indifferent to popular opinion, and don’t pander to your students. So tell us honestly: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

18-19 Jesus knew they were up to no good. He said, “Why are you playing these games with me? Why are you trying to trap me? Do you have a coin? Let me see it.” They handed him a silver piece.

20 “This engraving—who does it look like? And whose name is on it?”

21 They said, “Caesar.”

“Then give Caesar what is his, and give God what is his.”

22 The Pharisees were speechless. They went off shaking their heads.

Marriage and Resurrection

23-28 That same day, Sadducees approached him. This is the party that denies any possibility of resurrection. They asked, “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies childless, his brother is obligated to marry his widow and father a child with her. Here’s a case where there were seven brothers. The first brother married and died, leaving no child, and his wife passed to his brother. The second brother also left her childless, then the third—and on and on, all seven. Eventually the wife died. Now here’s our question: At the resurrection, whose wife is she? She was a wife to each of them.”

29-33 Jesus answered, “You’re off base on two counts: You don’t know what God said, and you don’t know how God works. At the resurrection we’re beyond marriage. As with the angels, all our ecstasies and intimacies then will be with God. And regarding your speculation on whether the dead are raised or not, don’t you read your Bibles? The grammar is clear: God says, ‘I am—not was—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.’ The living God defines himself not as the God of dead men, but of the living.” Hearing this exchange the crowd was much impressed.

The Most Important Command

34-36 When the Pharisees heard how he had bested the Sadducees, they gathered their forces for an assault. One of their religion scholars spoke for them, posing a question they hoped would show him up: “Teacher, which command in God’s Law is the most important?”

37-40 Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.”

David’s Son and Master

41-42 As the Pharisees were regrouping, Jesus caught them off balance with his own test question: “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said, “David’s son.”

43-45 Jesus replied, “Well, if the Christ is David’s son, how do you explain that David, under inspiration, named Christ his ‘Master’?

God said to my Master,
“Sit here at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool.”

“Now if David calls him ‘Master,’ how can he at the same time be his son?”

46 That stumped them, literalists that they were. Unwilling to risk losing face again in one of these public verbal exchanges, they quit asking questions for good.

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Matthew 22 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

22 And Jesus answering, again spake to them in similes, saying, 2 `The reign of the heavens was likened to a man, a king, who made marriage-feasts for his son, 3 and he sent forth his servants to call those having been called to the marriage-feasts, and they were not willing to come. 4 `Again he sen...
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Matthew 22 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

22 And Jesus answered, and spake again in parables to them, and said, 2 The kingdom of heavens is made like to a king that made weddings to his son. [The kingdom of heavens is like to a man king that made weddings to his son.] 3 And he sent his servants to call men that were bidden to the weddings,...
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Matthew 22 - Worldwide English (New Testament) (WE)

22 Jesus told them other stories. 2 He said, `The kingdom of heaven is like this. A king made a wedding for his son. 3 The king sent his servants to call the people who had been asked to the wedding. But they would not come. 4 `He sent other servants to call them. He said, "Tell those who were asked...
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Matthew 22 - World English Bible (WEB)

22 Jesus answered and spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who made a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent out other servants, sayin...
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Matthew 22 - The Voice (VOICE)

22 Jesus went on speaking in parables. Jesus: 2 The kingdom of heaven is like a king whose son was getting married. The king organized a great feast, a huge wedding banquet. 3 He invited everyone he knew. The day of the wedding arrived, and the king sent his servants into town to track down his gue...
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Matthew 22 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Invitation to the Wedding Feast22 Yeshua answered and spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who made a wedding feast for his son. 3 He sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they wouldn’t come. 4 Again h...
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Matthew 22 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet22 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but they would not come. 4 Again he sent ...
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Matthew 22 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet22 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but they would not come. 4 Again he sent ...
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Matthew 22 - Revised Geneva Translation (RGT)

22 Then Jesus answered, and spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king who made a marriage feast for his son. 3 “And he sent forth his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding. But they would not come. 4 “Again, he sent forth other servants...
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Matthew 22 - New Testament for Everyone (NTE)

The Parable of the Wedding Feast22 Jesus spoke to them once again in parables. 2 ‘The kingdom of heaven’, he said, ‘is like a king who made a wedding feast for his son. 3 He sent his slaves to call the invited guests to the wedding, and they didn’t want to come. 4 ‘Again he sent other slaves, with ...
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Matthew 22 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet22 Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: 2 ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. 4 Again he se...
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Matthew 22 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet22 Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.(A)3 He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come.(B)4 Again he s...
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Matthew 22 - New Matthew Bible (NMB)

The marriage of the king’s son. Tribute should be given to the emperor. Christ confutes the opinion of the Sadducees concerning the resurrection, and answers the question posed by the scribe. 22 And Jesus spoke to them again in similitudes, saying, 2 The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who...
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Matthew 22 - New Living Translation (NLT)

Parable of the Great Feast22 Jesus also told them other parables. He said, 2 “The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son. 3 When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to c...
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Matthew 22 - New Life Version (NLV)

The Picture-Story of the Marriage Supper22 Again Jesus spoke to them in picture-stories. He said, 2 “The holy nation of heaven is like a king who gave a wedding supper for his son. 3 He sent his servants to tell the people, who had been asked, to come to the supper. But the people did not want to ...
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Matthew 22 - New King James Version (NKJV)

The Parable of the Wedding Feast(A)22 And Jesus answered (B)and spoke to them again by parables and said: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to com...
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