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Matthew 22:15-22
New Century Version
Matthew 22:15-22
New Century Version
Is It Right to Pay Taxes or Not?
15 Then the Pharisees left that place and made plans to trap Jesus in saying something wrong. 16 They sent some of their own followers and some people from the group called Herodians.[a] They said, “Teacher, we know that you are an honest man and that you teach the truth about God’s way. You are not afraid of what other people think about you, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 So tell us what you think. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
18 But knowing that these leaders were trying to trick him, Jesus said, “You hypocrites! Why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me a coin used for paying the tax.” So the men showed him a coin.[b] 20 Then Jesus asked, “Whose image and name are on the coin?”
21 The men answered, “Caesar’s.”
Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and give to God the things that are God’s.”
22 When the men heard what Jesus said, they were amazed and left him and went away.
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Matthew 22:15-22
New International Version
Matthew 22:15-22
New International Version
Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar(A)
15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians.(B) “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax[a](C) to Caesar or not?”
18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
21 “Caesar’s,” they replied.
Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s,(D) and to God what is God’s.”
22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.(E)
Footnotes
- Matthew 22:17 A special tax levied on subject peoples, not on Roman citizens
New Century Version (NCV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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