⁹ Then a proclamation was sent throughout Judah and Jerusalem, telling the people to bring to the Lord the tax that Moses, the servant of God, had required of the Israelites in the wilderness.

⁶ So the king called for Jehoiada the high priest and asked him, “Why haven’t you demanded that the Levites go out and collect the Temple taxes from the towns of Judah and from Jerusalem? Moses, the servant of the Lord, levied this tax on the community of Israel in order to maintain the Tabernacle of the Covenant.^[a]”

Payment of the Temple Tax

²⁴ On their arrival in Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax^[a] came to Peter and asked him, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the Temple tax?”

²⁵ “Yes, he does,” Peter replied. Then he went into the house.

But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Peter?^[b] Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered?^[c]”

²⁶ “They tax the people they have conquered,” Peter replied.

“Well, then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free! ²⁷ However, we don’t want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin.^[d] Take it and pay the tax for both of us.”