20 (A)And so they watched Him [a]closely, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order (B)that they might catch Him in some statement, so that they could hand Him over to the jurisdiction and authority of (C)the governor. 21 And the spies questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You [b]are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God on the basis of truth. 22 Is it [c]permissible for us (D)to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 23 But He saw through their trickery and said to them, 24 “Show Me a [d]denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” 25 And He said to them, “Then (E)pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 26 And they were unable to (F)catch Him in a statement in the presence of the people; and they were amazed at His answer, and said nothing.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 20:20 Or maliciously
  2. Luke 20:21 Lit do not receive a face
  3. Luke 20:22 I.e., by Jewish law and tradition
  4. Luke 20:24 The denarius was a day’s wages for a laborer

Paying Taxes to Caesar

20 And they watched him[a] closely and[b] sent spies who pretended they were upright, in order that they could catch him in a statement, so that they could hand him over to the authority and the jurisdiction of the governor. 21 And they asked him, saying, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and do not show partiality,[c] but teach the way of God in truth. 22 Is it permitted for us to pay taxes[d] to Caesar or not?” 23 But seeing through their craftiness, he said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius! Whose image and inscription does it have?” And they answered and[e] said,[f] “Caesar’s.” 25 So he said to them, “Well then, give to Caesar the things of Caesar, and to God the things of God!” 26 And they were not able to catch him[g][h] in a statement in the sight of the people, and astonished at his answer, they became silent.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 20:20 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  2. Luke 20:20 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“watched closely”) has been translated as a finite verb
  3. Luke 20:21 Literally “receive face”
  4. Luke 20:22 Or “the tribute tax”
  5. Luke 20:24 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb
  6. Luke 20:24 Some manuscripts have “And they said”
  7. Luke 20:26 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  8. Luke 20:26 Some manuscripts explicitly state “him”