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They[a] began to accuse[b] him, saying, “We found this man subverting[c] our nation, forbidding[d] us to pay the tribute tax[e] to Caesar[f] and claiming that he himself is Christ,[g] a king.”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 23:2 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  2. Luke 23:2 sn They began to accuse him. There were three charges: (1) disturbing Jewish peace; (2) fomenting rebellion through advocating not paying taxes (a lie—20:20-26); and (3) claiming to be a political threat to Rome, by claiming to be a king, an allusion to Jesus’ messianic claims. The second and third charges were a direct challenge to Roman authority. Pilate would be forced to do something about them.
  3. Luke 23:2 tn On the use of the term διαστρέφω (diastrephō) here, see L&N 31.71 and 88.264.sn Subverting our nation was a summary charge, as Jesus “subverted” the nation by making false claims of a political nature, as the next two detailed charges show.
  4. Luke 23:2 tn Grk “and forbidding.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated to suggest to the English reader that this and the following charge are specifics, while the previous charge was a summary one. See the note on the word “misleading” earlier in this verse.
  5. Luke 23:2 tn This was a “poll tax.” L&N 57.182 states this was “a payment made by the people of one nation to another, with the implication that this is a symbol of submission and dependence—‘tribute tax.’”
  6. Luke 23:2 tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).
  7. Luke 23:2 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”sn See the note on Christ in 2:11.