Mark 12:13-17

Expanded Bible

Is It Right to Pay Taxes or Not?^(A)

¹³ Later, the Jewish leaders sent some Pharisees and Herodians [^Ca political group that supported king Herod and his family; 3:6] to Jesus to ·trap [catch] him in saying something wrong. ¹⁴ They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are ·an honest man [true; honest; sincere]. You are not ·afraid of [concerned about] what other people think about you, because you ·pay no attention to who they are [play no favorites; are impartial; aren’t swayed by appearances]. And you teach ·the truth [with sincerity/honesty] about God’s way. Tell us: Is it ·right [permissible; lawful] to pay taxes to Caesar or not? ¹⁵ Should we pay them, or not?” [^CSaying “yes” would anger Jews who hated Roman rule; saying “no” could result in being charged with insurrection.]

But knowing ·what these men were really trying to do [^Ltheir hypocrisy], Jesus said to them, “Why are you ·trying to trap [testing] me? Bring me a ·coin [^Ldenarius; ^Ca Roman coin worth a day’s wages] to look at.” ¹⁶ They gave Jesus a coin, and he asked, “Whose ·image [likeness; portrait] and ·name [inscription] are on the coin?”

They answered, “Caesar’s.” [^CIronically, the religious leaders carry coins bearing the idolatrous image of Caesar.]

¹⁷ Then Jesus said to them, “·Give [^TRender] to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and give to God the things that are God’s.” They were amazed at what Jesus said.