Luke 20:20-26

Paying Taxes to Caesar

20 And they watched [him] closely [and] 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}, but teach the way of God in truth.
22 Is it permitted [for] us to pay taxes 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] said, "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] in a statement in the sight of the people, and astonished at his answer, they became silent.

Footnotes 8

  • [a]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  • [b]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("watched closely") has been translated as a finite verb
  • [c]. Literally "receive face"
  • [d]. Or "the tribute tax"
  • [e]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("answered") has been translated as a finite verb
  • [f]. Some manuscripts have "And they said"
  • [g]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  • [h]. Some manuscripts explicitly state "him"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.