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Luke 20:19–25

Paying Taxes to Caesar

19 hThe scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. 20 iSo they jwatched him and sent spies, who kpretended to be sincere, that they might lcatch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of mthe governor. 21 So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and oshow no partiality,4 but truly teach pthe way of God. 22 Is it lawful for us to give qtribute to rCaesar, or not?” 23 But he perceived their scraftiness, and said to them, 24 Show me ta denarius.5 Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” 25 He said to them, Then urender to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

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Luke 20:19–25 — The New International Version (NIV)

19 The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.

20 Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. 21 So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

23 He saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

25 He said to them, Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

Luke 20:19–25 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

19 And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them.

20 And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor. 21 And they asked him, saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, neither acceptest thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly: 22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no? 23 But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me? 24 Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar’s. 25 And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.

Luke 20:19–25 — New Living Translation (NLT)

19 The teachers of religious law and the leading priests wanted to arrest Jesus immediately because they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the people’s reaction.

20 Watching for their opportunity, the leaders sent spies pretending to be honest men. They tried to get Jesus to say something that could be reported to the Roman governor so he would arrest Jesus. 21 “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you speak and teach what is right and are not influenced by what others think. You teach the way of God truthfully. 22 Now tell us—is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

23 He saw through their trickery and said, 24 Show me a Roman coin. Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

25 Well then,” he said, give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”

Luke 20:19–25 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

19 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people—for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.

20 So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.

21 Then they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth: 22 Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

23 But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, Why do you test Me? 24 Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?”

They answered and said, “Caesar’s.”

25 And He said to them, Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Luke 20:19–25 — New Century Version (NCV)

19 The teachers of the law and the leading priests wanted to arrest Jesus at once, because they knew the story was about them. But they were afraid of what the people would do.

20 So they watched Jesus and sent some spies who acted as if they were sincere. They wanted to trap Jesus in saying something wrong so they could hand him over to the authority and power of the governor. 21 So the spies asked Jesus, “Teacher, we know that what you say and teach is true. You pay no attention to who people are, and you always teach the truth about God’s way. 22 Tell us, is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

23 But Jesus, knowing they were trying to trick him, said, 24 “Show me a coin. Whose image and name are on it?”

They said, “Caesar’s.”

25 Jesus said to them, “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and give to God the things that are God’s.”

Luke 20:19–25 — American Standard Version (ASV)

19 And the scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him in that very hour; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he spake this parable against them. 20 And they watched him, and sent forth spies, who feigned themselves to be righteous, that they might take hold of his speech, so as to deliver him up to the rule and to the authority of the governor. 21 And they asked him, saying, Teacher, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, and acceptest not the person of any, but of a truth teachest the way of God: 22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? 23 But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, 24 Show me a denarius. Whose image and superscription hath it? And they said, Caesar’s. 25 And he said unto them, Then render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.

Luke 20:19–25 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

19 And the chief priests and the scribes sought the same hour to lay hands on him, and they feared the people; for they knew that he had spoken this parable of them.

20 And having watched him, they sent out suborned persons, pretending to be just men, that they might take hold of him in his language, so that they might deliver him up to the power and authority of the governor. 21 And they asked him saying, Teacher, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, and acceptest no man’s person, but teachest with truth the way of God: 22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not? 23 But perceiving their deceit he said to them, Why do ye tempt me? 24 Shew me a denarius. Whose image and superscription has it? And answering they said, Caesar’s. 25 And he said to them, Pay therefore what is Caesar’s to Caesar, and what is God’s to God.

Luke 20:19–25 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

19 The experts in Moses’ Teachings and the chief priests wanted to arrest him right there, but they were afraid of the people. They knew that he had directed this illustration at them. 

20 So they watched for an opportunity to send out some spies. The spies were to act like sincere religious people. They wanted to catch him saying the wrong thing so that they could hand him over to the governor. 21 They asked him, “Teacher, we know that you’re right in what you say and teach. Besides, you don’t play favorites. Rather, you teach the way of God truthfully. 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to the emperor or not?” 

23 He saw through their scheme, so he said to them, 24 “Show me a coin. Whose face and name is this?” 

They answered, “The emperor’s.” 

25 He said to them, “Well, then give the emperor what belongs to the emperor, and give God what belongs to God.” 

Luke 20:19–25 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

19 Then the scribes and the chief priests looked for a way to get their hands on Him that very hour, because they knew He had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.

20 They watched closely and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, so they could catch Him in what He said, to hand Him over to the governor’s rule and authority. 21 They questioned Him, “Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You don’t show partiality, but teach truthfully the way of God. 22 Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

23 But detecting their craftiness, He said to them, 24 Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?”

“Caesar’s,” they said.

25 Well then,” He told them, give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.”

Luke 20:19–25 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

19 When the scribes and chief priests realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to lay hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people.

20 So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be honest, in order to trap him by what he said, so as to hand him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor. 21 So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you are right in what you say and teach, and you show deference to no one, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. 22 Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” 23 But he perceived their craftiness and said to them, 24 Show me a denarius. Whose head and whose title does it bear?” They said, “The emperor’s.” 25 He said to them, Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Luke 20:19–25 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

19 And the scribes and the chief priests sought to lay their hands on him at that same hour, and they were afraid of the people, for they knew that he had told this parable with reference to them.

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!”

Luke 20:19–25 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

19 The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest Jesus at once. They knew he had told that story against them. But they were afraid of the people.

20 The religious leaders sent spies to keep a close watch on Jesus. The spies pretended to be honest. They hoped they could trap Jesus with something he would say. Then they could hand him over to the power and authority of the governor.

21 So the spies questioned Jesus. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you speak and teach what is right. We know you don’t favor one person over another. You teach the way of God truthfully. 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

23 Jesus saw they were trying to trick him. So he said to them, 24 “Show me a silver coin. Whose picture and words are on it?”

25 “Caesar’s,” they replied.

He said to them, “Then give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. And give to God what belongs to God.”

Luke 20:19–25 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

19 The scribes and the chief priests tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and they feared the people; for they understood that He spoke this parable against them.

20 So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order that they might catch Him in some statement, so that they could deliver Him to the rule and the authority of the governor.

21 They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth.

22 “Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

23 But He detected their trickery and said to them,

24 Show Me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.”

25 And He said to them, Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”


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