Logos Bible Study

Luke 20:24

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20:24“Show me a denarius.58 Whose image59 and inscription are on it?”60 They said, “Caesar’s.”

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Footnotes

  1. 58 Here the specific name of the coin was retained in the translation, because not all coins in circulation in Palestine at the time carried the image of Caesar. In other places δηνάριον (dēnarion) has been translated simply as “silver coin” with an explanatory note. A denarius was a silver coin worth approximately one day’s wage for a laborer. The fact that the leaders had such a coin showed that they already operated in the economic world of Rome. The denarius would have had a picture of Tiberius Caesar, the Roman emperor, on it.
  2. 59 Or “whose likeness.” In this passage Jesus points to the image (Grk εἰκών, eikōn) of Caesar on the coin. This same Greek word is used in Gen 1:26 () to state that humanity is made in the “image” of God. Jesus is making a subtle yet powerful contrast: Caesar’s image is on the denarius, so he can lay claim to money through taxation, but God’s image is on humanity, so he can lay claim to each individual life.
  3. 60 Grk “whose likeness and inscription does it have?”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

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

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?”

“Caesar’s,” they said.

NLTNew Living Translation

“Show me a Roman coin. Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“Show me a denarius! Whose image and inscription does it have?” And they answered and said, “Caesar’s.”

KJV 1900King James Version

Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar’s.