VERSE STUDY • KJV

Luke 20:19-25

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.

Read it in 5 translations

KJV King James Version

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.

BSB Berean Standard Bible

¹⁹ When the scribes and chief priests realized that Jesus had spoken this parable against them, they sought to arrest Him that very hour. But they were afraid of the people. ²⁰ So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor. ²¹ “Teacher,” they inquired, “we know that You speak and teach correctly. You show no partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. ²² Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” ²³ But Jesus saw through their duplicity and said to them, ²⁴ “Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?” “Caesar’s,” they answered. ²⁵ So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

WEB World English Bible

¹⁹ The chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him that very hour, but they feared the people—for they knew he had spoken this parable against them. ²⁰ They watched him, and sent out spies, who pretended to be righteous, that they might trap him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the power and authority of the governor. ²¹ They asked him, “Teacher, we know that you say and teach what is right, and aren’t partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God. 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 are on it?” They answered, “Caesar’s.” ²⁵ He said to them, “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

ASV American Standard Version

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 Cæsar, 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, Cæsar’s. ²⁵ And he said unto them, Then render unto Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.

YLT Young’s Literal Translation

¹⁹ And the chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him in that hour, and they feared the people, for they knew that against them he spake this simile. ²⁰ And, having watched him, they sent forth liers in wait, feigning themselves to be righteous, that they might take hold of his word, to deliver him up to the rule and to the authority of the governor, ²¹ and they questioned him, saying, ‘Teacher, we have known that thou dost say and teach rightly, and dost not accept a person, but in truth the way of God dost teach; ²² Is it lawful to us to give tribute to Caesar or not?’ ²³ And he, having perceived their craftiness, said unto them, ‘Why me do ye tempt? ²⁴ shew me a denary; of whom hath it an image and superscription?’ and they answering said, ‘Of Caesar:’ ²⁵ and he said to them, ‘Give back, therefore, the things of Caesar to Caesar, and the things of God to God;’

Surrounding context — Luke 20

16 He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard [it], they said, God forbid.

17 And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?

18 Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

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.

26 And they could not take hold of his words before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace.

27 Then came to [him] certain of the Sadducees, which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked him,

28 Saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man’s brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

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HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION

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