GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
Show me the tax money.” They brought to him a denarius.
He asked them, “Whose is this image and inscription?”
They said to him, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Matthew 22:19-21 sits inside this longer paragraph.
But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test me, you hypocrites? Show me the tax money.” They brought to him a denarius.
He asked them, “Whose is this image and inscription?”
They said to him, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Show me the tax money.” They brought to him a denarius.
He asked them, “Whose is this image and inscription?”
They said to him, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Let me se the tribute money. And they toke hym a peny.
And he sayde vnto them: whose is this ymage and superscripcion?
They sayde vnto him: Cesars. Then sayde he vnto them. Geve therfore to Cesar that which is Cesars: and geve vnto god that which is goddes.
Shewe me the tribute money. And they brought him a peny.
And he sayde vnto them, Whose is this image and superscription?
They sayd vnto him, Cesars. Then sayd he vnto them, Giue therefore to Cesar, the things which are Cesars, and giue vnto God, those things which are Gods.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v19 Before Matt. 17:24 there is mention made of a…
Before Matt. 17:24 there is mention made of a didrachma, and here, of a penny, whereas a didrachma is more by the seventh part than a penny: so that there seemeth to be a jar in these two places: but they may easily be recorded thus: The penny was paid to the Romans for tribute according to the proportion they were rated at, the drachma was paid of everyone to the Temple, which also the Romans took to themselves when they had subdued Judea.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv19–21 19 Shew me the tribute money. And they brought…
19 Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny.
Ver. 19. They brought unto him a penny] Monachi pecunias attingere pro piaculo ducunt. No Capuchin among the Papists may take or touch silver. This metal is as very anathema to these, as the wedge of gold to Achan; at the offer whereof he starts back, as Moses from the serpent. Yet he carries a boy with him that takes and carries it, and never complains of either metal or measure.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv19–21 They say unto him, Caesar's,.... Either Augustus Caesar's; for…
They say unto him, Caesar's,.... Either Augustus Caesar's; for there was a coin of that emperor's, as Dr. Hammond reports, from Occo, which had his image or picture on it, and in it these words written, Augustus Caesar, such a year, "after the taking of Judaea"; which if this was the coin, was a standing testimony of the subjection of the Jews to the Romans; and this being current with them, was an acknowledgment of it by them, and carried in it an argument of their obligation to pay tribute to them; or it might be Tiberius Caesar's, the then reigning emperor, in the nineteenth year of whose reign, Christ was crucified; and seeing he had reigned so long, it is reasonable to suppose, his money was very common, and most in use: we read in the Talmud (s), of , "a Caesarean penny", or "Caesar's penny", the same sort with this: now this penny having Caesar's image and inscription on it, our Lord tacitly suggests, that they ought to pay tribute to him; since his money was allowed of as current among them, which was in effect owning him to be their king; and which perfectly agrees with a rule of their own, which runs thus (t):
"A king whose "coin" is "current" in any country, the inhabitants of that country agree about him, and it is their joint opinion, "that he is their Lord, and they are his servants".''
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This being the case now with the Jews, Christ's advice is,
render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God, the things that are God's: give Caesar the tribute and custom, and fear, and honour, and obedience, which are due to him; which may be done without interfering with the honour of God, and prejudicing his interest and glory, when care is taken, that all the worship and obedience due to God are given to him: subjection to civil magistrates is not inconsistent with the reverence and fear of God; all are to have their dues rendered unto them, without entrenching upon one another. And the Jews themselves allow, that a king ought to have his dues, whether he be a king of Israel, or of the Gentiles:
"a publican, or tax gatherer, (they say (u),) that is appointed by the king, whether a king of Israel, or of the Gentiles, and takes what is fixed by the order of the government; it is forbidden to refuse payment of the tax to him, for , "the right of a king is right".''
Just and equitable, and he ought to have his right.
(s) T. Bab. Avoda Zara, fol. 6. 2. (t) Maimon. Hilch. Gerala, c. 5. sect. 18. (u) Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Nedarim. c. 3. sect. 4. & Maimon. Hilch. Gezala, c. 5. sect. 11.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv20–21 The tribute money - A Roman coin, stamped with…
The tribute money - A Roman coin, stamped with the head of Caesar, which was usually paid in tribute.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv19–21 Verse 19. They brought unto him a penny.] A…
Verse 19. They brought unto him a penny.] A denarius: probably the ordinary capitation tax, though the poll tax in the law, Ex 30:13-14, was half a shekel, about twice as much as the denarius. The Roman denarius had the emperor's image with a proper legend stamped on one side of it. It was not therefore the sacred shekel which was to be paid for the repairs of the temple which was now demanded, but the regular tribute required by the Roman government.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v21 Render therefore to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s.…
Render therefore to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s. He neither directly decided the question, nor offended the Herodians. They admired his wisdom, were quite disappointed, and retired with confusion. (Witham) --- The reasoning of Christ appears to be this: As you are the subjects of Cæsar, which you plainly acknowledge by admitting his coin, upon which he inscribes himself lord of Asia, Syria, and Judæa, &c. it is but just you pay him the tribute due from subjects to their sovereign; nor have you any reason to object on the plea of religion, since he demands of you for the exigencies of the public service only temporal things, and such are in some respects already his own, by being stamped with his own image and superscription. But spiritual things, which belong to God alone, as your souls, stamped with his image, divine worship, religious homage, &c. God, not Cæsar, demands of you. "Give therefore to Cæsar what belongeth to Cæsar, and to God what belongeth to God." (Tirinus) --- What our Saviour here commands us to give to God, is nothing else but our heart and affections. Here our divine Lord likewise shews us, how we are to steer the middle course between the two extremes, into which some persons fall. Some say that all must be given to God, and nothing to Cæsar, i.e. all our time must be given to the care of our soul, and none to the care of the body; but Christ teaches that some must be given to the one, and part to the other. (Origen) --- Although Christ clearly establishes here the strict obligation of paying to Cæsar what belongs to Cæsar, yet he is afterwards accused, as we have mentioned above, (see note on ver. 17) as if he forbade tribute to be paid to Cæsar. In like manner, in spite of the most explicit declarations of the Catholic Church, respecting her loyalty and subjection to temporal powers, her enemies fail not to calumniate here doctrine as inimical to the state, and subversive of due subordination. But let our opponents attend to the following authority and public declaration of Pope Clement XIV. addressed to all Catholic bishops in the Christian world. "Be careful," says he, "that those whose instruction in the law of the gospel is committed to your charge, be made sensible from their very infancy of their sacred obligation of loyalty to their kings, of respect to their authority, and of submission to their laws, not only for wrath, but for conscience sake." --- But princes should not exact, and subjects should not affect to give them ecclesiastical jurisdiction. St. Athanasius quotes the following strong words from an epistle of the famous confessor Hosius, to Constantius, the Arian emperor: "Cease, I beseech thee, and remember that thou art mortal. Fear the day of judgment, and meddle not with ecclesiastical matters; neither do thou command us in this kind, but rather learn of us. To thee God hath committed the empire; to us he hath committed what belongs to the Church. And as he who, with a malicious eye, hath designs upon thine empire, opposeth the ordinance of God; so do thou also beware lest, by an improper interference in ecclesiastical matters, thou be made guilty of a great crime. For it is written, Give to Cæsar, &c. Therefore, neither is it lawful for us on earth to hold the empire, neither hast thou, O emperor, power over incense and sacred things." (St. Athansius, ep. ad solit. vitam agentes.) --- And St. Ambrose to Valentinian, the emperor, (who by the ill counsel of his mother Justina, an Arian, required of St. Ambrose to have one church in Milan made over to the Arian heretics) saith: "We pay that which is Cæsar’s to Cæsar, and that which is God’s to God. Tribute is Cæsar’s; it is not denied. The Church is God’s; it cannot verily be yielded to Cæsar; because the temple of God cannot be Cæsar’s right. Be it said, as all must allow to the honour of the emperor, for what is more honourable than that the emperor be said to be the son of the Church? A good emperor is within the Church, but not above the Church." (St. Ambrose, lib. v. epist. Orat. de Basil, trad.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv19–21 19. Show me the tribute money — The rule…
19. Show me the tribute money — The rule of dominion among the Jews themselves was, “He is sovereign who stamps the coin.” By the very fact then that they had at hand as current coin the Roman penny, they acknowledged that the emperor was the established and settled governor of the country.
Brought unto him a penny — The Roman denarius was first coined B. C. 269, four years after the close of the first Punic war. It became current coin in Judea after its subjection. It was the pay of a day’s labour in Palestine; a soldier’s pay was less. Like our word dime, it signifies ten, that is, ten ases, but it was nearer the value of our shilling, being about fifteen cents.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv19–21 19. they brought unto him a penny] A Denarius,…
19. they brought unto him a penny] A Denarius, bearing probably the image of Tiberius. The Jewish coins were not impressed with the effigy of their kings. Herod Philip, alone of his family, out of flattery to the Emperor, had caused his coins to be stamped with the likeness of Cæsar.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv19–21 (19) Shew me the tribute money.—The parable of the…
(19) Shew me the tribute money.—The parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard (Mat_20:2) indicates that the denarius was in common circulation. It was probably part of the fiscal regulation of the Roman government that the poll-tax should be paid in that coin only. In any case, wherever it passed current, it was a witness that the independence of the country had passed away, and that Cæsar was in temporal things its real ruler.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv19–21 The tribute money; to nomisma tou khnsou : the…
The tribute money; to nomisma tou khnsou : the coin of the tribute; that is, the coin in which the tribute was paid. The reply to the question was wholly unexpected. The Pharisaic "disciples" had hoped that Christ would have taken part against the Herodians; but he gives no decision about the matter in dispute, such as they desired. He virtually rebukes their dissimulation, and makes their own action supply the verdict which they demanded. Not seeing the drift of his request, they brought unto him a penny; a denarius. (see on Mat_18:28) This was the amount of the capitation tax, and it was paid in Roman, not Jewish, coinage. Just at this period the Jews had no mintage of their own, and were forced to use Roman coins, which might well be called "tribute money."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv19, 21 19, 20. Shew me the tribute money. The Roman…
19, 20. Shew me the tribute money. The Roman coin was used to pay the poll-tax. A penny. The Roman denarius, a silver coin worth sixteen cents. It had on it the image and name of Tiberius Cæsar.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v20 to them
to them
Here "them" refers to the Herodians and the disciples of the Pharisees.
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Whose image and name are these?
Jesus uses a question to get the people to think deeply about what he is saying. AT: "Tell me whose image and name you see on this coin." (See: Rhetorical Question)
Caesar's
You can make clear the understood information in their response. AT: "The coin has Caesar's image and name on it" (See: Ellipsis)
things that are Caesar's
"things that belong to Caesar"
things that are God's
"things that belong to God"
translationWords
Jesus
image
Caesar
God
amazed
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv20–21 22:20 The poll tax had to be paid using…
22:20 The poll tax had to be paid using the denarius coin, which bore the picture and title of Caesar. Old Testament prohibitions against images (Exod 20:4; Lev 26:1; Deut 4:15-24) made the use of this coin controversial among Jews (see Josephus, War 2.9.2-3). Some Roman procurators apparently produced coins without images for use in Palestine in order not to offend the Jewish conscience.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.