Passage

Mark 12.15

Book: Mark · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"13. And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, that they might catch him in talk. 14. And when they were come, they say unto him, Teacher, we know that thou art true, and carest not for any one; for thou regardest not the person of men, but of a truth teachest the way of God: Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?"

"15. Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why make ye trial of me? bring me a denarius, that I may see it."

"16. And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's. 17. And Jesus said unto them, Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. And they marvelled greatly at him." (Mark 12:13-17, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"13. They sent some of the Pharisees and of the Herodians to him, that they might trap him with words. 14. When they had come, they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you are honest, and don’t defer to anyone; for you aren’t partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"

"15. Shall we give, or shall we not give?” But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test me? Bring me a denarius, that I may see it.”"

"16. They brought it. He said to them, “Whose is this image and inscription?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” 17. Jesus answered them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” They marveled greatly at him." (Mark 12:13-17, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"13. And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. 14. And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?"

"15. Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it. ^{penny: valuing of our money seven pence halfpenny}"

"16. And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's. 17. And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him." (Mark 12:13-17, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"13. and they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, that they may ensnare him in discourse, 14. and they having come, say to him, 'Teacher, we have known that thou art true, and thou art not caring for any one, for thou dost not look to the face of men, but in truth the way of God dost teach; is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not? may we give, or may we not give?'"

"15. And he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, 'Why me do ye tempt? bring me a denary, that I may see;'"

"16. and they brought, and he saith to them, 'Whose [is] this image, and the inscription?' and they said to him, 'Caesar's;' 17. and Jesus answering said to them, 'Give back the things of Caesar to Caesar, and the things of God to God;' and they did wonder at him." (Mark 12:13-17, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD

Quoted in

Jesus Didnt Know the Hour Objection Defeater

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.