Deuteronomy 17:15

17:15 you must select without fail¹ a king whom the Lord your God chooses. From among your fellow citizens² you must appoint a king – you may not designate a foreigner who is not one of your fellow Israelites.³

Ezra 4:13

4:13 Let the king also be aware that if this city is built and its walls are completed, no more tax, custom, or toll will be paid, and the royal treasury⁴ will suffer loss.

Ezra 4:19-22

4:19 So I gave orders,⁵ and it was determined⁶ that this city from long ago has been engaging in insurrection against kings. It has continually engaged in⁷ rebellion and revolt. 4:20 Powerful kings have been over Jerusalem who ruled throughout the entire Trans-Euphrates⁸ and who were the beneficiaries of⁹ tribute, custom, and toll. 4:21 Now give orders that these men cease their work and that this city not be rebuilt until such time as I so instruct.¹⁰ 4:22 Exercise appropriate caution so that there is no negligence in this matter. Why should danger increase to the point that kings sustain damage?”

Ezra 9:7

9:7 From the days of our fathers until this very day our guilt has been great. Because of our iniquities we, along with our kings and¹¹ priests, have been delivered over by the local kings¹² to sword, captivity, plunder, and embarrassment – right up to the present time.

Nehemiah 5:4

5:4 Then there were those who said, “We have borrowed money to pay our taxes to the king¹³ on our fields and our vineyards.

Nehemiah 9:37

9:37 Its abundant produce goes to the kings you have placed over us due to our sins. They rule over our bodies and our livestock as they see fit,¹⁴ and we are in great distress!

Matthew 22:17-21

22:17 Tell us then, what do you think? Is it right¹⁵ to pay taxes¹⁶ to Caesar¹⁷ or not?”

22:18 But Jesus realized their evil intentions and said, “Hypocrites! Why are you testing me? 22:19 Show me the coin used for the tax.” So¹⁸ they brought him a denarius.¹⁹ 22:20 Jesus²⁰ said to them, “Whose image²¹ is this, and whose inscription?” 22:21 They replied,²² “Caesar’s.” He said to them,²³ “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”²⁴

Mark 12:14-17

12:14 When they came they said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and do not court anyone’s favor, because you show no partiality²⁵ but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.²⁶ Is it right²⁷ to pay taxes²⁸ to Caesar²⁹ or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?” 12:15 But he saw through their hypocrisy and said³⁰ to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius³¹ and let me look at it.” 12:16 So³² they brought one, and he said to them, “Whose image³³ is this, and whose inscription?” They replied,³⁴ “Caesar’s.” 12:17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”³⁵ And they were utterly amazed at him.

Acts 5:37

5:37 After him Judas the Galilean arose in the days of the census,³⁶ and incited people to follow him in revolt.³⁷ He too was killed, and all who followed him were scattered.

¹tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, indicated in the translation by the words “without fail.”

²tn Heb “your brothers,” but not referring to siblings (cf. NIV “your brother Israelites”; NLT “a fellow Israelite”). The same phrase also occurs in v. 20.

³tn Heb “your brothers.” See the preceding note on “fellow citizens.”

⁴tn Aram “the treasury of kings.” The plural “kings” is Hebrew, not Aramaic. If the plural is intended in a numerical sense the reference is not just to Artaxerxes but to his successors as well. Some scholars understand this to be the plural of majesty, referring to Artaxerxes. See F. C. Fensham, Ezra and Nehemiah (NICOT), 74.

⁵tn Aram “from me was placed a decree.”

⁶tn Aram “and they searched and found.”

⁷tn Aram “are being done.”

⁸sn The statement that prior Jewish kings ruled over the entire Trans-Euphrates is an overstatement. Not even in the days of David and Solomon did the kingdom of Israel extend its borders to such an extent.

⁹tn Aram “were being given to them.”

¹⁰tn Aram “until a command is issued from me.”

¹¹tc The MT lacks “and” here, but see the LXX and Vulgate.

¹²tn Heb “the kings of the lands.”

¹³tn Heb “for the tax of the king.”

¹⁴tn Heb “according to their desire.”

¹⁵tn Or “lawful,” that is, in accordance with God’s divine law. On the syntax of ἔξεστιν (exestin) with an infinitive and accusative, see BDF §409.3.

¹⁶tn According to L&N 57.180 the term κῆνσος (khnso") was borrowed from Latin and referred to a poll tax, a tax paid by each adult male to the Roman government.

¹⁷tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

¹⁸tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate their response to Jesus’ request for a coin.

¹⁹tn 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 (dhnarion) has been translated simply as “silver coin” with an explanatory note.

²⁰tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

²¹tn Or “whose likeness.”

²²tn Grk “they said to him.”

²³tn Grk “then he said to them.” τότε (tote) has not been translated to avoid redundancy.

²⁴sn Jesus’ answer to give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s was a both/and, not the questioners’ either/or. So he slipped out of their trap.

²⁵tn Grk “and it is not a concern to you about anyone because you do not see the face of men.”

²⁶sn Teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Very few comments are as deceitful as this one; they did not really believe this at all. The question of the Pharisees and Herodians was specifically designed to trap Jesus.

²⁷tn Or “lawful,” that is, in accordance with God’s divine law. On the syntax of ἔξεστιν (exestin) with an infinitive and accusative, see BDF §409.3.

²⁸tn According to L&N 57.180 the term κῆνσος (khnso") was borrowed from Latin and referred to a poll tax, a tax paid by each adult male to the Roman government.

²⁹tn Or “the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

³⁰tn Grk “Aware of their hypocrisy he said.”

³¹tn 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 (dhnarion) has been translated simply as “silver coin” with an explanatory note.

³²tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate their response to Jesus’ request for a coin.

³³tn Or “whose likeness.”

³⁴tn Grk “they said to him.”

³⁵sn Jesus’ answer to give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s was a both/and, not the questioners’ either/or. So he slipped out of their trap.

³⁶tn Or “registration.”

³⁷tn The verb ἀφίστημι (afisthmi) as a transitive means “cause to revolt” as used in Josephus, Ant. 8.7.5 (8.198), 20.5.2 (20.102); see BDAG 157 s.v. 1.