20:24a
Show Me a denarius: Jesus wanted his questioners to show him one of the coins people used to pay the Roman tax. So he asked them to show him a denarius coin. See the next note for more details.
denarius: The word denarius refers to a type of silver coin that Romans used as money. Each Roman coin had the name and image (picture) of Caesar on it. In this context that image is important. When Jesus answered the spies, he used Caesar’s image to teach them and the people an important truth. Some ways to translate denarius in this context are:
• Use a more general term or a descriptive phrase. For example:
the Roman tax coin/money
-or-
the ⌊type of⌋ coin used for paying taxes
-or-
a Roman coin (New Living Translation (2004))
• Use a borrowed word along with a general term. For example:
denarius coin
The word denarius occurred in the plural form in 7:41. However, in that context the focus was on the value of the coins, not on the image. You may need to translate in a different way here.
20:24b
In this part of the verse Jesus asked the spies a question about the denarius. It implies that someone had showed Jesus a denarius, as he requested in 20:24a. In some languages it may be helpful to make this explicit here. For example:
So they showed it to him
It may also be natural to introduce the question that Jesus asked the spies. For example:
Then he asked (Contemporary English Version)
Whose image and inscription are on it?: Jesus asked this question to prepare the people for what he wanted to teach them. Both Jesus and the spies knew the answer to this question, but Jesus still wanted them to say the answer and they did. Some ways to translate the question are:
Whose image and name are on it? (New Century Version)
-or-
Tell me whose picture and title ⌊you see⌋ on it.
image: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as image means “portrait” or “likeness.” On each denarius there was a picture of the emperor’s head. This image symbolically marked the coins as belonging to the emperor.
Genesis 1:26–27 indicates that God made man in his image. In 20:25c Jesus implied a comparison between the image of Caesar on the coin and the image of God on people. If you have already translated Genesis 1:26–27, it may be helpful to translate image with the same word that you used for “image” or “likeness” there. Do this only if it is clear and natural in your language. Other ways to translate image here are:
head (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
picture (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
face (Good News Translation)
-or-
image (New Century Version)
inscription: The inscription on a coin is the writing on it. The writing on a denarius included the name of the emperor. Some other ways to translate the word inscription are:
name (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
title (New Living Translation (2004))
20:24c
“Caesar’s,” they answered: The Berean Standard Bible places the words they answered in the middle of what the spies said in response to Jesus’ question. In some languages. it may be necessary to put these words at the beginning of 20:24c. For example:
And they said, “Caesar’s.”
Caesar’s: The word Caesar’s is the answer that the spies gave to Jesus’ question. In some languages it may be necessary to make this answer into a complete sentence. For example:
the spies told him, “⌊The picture/image and name⌋ of Caesar ⌊are on it⌋.”
they answered: The Berean Standard Bible puts the phrase they answered after the people’s answer. The Greek text places it before their answer. You may place this information where it is natural in your language.
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