Section 12:13–17

Jewish leaders tried to trick Jesus with a question about paying taxes

The chief priests, the scribes, and the elders mentioned in 11:27 sent men to trick Jesus. They tried to trap him into saying something that they could use to cause trouble for him. The leaders sent men from two different groups, the Pharisees and the Herodians. These groups had plotted together against Jesus before in 3:6.

The men asked Jesus, “Should the Jews pay taxes to the Roman Emperor Caesar or not?” The word “Caesar” was the title that the Roman people gave to their highest ruler, the emperor. (The Romans worshipped their emperor as a god.) The Romans ruled the Jews and forced them to pay taxes. Although the Herodians and the Pharisees agreed to oppose Jesus, they disagreed about whether a person should pay taxes to the Roman emperor. The Herodians wanted the Romans to continue to rule the Jews, so they supported paying taxes. The Pharisees did not want the Romans to rule, and they were against paying taxes to them.

The men’s question was difficult because either a “yes” or a “no” answer would cause problems for Jesus. If Jesus answered, “Yes, the Jews should pay taxes to the Romans,” he would displease the Jews. If he answered, “No, they should not pay,” he would displease the Roman government. But Jesus answered wisely and avoided the trap that the Jewish leaders had set for him.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

Paying Taxes to Caesar (English Standard Version)
-or-
The Question about Paying Taxes (Good News Bible)
-or-
Jewish leaders ask Jesus about paying taxes

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 22:15–22 and Luke 20:20–26.

Paragraph 12:13–17

12:13a

Later: This verse is the beginning of a new story. The events in this story happened sometime after the events in the preceding section. The Berean Standard Bible introduces this story with the word Later. The Greek text does not indicate how much time passed between these two stories.

If it is natural in your language to begin a story with a time word or phrase, use an expression that is not too specific. For example:

Then
-or-
After that
-or-
Next (New Jerusalem Bible)

In some languages, a time word or phrase is not necessary. Introduce this story in a natural way in your language.

they sent some: The word they refers to the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders, who were mentioned in 11:27. In this context the phrase they sent some indicates that they told people to go to Jesus for a particular purpose.

Pharisees: The Pharisees were a Jewish religious group or party. It was very important to them to obey all of the Jewish religious laws very carefully and in detail. Here are some ways to translate this word:

• Transliterate the word Pharisees according to the sounds of your language and indicate that it refers to people. For example:

Farisi members
-or-
Parise adherents

• Transliterate the word Pharisees and indicate that it refers to a group of people with certain beliefs. For example:

people belonging to the Farise religious sect/group
-or-
members of the religious group called the Farasi

You may also want to include an explanation of Pharisees in the glossary of your translation.

Herodians: The Herodians were a political group that supported a ruler whose name was Herod. The New Testament often refers to Herod as a king, but he functioned more as a governor than as a king. The Roman government appointed him.

The Herodians were against Jesus because they were afraid that Jesus might defeat Herod and become the ruler himself. See the note on Herodians in 3:6b.

12:13b

to catch Jesus in His words: This phrase expresses the purpose for which the Jewish leaders sent the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus. They wanted to trick Jesus into saying something that would make either the Roman authorities or the Jewish people angry. Then the Jewish leaders would have an excuse to arrest him.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

to trick Jesus into saying something wrong (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
to try to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested (New Living Translation, 1996 edition)
-or-
to trap him with questions (Good News Bible)

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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