The sentence Tell us, then, what you think is similar to the one by which Jesus addressed Peter in 17.25.

Is it lawful may be taken either in a general sense (Moffatt, An American Translation, Barclay “is it right”), or else with specific reference to the Jewish Law (Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition “According to the Law of God, are we allowed”). Translators who follow this latter interpretation can also have “Does the Law of Moses permit us” or simply “Is it lawful.”

Pay taxes to Caesar may have to be restructured slightly, particularly if otherwise readers thought that the money had to be paid directly to Caesar rather than to one of the tax collectors who worked for the Roman Empire. “Pay the taxes that Caesar requires” is good.

Originally Caesar was a proper name, but it later became used as a title meaning “Emperor,” which is the way that it is used here: “the Roman Emperor” (Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .