Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the inclusive form (including Jesus).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 20:22:
Noongar: “Tell us, if our law says if we must give taxes to the Roman Governor, or not?'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “So, that is why we (excl.) ask that you say to us (excl.), Teacher: according to the customs of our religion, are we indeed allowed/is it all right to pay taxes to Kaisar, or not?'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “What do you say. Is it following/in-accordance-with our (incl.) law if we (incl.) pay taxes to the King Leader of the Roman tribe or not?'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “What do you think — will we break the Law if we pay tax to our (incl.) king there in the town of Rome?'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Therefore please tell (us) if we (excl.) are breaking our (incl.) law if we (excl.) pay taxes to the Emperor in Roma.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Well what about this, is it in harmony with what Moises commanded that we (incl.) pay the payment which the Romano Impiradur who rules us causes to be paid? Is it possible/acceptable or not?'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
exestin … ē ou ‘is it lawful…, or (is it) not?’ for exestin cf. on 6.2.
Kaisari phoron dounai ‘to give, i.e. to pay, taxes to Caesar.’ For kaisar cf. on 2.1; here it is used as a title.
phoros (also 23.2) ‘tribute,’ ‘taxes,’ probably referring to direct taxes on land, or personal property, cf. IDB IV, 520ff.
Translation:
Is it lawful for us to give … or not, or, ‘shall we give, (or on the contrary) shall-we-not-give…’ (Enga). In some languages it is preferable to state the case first, e.g. ‘that we all pay taxes to the King-of-kings, is it right or not’ (Balinese). For lawful see also on 6.2. Us. One may hesitate here between exclusive and inclusive; the former is probably preferable because of the clear exclusive ‘we’ in v. 21, and the contrasting ‘you’ implied in the imperative in v. 25.
Tribute, preferably, ‘(personal) taxes.’
Caesar, or ‘the emperor/big chief/king-of-kings.’
Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.
After the spies praised Jesus insincerely in 20:21, they asked him a question. Their praise implied that because he was honest and fair, he would give them a true answer. In some languages, it may be necessary to introduce this question with a phrase or clause to connect it with 20:21. For example:
⌊So we ask you,⌋ is it lawful…
Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?: This question contains an ellipsis. The full form of the question has a positive part and a negative part:
Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or is it not lawful for us to pay taxes to him?
In some languages it may be more natural to translate only the positive part or only the negative part. The other part is already implied. For example:
Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar? -or-
Is it against our law to pay taxes to Caesar?
The spies wanted Jesus to answer their question clearly. They expected him to say either that it was right for Jews to pay taxes to Caesar, or that it was not right to pay those taxes. The question expresses a request for information. Some ways to translate it are:
• As a question:
Does the law permit us to pay taxes to Caesar or does it not permit us? -or-
Is it right or wrong for us to pay taxes to Caesar?
• As a request:
Tell us whether it is lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar.
Is it lawful for us: In this context the Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Is it lawful implies the meaning “Is it right ⌊according to God’s Law⌋” or “Does the ⌊Law of God⌋ permit.” The spies were not asking what the Roman law required. In some languages it may be necessary to indicate which law the spies asked about. For example:
Does the law ⌊of Moses⌋ allow us…? -or-
Does ⌊our⌋ law permit us…? -or-
…is it against our Law…? (Good News Translation)
The pronoun us refers to all Jews including Jesus. It does not refer only to the spies.
pay taxes to Caesar: The phrase pay taxes to Caesar refers to paying tax to the Roman government, of which Caesar was the leader. The Romans had conquered the Jews and were governing them. The taxes mentioned here refer to the money that the Roman government required each Jewish man to pay to them.
Caesar: The word Caesar was a title for the great king of the city of Rome and of the Roman empire. He ruled many countries and kings that the people of Rome had conquered. The title Caesar means “Emperor.” Some ways to translate the title Caesar here are:
• Use an equivalent title. For example:
the High King in Rome -or-
the Roman Emperor (Good News Translation) -or-
the high/paramount chief
• Use a more general term. For example:
the government of the Romans that rules us -or-
the ruler of the city of Rome
You may also want to add a footnote. For example:
“Emperor” was the title for the ruler of the people in the city of Rome. He also ruled over all the countries that Rome had conquered, including the country of the Jews.
The word Caesar also occurred in 2:1. See how you translated it there.
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