The Fallible Study Bible

The Fallible · Synthetic · Study Bible

Mark12:13–17

Paying Taxes to Caesar

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Mark 12:13–17 — Paying Taxes to Caesar. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

13

Later, they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to catch Jesus in His words.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai apostellousin pros auton tinas tōn Pharisaiōn kai tōn Hērōdianōn hina agreusōsin auton logō

Word by word14 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiLaterG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἀποστέλλουσινapostellousinthey sentG649
√ ἀποστέλλω — set apart, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
apostellō: to set apart, send on commission Historic present. The same verb stands behind apostolos: these men are sent ones too, an anti-mission dispatched against the Sent One. Gill identifies the senders as the chief priests, scribes and elders just silenced in the temple, so the delegation is a second attempt by a defeated party.
πρὸςprosG4314
√ πρός — a preposition of directionPreposition
αὐτόνautonG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
τιναςtinassomeG5100
√ τὶς — some or any person or objectInterrogative / Indefinite PronounAccusative Masculine Plural
τῶνtōnof theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Plural
ΦαρισαίωνPharisaiōnPhariseesG5330
√ Φαρισαῖος — a separatist, iNounGenitive Masculine Plural
Pharisaios: a separatist The party of scrupulous Torah observance, on principle restive under the Roman yoke.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
τῶνtōnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Plural
ἩρῳδιανῶνHērōdianōnHerodiansG2265
√ Ἡρωδιανοί — Herodians, iNounGenitive Masculine Plural
Hērōdianoi: partisans of the house of Herod A rare word (three verses). Their presence is the trap's hinge: Gill observes that the Pharisees scrupled to pay tribute to a heathen prince while the Herodians, holding their place under Caesar, were committed to paying it. Whichever way the answer fell, one half of the delegation was already a witness against Him.
ἵναhinatoG2443
√ ἵνα — compare G3588 (ὁ))Conjunction
hina: in order that Purpose clause governing the hunting verb.
ἀγρεύσωσινagreusōsincatchG64
√ ἀγρεύω — to hunt, iVerbAorist Subjunctive Active3rd Person Plural
agreuō: to hunt, take as game A hunting and fishing term; the Verifier's candidate list finds no other verse sharing this lexeme, which fits a very rare usage. It frames the questioners as trappers and Jesus as quarry, and it is the exact figure Gill draws out ("just as a prey is hunted, and taken in a net or snare"). Pulpit records Matthew's parallel verb παγιδεύσωσιν, which he renders "ensnare," so both evangelists reach for a trap rather than for a courtroom.
αὐτὸνauton[Jesus]G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
λόγῳlogōin [His] wordsG3056
√ λόγος — something said (including the thought)NounDative Masculine Singular
logos: something said, a word Dative of means or sphere. The weapon and the battlefield are both speech: they intend to make His own sentence the net.
14

“Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and seek favor from no one. Indeed, You are impartial and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or not?”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Didaskale kai elthontes legousin autō oidamen hoti ei alēthēs kai soi ou melei peri oudenos gar ou blepeis eis prosōpon anthrōpōn all’ didaskeis tēn hodon tou Theou ep’ alētheias exestin dounai kēnson Kaisari ē ou dōmen ē mē dōmen

Word by word39 · parsed
ΔιδάσκαλεDidaskaleTeacherG1320
√ διδάσκαλος — an instructor (genitive case or specially)NounVocative Masculine Singular
didaskalos: an instructor Vocative. The address is accurate and insincere at once. Cambridge notes that Nicodemus said the same words in sincerity (John 3:2); here it is, in Cambridge's word, hypocritical flattery, as though they were ready to honor Him as Messiah.
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐλθόντεςelthontesvvvG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
λέγουσινlegousinthey saidG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
αὐτῷautō. . .G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
οἴδαμενoidamenwe knowG1492
√ εἴδω — used only in certain past tenses, the others being borrowed from the equivalent G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι) and G3708 (ὁράω)VerbPerfect Indicative Active1st Person Plural
eidō: to know, to have seen Perfect indicative: "we have come to know, and so know." The settled certainty of the claim is part of the flattery.
ὅτιhotithatG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
εἶeiYou areG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active2nd Person Singular
ἀληθὴςalēthēshonestG227
√ ἀληθής — true (as not concealing)AdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
alēthēs: true, as not concealing The adjective is built on the privative sense of not hiding. The irony is total: men who are concealing their purpose commend Him for concealing nothing, and JFB notes that in this they said only the truth while hoping it would throw Him off His guard.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
σοιsoiG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Singular
οὐouvvvG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
μέλειmeleiseek favorG3199
√ μέλω — to be of interest to, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
melō: to be of concern to Impersonal verb. Nothing and no one is a weight in His scale.
περὶperifromG4012
√ περί — properly, through (all over), iPreposition
οὐδενόςoudenosno oneG3762
√ οὐδείς — not even one (man, woman or thing), iAdjectiveGenitive Masculine Singular
γὰρgarIndeedG1063
√ γάρ — properly, assigning a reason (used in argument, explanation or intensificationConjunction
οὐouvvvG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
βλέπειςblepeisYou are impartialG991
√ βλέπω — to look at (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Indicative Active2nd Person Singular
εἰςeis. . .G1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
πρόσωπονprosōpon. . .G4383
√ πρόσωπον — the front (as being towards view), iNounAccusative Neuter Singular
prosōpon: the front, the face The Hebraic idiom of face-lifting, that is, of judging by appearances rather than by the case. Geneva glosses it exactly: not judging by the outward appearance, so that the truth is not darkened. What they intend as bait is in fact the reason their trap fails.
ἀνθρώπωνanthrōpōn. . .G444
√ ἄνθρωπος — from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι))NounGenitive Masculine Plural
ἀλλ’all’[and]G235
√ ἀλλά — properly, other things, iConjunction
διδάσκειςdidaskeisteachG1321
√ διδάσκω — to teach (in the same broad application)VerbPresent Indicative Active2nd Person Singular
τὴνtēntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
ὁδὸνhodonwayG3598
√ ὁδός — a roadNounAccusative Feminine Singular
hodos: a road, a way A road, not a doctrine: the accusative object of διδάσκεις makes teaching the way of God a matter of showing people where to put their feet. Geneva's marginal note calls it the way by which we come to see God. ⚙ The irony is heavy, since the flatterers concede that He teaches the road and are at that moment trying to close it; and the same noun will name the followers of this road in Acts (Acts 9:2), so the compliment is truer than the speakers intend.
τοῦtouG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ΘεοῦTheouof GodG2316
√ θεός — figuratively, a magistrateNounGenitive Masculine Singular
ἐπ’ep’in accordance withG1909
√ ἐπί — properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etcPreposition
ἀληθείαςalētheias[the] truthG225
√ ἀλήθεια — truthNounGenitive Feminine Singular
alētheia: truth With ἐπί and the genitive, "upon the basis of truth," hence "truly, in accordance with truth." They concede the very standard by which their own question will be judged.
ἔξεστινexestinIs it lawfulG1832
√ ἔξεστι — so also neuter present participle of the same (with or without some form of G1510 (εἰμί) expressed)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
exesti: it is permitted, lawful The question is deliberately framed as a Torah question (is it permitted?) although Cambridge sees that the snare has been moved out of the ecclesiastical sphere into the far more dangerous area of political duty. An answer in either direction could be carried to a different court.
δοῦναιdounaito payG1325
√ δίδωμι — to give (used in a very wide application, properly, or by implication, literally or figurativelyVerbAorist Infinitive Active
κῆνσονkēnsontaxesG2778
√ κῆνσος — properly, an enrollment ("census"), iNounAccusative Masculine Singular
kēnsos: an enrollment, census, poll tax A Latin term naturalized into Greek and into Aramaic speech, rare in the New Testament (four verses). The census tax, unlike customs or temple dues, was the personal, per-head acknowledgment that one belonged to the enrolling power, which is exactly why it was hated.
ΚαίσαριKaisarito CaesarG2541
√ Καῖσαρ — Cæsar, a title of the Roman emperorNounDative Masculine Singular
Kaisar: Caesar, title of the Roman emperor Not a personal name but an office name; Pulpit records that the cognomen of Julius devolved upon his successors.
ἢēorG2228
√ ἤ — disjunctive, orConjunction
οὔounotG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
δῶμενdōmenShould we pay [them]G1325
√ δίδωμι — to give (used in a very wide application, properly, or by implication, literally or figurativelyVerbAorist Subjunctive Active1st Person Plural
didōmi: to give Deliberative subjunctive, repeated. Gill notices the escalation: they ask not only whether it is lawful but whether He advises it, so that He may be charged with persuading or dissuading.
ἢēorG2228
√ ἤ — disjunctive, orConjunction
μὴmēnotG3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
δῶμενdōmenG1325
√ δίδωμι — to give (used in a very wide application, properly, or by implication, literally or figurativelyVerbAorist Subjunctive Active1st Person Plural
15

But Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to inspect.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de Ho eidōs autōn tēn hypokrisin eipen autois Ti peirazete me pherete moi dēnarion hina idō

Word by word16 · parsed
δὲdeButG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ὉHoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
εἰδὼςeidōs[Jesus] saw throughG1492
√ εἴδω — used only in certain past tenses, the others being borrowed from the equivalent G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι) and G3708 (ὁράω)VerbPerfect Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
eidō: to see, hence to know Perfect participle. Mark's readers have watched this before (Mark 2:8): the question never reaches Him as a question, because the motive arrives with it. The trap fails at the level of knowledge, before any word of reply.
αὐτῶνautōntheirG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
τὴνtēnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
ὑπόκρισινhypokrisinhypocrisyG5272
√ ὑπόκρισις — acting under a feigned part, iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
hypokrisis: acting under a feigned part A rare noun (six verses), always of a mask over a settled intention. JFB describes the mechanism exactly: the malignity of their hearts took the form of craft, pretending an anxious desire to be rightly guided. The same word will be Paul's charge at Antioch (Galatians 2:13) and Peter's first item to put away (1 Peter 2:1).
εἶπενeipen[and] saidG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
αὐτοῖςautoisG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ΤίTiWhyG5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounAccusative Neuter Singular
πειράζετεpeirazeteare you testingG3985
√ πειράζω — to test (objectively), iVerbPresent Indicative Active2nd Person Plural
peirazō: to test, to tempt Present indicative: the testing is underway as He speaks, and the second person plural takes in both halves of the coalition at once. This is the verb Mark used of Satan in the wilderness (Mark 1:13), so by choosing it Jesus files the delegation under temptation rather than under inquiry: a question asked in order to destroy the one answering is not a question. Ellicott notes that Mark, unlike Matthew, does not record the word "hypocrites" on His lips here; the charge is carried instead by this verb and by the narrator's ὑπόκρισιν.
μεmeMeG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 1st Person Singular
φέρετέphereteBringG5342
√ φέρω — to "bear" or carry (in a very wide application, literally and figuratively, as follows)VerbPresent Imperative Active2nd Person Plural
pherō: to bear, carry Present imperative. He does not answer the question, He asks for evidence, and the evidence must come from their own pockets.
μοιmoiMeG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounDative 1st Person Singular
δηνάριονdēnariona denariusG1220
√ δηνάριον — a denarius (or ten asses)NounAccusative Neuter Singular
dēnarion: a denarius A day's wage for a laborer, and the standard coin of the imperial poll tax. Producing one is already a concession, since Pulpit records the maxim reported by Maimonides, that wherever a king's money is current, the inhabitants acknowledge that king as lord.
ἵναhinatoG2443
√ ἵνα — compare G3588 (ὁ))Conjunction
ἴδωidōinspectG3708
√ ὁράω — by extension, to attend toVerbAorist Subjunctive Active1st Person Singular
horaō: to see, to attend to Aorist subjunctive under ἵνα: "that I may see it." The whole reply will hang on what is looked at.
16

So they brought it, and He asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they answered.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de hoi ēnenkan kai legei autois Tinos hē eikōn hautē kai hē epigraphē Kaisaros de Hoi eipan autō

Word by word18 · parsed
δὲde[So]G1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
οἱhoiG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
ἤνεγκανēnenkanthey brought [it]G5342
√ φέρω — to "bear" or carry (in a very wide application, literally and figuratively, as follows)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
pherō: to bear, carry Aorist: they complied. The coin was available.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
λέγειlegeiHe askedG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
αὐτοῖςautoisthemG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ΤίνοςTinosWhoseG5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounGenitive Masculine Singular
ἡhēG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Feminine Singular
εἰκὼνeikōnimageG1504
√ εἰκών — a likeness, iNounNominative Feminine Singular
eikōn: a likeness, image Not merely a portrait but a representation carrying the authority of its original. Cambridge describes what was actually on the disc: the laureled head and, running around it, Tiberius Caesar, son of the deified Augustus, Augustus, Imperator. Cambridge adds that stricter Jews regarded the imperial image as idolatrous, and that Rome had therefore permitted a special imageless coinage for Judea, which makes the production of this particular coin significant.
αὕτηhautē[is] thisG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounNominative Feminine Singular
καὶkaiAndG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἡhē[whose]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Feminine Singular
ἐπιγραφήepigraphēinscriptionG1923
√ ἐπιγραφή — an inscriptionNounNominative Feminine Singular
epigraphē: an inscription A rare word (five verses). Mark will use it once more, of the charge written over a crucified man (Mark 15:26). A coin's legend names who owns the coin; a titulus names who is being executed and why.
ΚαίσαροςKaisarosCaesar’sG2541
√ Καῖσαρ — Cæsar, a title of the Roman emperorNounGenitive Masculine Singular
Kaisar: Caesar Genitive of possession, standing alone as a complete answer. Gill judges the emperor to be Tiberius, the then reigning emperor, which is the standard identification; Mark does not say.
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ΟἱHoiG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
εἶπανeipanthey answeredG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
αὐτῷautōG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
17

Then Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” And they marveled at Him.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de Ho Iēsous eipen autois apodote Kaisari Ta Kaisaros kai tō Theō ta tou Theou Kai exethaumazon ep’ autō

Word by word19 · parsed
δὲdeThenG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ὉHoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἸησοῦςIēsousJesusG2424
√ Ἰησοῦς — Jesus (iNounNominative Masculine Singular
εἶπενeipentoldG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
αὐτοῖςautoisthemG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ἀπόδοτεapodoteGiveG591
√ ἀποδίδωμι — to give away, iVerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Plural
apodidōmi: to give away, to give back what is due The decisive word of the unit. By exchanging their δοῦναι for ἀπόδοτε, Jesus converts a question about permission into a statement about debt: the coin is already Caesar's property, and returning property is not a political concession. Cambridge observes that the head, the legend and the currency of the coin were undeniable proof of the standing government's right to levy the tax.
ΚαίσαριKaisarito CaesarG2541
√ Καῖσαρ — Cæsar, a title of the Roman emperorNounDative Masculine Singular
Kaisar: Caesar Dative of the recipient. Pulpit notes that Jesus deliberately leaves untouched the disputed question of whether Rome had a right to rule Judea, and answers only from the undisputed fact that Rome's coin was current.
ΤὰTawhat isG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Plural
ΚαίσαροςKaisarosCaesar’sG2541
√ Καῖσαρ — Cæsar, a title of the Roman emperorNounGenitive Masculine Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
τῷtōG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Singular
ΘεῷTheōto GodG2316
√ θεός — figuratively, a magistrateNounDative Masculine Singular
theos: God The second dative. Cambridge draws the ordering out: obedience to Caesar must ever be conditioned by obedience to God, which is why the sentence cannot be read as a simple partition of life into two equal halves. Caesar's claim is bounded by what bears his stamp; God's claim is bounded by what bears His.
τὰtawhat isG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Plural
τοῦtouG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ΘεοῦTheouGod’sG2316
√ θεός — figuratively, a magistrateNounGenitive Masculine Singular
theos: God Genitive of possession, answering τὰ Καίσαρος. The parallel is exact in grammar and unequal in scope.
ΚαὶKaiAndG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐξεθαύμαζονexethaumazonthey marveledG2296
√ θαυμάζω — to wonderVerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
thaumazō: to wonder Intensified and in the imperfect. Cambridge notes why: neither the orthodox Pharisee nor the aristocratic royalist had expected such an answer from the Galilean Teacher. Henry adds the sting, that many will praise the words of a sermon who will not be ruled by its doctrine, and this delegation went away silent (Luke 20:26) rather than converted.
ἐπ’ep’atG1909
√ ἐπί — properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etcPreposition
αὐτῷautōHimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The coalition and the net — Mark 12:13

Mark opens with a historic present and a hunting verb: ἀποστέλλουσιν (G649) and ἀγρεύσωσιν (G64, used only here in the New Testament). Ellicott notes that in Matthew the Pharisees take counsel and send their disciples, while here the act appears as the result of a coalition of the two parties named, and he prefers "to entrap" for the verb. Gill presses the lexical point that the Verifier's parse supports: the figure is of prey hunted and taken in a net. The coalition itself is the trap's mechanism. Gill sets it out plainly, that the Pharisees scrupled to pay tribute to a heathen prince while the Herodians held their place under Caesar and were committed to paying it; Pulpit adds that if Jesus approved the tribute He would face the malice of a people proud of its freedom, and if He forbade it, the wrath of Rome. Cambridge notes that the Herodians came in person while the Pharisees sent younger scholars, and JFB, following Luke 20:20, calls these willing tools spies feigning righteousness so as to deliver Him to the governor's authority. The rare noun Ἡρῳδιανοί (G2265, three verses in all) has appeared once before in Mark, at 3:6, where the same two parties took counsel to destroy Him. ⚙ Mark has thus bracketed the whole Galilean and Judean ministry between one plot and its completion.

ii. True words in a false mouth — Mark 12:14

The flattery is doctrinally sound. They call Him ἀληθής (G227, true, as not concealing), say that nobody's opinion is a care to Him (οὐ μέλει σοι, G3199, impersonal), that He does not look into the face of men, and that He teaches the way of God upon truth. JFB observes that by such flattery, though they said only the truth, they hoped to throw Him off His guard. Ellicott identifies the middle clause as essentially Hebrew in form, made familiar by the Greek Old Testament, and Geneva glosses it as not judging by outward appearance, so that the truth is not darkened. Then the question, framed with ἔξεστιν (G1832) as though it were a matter of Torah permission, with the Latin loanword κῆνσος (G2778, four verses) at its center. Cambridge sees the move for what it is: the snare has left the ecclesiastical sphere for the more dangerous area of political duty, and the capitation tax named was the one keenly resented by Judas the Gaulonite and his followers. JFB identifies it as the civil poll tax paid by all enrolled in the census. Gill notices the second question as an escalation, since they ask not only whether it is lawful but whether He advises it, so that He might be charged with persuading or dissuading. ⚙ The deliberative subjunctive repeated (δῶμεν ἢ μὴ δῶμεν) is a demand for a reportable yes or no.

iii. Bring me a denarius — Mark 12:15-16

The reply begins before the reply: εἰδὼς (G1492, perfect participle) and ὑπόκρισιν (G5272). Ellicott records that Mark alone uses the specific word naming the questioners' sin, while omitting the word "hypocrites" from Jesus' own lips as Matthew has it; JFB describes the thing itself, that the malignity of their hearts took the form of craft, pretending what they did not feel. Instead of arguing, Jesus asks for evidence, and the evidence must be theirs. Cambridge, quoting Farrar, notes that they would not be likely to be carrying the hated Roman coinage though they could produce a temple shekel at once, yet a step outside the Court of the Gentiles would fetch one from the money-changers. Cambridge also describes the object: the laureled head with the legend Tiberius Caesar, son of the deified Augustus, Augustus, Imperator, and notes that Rome had allowed Judea a special imageless coinage precisely because the imperial image offended stricter Jews. The two nouns Jesus asks after are εἰκών (G1504) and ἐπιγραφή (G1923, five verses); JFB glosses the second as the words encircling the head on the obverse. Pulpit adds the principle from Maimonides by way of Lightfoot, that wherever a king's money is current the inhabitants acknowledge that king for lord. ⚙ The one-word genitive answer, Καίσαρος, is a confession: they have already settled the political question in their purses.

iv. Give back, and the surplus that breaks the trap — Mark 12:17

The verb changes. They asked about δοῦναι (G1325, to give); He answers with ἀπόδοτε (G591, aorist imperative), which Cambridge renders "Give back, pay as being due," noting that this was not a question of a voluntary gift but of a legal due. JFB sees that in this general form it was impossible for sedition itself to dispute the saying, and yet the snare dissolved. Pulpit observes that Jesus avoids altogether the doubtful question of whether Rome rightly ruled Judea and rests only on the undisputed fact of the current coin, then lifts the matter above the controversy of the hour to a principle belonging to all times and places. The weight falls on the unrequested second clause. JFB calls it a profound but, to them, startling addition, incomparable for fulness, brevity, clearness and weight; Cambridge insists that obedience to Caesar must ever be conditioned by obedience to God, and quotes Erasmus: give to God that which has the image and superscription of God, the soul. Pulpit quotes Tertullian to the same effect. Mark closes with ἐξεθαύμαζον (G2296), which Pulpit corrects from the aorist to this intensive imperfect, they stood marvelling greatly at Him. Henry's concise note is the sober coda: many will praise the words of a sermon who will not be commanded by its doctrines. ⚙ Luke adds that they held their peace and went away, so the wonder here is defeat, not faith.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ This is the tool's own fallible reading, offered to be tested. The trap assumed that Caesar and God are competitors for one indivisible loyalty, so that any answer must rob one of them. Jesus refuses the premise without ever denying either claim, and He does it by a question about property rather than a ruling about politics: whose likeness is stamped here, and whose name is written around it? Once that is answered, the coin is not a donation but a debt, and ἀπόδοτε (G591) settles it: return the thing to the one whose mark it carries. What makes the saying explosive is the clause nobody requested. If the rule is that a stamped thing goes back to the one whose image it bears, then the question every hearer must now ask is what bears God's image, and the answer, which Jesus leaves them to make, is the man holding the coin. Caesar's claim is therefore real and strictly bounded; he may have back the metal he minted. God's claim is not one item on the same list, because it covers the claimant. Tertullian and Erasmus, both quoted in the sources above, read it exactly this way, so the reading is not novel, though the inference from Genesis 1:27 is drawn by the reader rather than stated in Mark's Greek, and honesty requires saying so. Two consequences follow that this unit does not spell out and I hold loosely: first, that the saying grounds civil obedience without sanctifying any particular regime, since Jesus never says Rome ruled rightly, only that its coin was current; second, that the man who spoke it will shortly be handed to that same Caesar's governor by these same questioners, under an ἐπιγραφή of his own (Mark 15:26). The One who told them what belongs to God gave God the thing that bore God's image, and it cost Him his life.

⚙ A fallible reading, not Scripture: the coin goes back to the face it carries, and so do you.

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The same hour in three Gospels: the synoptic tribute question verbal / quotation: confirmed

Matthew and Luke record the same confrontation, and the shared vocabulary is dense and unusually rare. Matthew 22:19 has κῆνσος (G2778) and δηνάριον (G1220); Matthew 22:20 has ἐπιγραφή (G1923) and εἰκών (G1504); Luke 20:24 has all three of Καῖσαρ, δηνάριον and ἐπιγραφή; Matthew 22:21 repeats Καῖσαρ with ἀποδίδωμι (G591). Almost every commentator in this unit (Ellicott, Benson, Barnes, Poole, Gill) simply refers the reader to Matthew 22:15-22, which is itself evidence of how completely the accounts overlap. The Verifier confirms the shared lexemes; the differences the sources do note are Markan touches, chiefly ὑπόκρισις for Matthew's "wickedness" (Ellicott) and the imperfect ἐξεθαύμαζον (Pulpit).

Matthew 22:19 · Matthew 22:20 · Matthew 22:21 · Luke 20:24

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G2778 κῆνσος (in 4 vv, rare) and G1923 ἐπιγραφή (in 5 vv, rare), with G1504 εἰκών (in 20 vv), G1220 δηνάριον (in 15 vv), G2541 Καῖσαρ (in 23 vv), G591 ἀποδίδωμι (in 46 vv); all refs are New Testament Greek, so a verbal link is legitimate. This is parallel narration of one event, not a quotation of one text by another.

Pharisees and Herodians: the plot Mark opened at 3:6 verbal / quotation: confirmed

The noun Ἡρῳδιανοί (G2265) stands in only three verses in the New Testament, and two of them are Mark's. At Mark 3:6 the Pharisees go out and immediately take counsel with the Herodians against Jesus, how they might destroy Him, and that is the first death plot in the Gospel. Here the same improbable alliance reappears at the last week. Cambridge makes the connection explicitly, referring the reader to the note on Mark 3:6 and observing that as before, so now, the Jewish royalists united themselves with the ultra-orthodox Pharisaic party. ⚙ The recurrence looks like deliberate Markan framing rather than coincidence, though Mark does not say so.

Mark 3:6 · Matthew 22:16

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G2265 Ἡρῳδιανοί (in 3 vv, rare), with G5330 Φαρισαῖος (in 93 vv); Mark 3:6 and Matthew 22:16 are both Greek New Testament, so the verbal tier applies. The link is recurrence of a rare proper noun within one author, not a citation.

Two inscriptions: Caesar's coin and the charge over the cross verbal / quotation: confirmed

ἐπιγραφή (G1923) occurs in only five verses. Mark uses it twice: here, of the legend encircling Tiberius' head, which JFB describes as the words on the obverse side; and at Mark 15:26, of the writing of the charge against Him, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Luke 23:38 carries the same noun for the same titulus. ⚙ In the first case an inscription names who owns the coin; in the second, Rome's inscription names the crime and, without meaning to, names the King. The verbal link is real and computed; the irony is the machine's inference, not Mark's statement.

Mark 15:26 · Luke 23:38 · Matthew 22:20

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G1923 ἐπιγραφή (in 5 vv, rare), all refs New Testament Greek. Rarity justifies the verbal tier for the word link; the theological reading built on it is ⚙ synthesis and is marked as such.

The mask: hypokrisis from this scene to the apostolic letters verbal / quotation: confirmed

ὑπόκρισις (G5272), the stage word for acting a feigned part, appears in six verses. Ellicott notes that Mark alone selects it for this delegation. Jesus warns against it as the leaven of the Pharisees (Luke 12:1); Matthew 23:28 uses it of appearing righteous outwardly while full of lawlessness within; Paul charges Peter and even Barnabas with it at Antioch (Galatians 2:13); 1 Timothy 4:2 speaks of liars whose consciences are seared; 1 Peter 2:1 puts it on the list of things to lay aside. ⚙ The word travels from a trap set for Christ to a fault found in the church's own leaders, which is the point of tracing it.

Luke 12:1 · Matthew 23:28 · Galatians 2:13 · 1 Timothy 4:2 · 1 Peter 2:1

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G5272 ὑπόκρισις (in 6 vv, rare), with G5330 Φαρισαῖος (in 93 vv) at Luke 12:1; all refs New Testament Greek. A shared rare lexeme across independent passages, not a quotation.

Whose image? The stamp that decides ownership structural / thematic: confirmed

Jesus' rule is that a thing bearing a likeness and a name returns to the one whose likeness and name it bears. The coin carries Caesar's εἰκών (G1504). Genesis 1:27 says man was made in God's image, and Psalm 24:1 says the earth and its fullness are the LORD's, while Deuteronomy 6:4-5 demands the whole heart for the one LORD. Mark's Greek makes no quotation of any of these and names none of them. The link is a shared logic of image and ownership, drawn out in the sources themselves: Pulpit quotes Tertullian, give to Caesar his image stamped upon his coin and give to God his own image stamped upon you, and Cambridge quotes Erasmus, give to God that which has the image and superscription of God, the soul. ⚙ This is the reading I find most persuasive, but it is an inference the hearer must complete, not a statement in the text.

Genesis 1:27 · Psalm 24:1 · Deuteronomy 6:4

basis: Cross-Testament (Greek New Testament to Hebrew Old Testament), so no shared Strong's number is possible and no verbal tier is available. The recorded basis is a shared motif: a bearer stamped with an owner's image, and total divine claim on what is God's. Attested in the sources by Tertullian (via Pulpit) and Erasmus (via Cambridge), not by a citation formula in Mark.

Tribute to a foreign king in the Hebrew Scriptures structural / thematic: confirmed

The Pharisaic objection was that tribute to a heathen prince compromised a people who called God their king; Gill records exactly this, that they scrupled to pay because Caesar was a heathen prince and they the Lord's free people. The Hebrew Scriptures are less absolute. Ezra 4:13 treats tribute, custom and toll to the Persian crown as the normal obligation of the province, and Ezra 7:24 shows that same crown exempting temple servants from it. Daniel 2:21 says it is God who removes kings and sets up kings, and Proverbs 8:15 says that by wisdom kings reign. ⚙ Read together these make room for a genuine, bounded civil claim under an undisputed divine sovereignty, which is the space Jesus' answer occupies. No verbal link exists, and none is claimed.

Ezra 4:13 · Ezra 7:24 · Daniel 2:21 · Proverbs 8:15

basis: Cross-Testament (Greek to Hebrew), so shared Strong's numbers cannot be computed and the verbal tier is excluded. Basis is a shared institutional pattern: legitimate tribute owed to a foreign sovereign whose rule is itself under God's disposal. The Pharisaic scruple it answers is recorded in the sources by Gill.

Smooth words over a drawn sword structural / thematic: confirmed

"Teacher, we know that You are true" is accurate and murderous at once. The Psalms have a standing category for this: Psalm 12:2 describes flattering lips and a double heart, and Psalm 55:21 says the speech was smoother than butter while war was in the heart. Pulpit, closing on the marvel of v. 17, reaches for a third: the words of the psalmist were verified in them, the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands (Psalm 9:15), and adds that Jesus vaulted over the trap set for Him, leaving them entangled in it. ⚙ The motif is genuine and the Psalm 9 application is Pulpit's, not mine; Mark quotes none of these texts.

Psalm 12:2 · Psalm 55:21 · Psalm 9:15

basis: Cross-Testament (Greek to Hebrew), so no shared Strong's lexeme is computable and verbal tiering is excluded. Basis is a shared motif of flattering speech concealing a trap, and of the trapper caught in his own net. Psalm 9:15 is applied to this scene by Pulpit; Psalm 12:2 and Psalm 55:21 are ⚙ additions on the same motif.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The image on the coin and the Image of God ancient/widely-held

Jesus does not answer the tax question with a tax ruling; He answers it with the word εἰκών (G1504). A stamped thing belongs to the one whose stamp it bears. The ancient reading, recorded here in the sources themselves, carries that principle straight to the hearer: Tertullian, quoted by Pulpit, says give to Caesar his image stamped upon his coin and give to God his own image stamped upon you, so that in rendering Caesar his coin you render your own self to God; Erasmus, quoted by Cambridge, says give to God that which has the image and superscription of God, the soul. ⚙ The New Testament then takes one further step that this passage does not take for itself: the same noun names the Son as the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15, 2 Corinthians 4:4). If man returns to God what bears God's image, then the One standing in the temple holding the denarius is Himself what is owed, and He is the only hearer who rendered it whole.

Colossians 1:15 · 2 Corinthians 4:4 · Genesis 1:27

The second inscription novel

He asks after an ἐπιγραφή (G1923) in chapter 12 and receives one in chapter 15. The coin's legend read, in Cambridge's transcription, Tiberius Caesar, son of the deified Augustus; the writing over His head, in the same rare Greek word, read THE KING OF THE JEWS (Mark 15:26). ⚙ The men who produced Caesar's coin to trap Him would within days hand Him to Caesar's governor, and Rome would publish over Him a title truer than the one on its own silver. Mark makes the verbal link available by using the same uncommon noun twice in three chapters; he does not draw the conclusion, and I mark the reading as mine.

Mark 15:26 · Mark 12:16 · Luke 23:38

The One who was free and paid anyway novel

The rare noun κῆνσος (G2778) stands in only four verses, and JFB's note on this passage sends the reader to one of them: Matthew 17:25, where Jesus establishes that the sons are free, and then pays the tax so as to give no offense. ⚙ Read with Mark 12, the pattern is consistent and christological rather than merely prudential. He is under no obligation He did not assume, and He assumes it anyway. That disposition is not confined to coinage: Philippians 2:6-8 says He did not grasp equality with God but emptied Himself and became obedient to death. The freedom is real and the submission is voluntary, which is precisely what "give back to God the things of God" looks like when the giver owes nothing.

Matthew 17:25 · Philippians 2:6-8

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
  • Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

Text: BSB (CC0) with the Berean interlinear and Strong's parses supplied in the brief; the Greek word division and index numbers in the notes follow that interlinear, whose display order is aligned to the English and therefore does not always match the Greek word order (v. 14 is the clearest case, where the vocative Διδάσκαλε is listed first though καὶ ἐλθόντες opens the sentence). The literal renderings above follow the Greek order.

Sources: of the ten commentators available, Barnes and Poole contribute nothing substantive to this pericope. Barnes' entire note on each of the five verses is a referral to Matthew 22:15-22, and Poole's is a referral to the same place, his one long paragraph here being about the Sadducees of the following section rather than the tribute question. Benson is nearly as brief. That is itself a datum: the older English tradition treated Matthew's account as the primary text and Mark's as derivative, so this unit's exposition leans on Ellicott, JFB, Cambridge, Gill, Pulpit, Geneva and Henry.

Uncertain or secondary: the identification of the emperor as Tiberius is an inference, and Gill himself hedges it ("Augustus, or Tiberius; most probably the latter"); Mark names no emperor. Cambridge's transcription of the coin legend and Farrar's reconstruction of where the questioners obtained the denarius are both plausible historical reconstruction, not text. The maxim Pulpit cites, that wherever a king's money is current the inhabitants acknowledge that king as lord, is from Maimonides in the twelfth century by way of John Lightfoot, so it illustrates the principle rather than evidencing first-century practice. Pulpit's textual note that the true reading is the imperfect ἐξεθαύμαζον rather than the aorist ἐθαύμασαν agrees with the interlinear parse given in the brief.

Thread tiering: every link to the Hebrew Scriptures in this unit is tiered structural or thematic, because Mark quotes no Old Testament text here and because cross-Testament pairs cannot share a Strong's number, so no verbal basis is computable. The four verbal threads are Greek to Greek and rest on the Verifier's computed rare lexemes (G2265, G2778, G1923, G5272). The image-and-ownership reading of v. 17, though ancient (Tertullian, Erasmus), is an inference the text invites rather than a statement it makes, and is marked ⚙ wherever it is pressed.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)