12 And they were seeking to arrest him, and they were afraid of the crowd, because they knew that he had told the parable with reference to them. And they left him and[a] went away.

Paying Taxes to Caesar

13 And they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to him so that they could catch him unawares in a statement. 14 And when they[b] came, they said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and you do not care what anyone thinks,[c] because you do not regard the opinion of people[d] but teach the way of God in truth. Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?”

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 12:12 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“left”) has been translated as a finite verb
  2. Mark 12:14 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“came”) which is understood as temporal
  3. Mark 12:14 Literally “it is not a care to you concerning anyone”
  4. Mark 12:14 Literally “because you do not look at the face of men”

12 Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd;(A) so they left him and went away.(B)

Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar(C)

13 Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians(D) to Jesus to catch him(E) in his words. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax[a] to Caesar or not?

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 12:14 A special tax levied on subject peoples, not on Roman citizens