Matthew 22:19-21

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Matthew 22:19 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate their response to Jesus’ request for a coin.
2. Matthew 22:19 tn Here the specific name of the coin was retained in the translation, because not all coins in circulation in Palestine at the time carried the image of Caesar. In other places δηνάριον (dēnarion) has been translated simply as “silver coin” with an explanatory note.sn A denarius was a silver coin worth approximately one day’s wage for a laborer. The fact that they had such a coin showed that they already operated in the economic world of Rome. The denarius would have had a picture of Tiberius Caesar stamped on it.
3. Matthew 22:20 tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
4. Matthew 22:20 tn Or “whose likeness.”sn In this passage Jesus points to the image (Grk εἰκών, eikōn) of Caesar on the coin. This same Greek word is used in Gen 1:26 (LXX) to state that humanity is made in the “image” of God. Jesus is making a subtle yet powerful contrast: Caesar’s image is on the denarius, so he can lay claim to money through taxation, but God’s image is on humanity, so he can lay claim to each individual life.
5. Matthew 22:21 tn Grk “they said to him.”
6. Matthew 22:21 tn Grk “then he said to them.” τότε (tote) has not been translated to avoid redundancy.
7. Matthew 22:21 sn Jesus’ answer to give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s was a both/and, not the questioners’ either/or. So he slipped out of their trap.