Mark 12:14

George Lamsa Translation

They came and asked him, Master, we know that you are true, and you do not favor any man; for you are impartial, and you teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to give head-tax to Caesar or not?

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
When they came, they said to him, “Teacher, we know you are truthful and don’t care what anyone thinks, nor do you show partiality but teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

King James Version (1611)
And when they were come, they say vnto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth. Is it lawfull to giue tribute to Cesar, or not?

King James Version
And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?

English Standard Version
And they came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?"

New American Standard Bible
They came and said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are truthful and do not care what anyone thinks; for You are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God in truth. Is it permissible to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?

New Century Version
They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know that you are an honest man. You are not afraid of what other people think about you, because you pay no attention to who they are. And you teach the truth about God's way. Tell us: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

Amplified Bible
They came and said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are truthful and have no personal bias toward anyone; for You are not influenced by outward appearances or social status, but in truth You teach the way of God. Is it lawful [according to Jewish law and tradition] to pay the poll-tax to [Tiberius] Caesar, or not?

New American Standard Bible (1995)
They came and said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are truthful and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?

Legacy Standard Bible
And they *came and *said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are truthful and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay a tax to Caesar, or not?

Berean Standard Bible
"Teacher," they said, "we know that You are honest and are swayed by 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?"

Contemporary English Version
They went to him and said, "Teacher, we know that you are honest. You treat everyone with the same respect, no matter who they are. And you teach the truth about what God wants people to do. Tell us, should we pay taxes to the Emperor or not?"

Complete Jewish Bible
They came and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you tell the truth and are not concerned with what people think about you, since you pay no attention to a person's status but really teach what God's way is. Does Torah say that taxes are to be paid to the Roman Emperor, or not?"

Darby Translation
And they come and say to him, Teacher, we know that thou art true, and carest not for any one; for thou regardest not men's person, but teachest the way of God with truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not?

Easy-to-Read Version
They went to Jesus and said, "Teacher, we know that you are an honest man. You are not afraid of what others think about you. All people are the same to you. And you teach the truth about God's way. Tell us, is it right to pay taxes to Caesar? Should we pay them or not?"

Geneva Bible (1587)
And when they came, they saide vnto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou considerest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God truely, Is it lawfull to giue tribute to Cesar, or not?

Good News Translation
They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know that you tell the truth, without worrying about what people think. You pay no attention to anyone's status, but teach the truth about God's will for people. Tell us, is it against our Law to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor? Should we pay them or not?"

Lexham English Bible
And when they came, they said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are truthful and you do not care what anyone thinks, because you do not regard the opinion of people 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?"

Literal Translation
And coming, they said to Him, Teacher, we know that You are true, and there is not a care to You about anyone, for You do not look to the face of men, but teach on the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar,or not?

American Standard Version
And when they were come, they say unto him, Teacher, we know that thou art true, and carest not for any one; for thou regardest not the person of men, but of a truth teachest the way of God: Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?

Bible in Basic English
And when they had come, they said to him, Master, we are certain that you are true, and have no fear of anyone: you have no respect for a man's position, but you are teaching the true way of God: Is it right to give taxes to Caesar or not?

Hebrew Names Version
When they had come, they asked him, "Teacher, we know that you are honest, and don't defer to anyone; for you aren't partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?

International Standard Version
They came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere. You don't favor any individual, for you pay no attention to external appearance. Rather, you teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or should we not?"

Etheridge Translation
And they came and questioned him: Malphona, we know that thou art true, and that thou bearest not care for man: for thou regardest not the person of the sons of man, but in truth the way of Aloha thou teachest: Is it lawful to give headmoney to Caesar, or not ?

Murdock Translation
And these came, and asked him: Teacher; we know that thou art veracious, and hast no fear of man; for thou regardest not the face of men, but teachest the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to give capitation money to Caesar; or not? Shall we give, or not give?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And assoone as they were come, they sayde vnto hym: Maister, we knowe that thou art true, & carest for no man, for thou considerest not the persons of men, but teachest the way of god truely: Is it lawfull to pay tribute to Caesar, or not?

English Revised Version
And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest not for any one: for thou regardest not the person of men, but of a truth teachest the way of God: Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?

World English Bible
When they had come, they asked him, "Teacher, we know that you are honest, and don't defer to anyone; for you aren't partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And they coming say to him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man; for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to give tribute to Cesar, or not?

Weymouth's New Testament
So they came to Him. "Rabbi," they said, "we know that you are a truthful man and you do not fear any one; for you do not recognize human distinctions, but teach God's way truly. Is it allowable to pay poll-tax to Caesar, or not?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Whiche camen, and seien to hym, Maistir, we witen that thou art sothfast, and reckist not of ony man; for nethir thou biholdist in to the face of man, but thou techist the weie of God in treuthe. Is it leeueful that tribute be youun to the emperoure, or we schulen not yyue?

Update Bible Version
And when they had come, they say to him, Teacher, we know that you are true, and do not care about [what] anyone [thinks]; for you do not regard the person of men, but of a truth teach the way of God: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? Shall we give, or shall we not give?

Webster's Bible Translation
And when they had come, they say to him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Cesar, or not?

New English Translation
When they came they said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are truthful and do not court anyone's favor, because you show no partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn't we?"

New King James Version
When they had come, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?

New Living Translation
"Teacher," they said, "we know how honest you are. You are impartial and don't play favorites. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now tell us—is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

New Life Bible
They came to Him and said, "Teacher, we know You are true. We know You are not afraid of what men think or say about You. You teach the way of God in truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

New Revised Standard
And they came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, coming, they say unto him - Teacher! we know that, true, thou art, and it concerneth thee not about anyone, - for thou lookest not unto the face of men; but, in truth, the way of God, dost teach: - Is it allowable to give tax unto Caesar, or not? Should we give, or should we not give?

Douay-Rheims Bible
Who coming, say to him: Master, we know that thou art a true speaker and carest not for any man; for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar? Or shall we not give it?

Revised Standard Version
And they came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are true, and care for no man; for you do not regard the position of men, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And assone as they were come they sayd vnto him: master we knowe yt thou arte true and carest for no man: for thou consyderest not the degre of men but teachest the waye of God truly: Ys it laufull to paye tribute to Cesar or not?

Young's Literal Translation
and they having come, say to him, `Teacher, we have known that thou art true, and thou art not caring for any one, for thou dost not look to the face of men, but in truth the way of God dost teach; is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not? may we give, or may we not give?'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And they came, and sayde vnto hi: Master, we knowe that thou art true and carest for no man. For thou regardest not the outwarde appearaunce of men, but teachest ye waye of God truly. Is it laufull to geue tribute vnto the Emperoure, or not?

Mace New Testament (1729)
when they were come, they said to him, master, we know that you are sincere, that you are not influenced by any one, for you have no regard to the person of men: but teach us the way of God according to truth. now should we pay tribute to Cesar, or no? shall we pay, or shall we not pay?

Simplified Cowboy Version
They strolled up to Jesus like they were all friends and said, "Hey there professor, we know you are a straight shooter and don't say things just so people will like you. We know you teach the truth straight from God, but we've got a question for ya.

Contextual Overview

¹³ And they sent to him some men of the scribes and of the Herodians, that they might trap him by a word. ¹⁴ They came and asked him, Master, we know that you are true, and you do not favor any man; for you are impartial, and you teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to give head-tax to Caesar or not? ¹⁵ Shall we give or shall we not give? But he knew their scheme, and said to them, Why do you tempt me? Bring me a penny, that I may see it. ¹⁶ And they brought it to him. He said to them, Whose is this image and inscription? They said, Caesar''s. ¹⁷ Jesus said to them, Give to Caesar what is Caesar''s, and to God what is God''s. And they were amazed at him.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Master: Mark 14:45, Psalms 12:2-4, Psalms 55:21, Psalms 120:2, Proverbs 26:23-26, Jeremiah 42:2, Jeremiah 42:3, Jeremiah 42:20

we know: John 7:18, 2 Corinthians 2:2, 2 Corinthians 2:17, 2 Corinthians 4:1, 2 Corinthians 5:11, 1 Thessalonians 2:4

carest: Deuteronomy 33:9, Deuteronomy 33:10, 2 Chronicles 18:13, Isaiah 50:7-9, Jeremiah 15:19-21, Ezekiel 2:6, Ezekiel 2:7, Micah 3:8, 2 Corinthians 5:16, Galatians 1:10, Galatians 2:6, Galatians 2:11-14

for thou: Exodus 23:2-6, Deuteronomy 16:19, 2 Chronicles 19:7

is it: Ezra 4:12, Ezra 4:13, Nehemiah 9:37, Matthew 17:25-27, Matthew 22:17, Luke 20:22, Luke 23:2, Romans 13:6

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 1:17 - ye shall not Deuteronomy 10:17 - regardeth Proverbs 12:20 - Deceit Isaiah 58:2 - they ask Malachi 2:6 - law Matthew 22:16 - neither Mark 9:14 - the scribes Mark 10:17 - Good Luke 20:21 - Master John 3:2 - we know Acts 16:17 - the way Acts 18:25 - instructed 2 Corinthians 6:8 - true 2 Peter 2:2 - ways

Cross-References

Genesis 3:6
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and that the tree was delightful to look at, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and she also gave to her husband with her; and he did eat.

Genesis 6:2
That the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair; so they took them wives of all whom they chose.

Genesis 39:7
And it came to pass after these things that his masters wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said to him, Lie with me.

Matthew 5:28
But I say to you, that whoever looks at a woman with the desire to covet her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And when they were come,.... Unto Jesus in the temple:

they said unto him, master; they saluted him in like manner, as they did their doctors and Rabbins, calling him "Rabbi", though they were not his disciples; but one part of them were the disciples of the Pharisees, and the other had Herod for their master;

we know that thou art true; an honest, sincere, and upright man,

and carest for no man, for thou regardest not the person of men; no, not Caesar himself;

but teachest the way of God in truth; instructest men in the word, will, and worship of God, with all integrity and faithfulness; answer therefore this question,

is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not? The Syriac and Persic versions read, "head money"; and so it is read in Beza's most ancient copy; a tax that was levied on the heads of families; or on every particular head in a family; :-,

:-.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See the notes at Matthew 22:15-22.