MARK 12:15 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test me? Bring to me a denarius so that I might look at it.”

UST However, Jesus realized that they were only pretending to respect him. He replied, “You are trying to make me say something wrong. Hand me a Roman coin so I can examine it.”

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

12:15 A denarius was customarily a day’s wage for a laborer; see Matthew 20:2.

BLB And knowing their hypocrisy, He said to them, "Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius, that I might see it."

AICNT But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why do you test me? Bring me a denarius so that I may see it.”

OEB Should we pay, or should we not pay?’ Knowing their hypocrisy, Jesus said to them, ‘Why are you testing me? Bring me a coin to look at.’

WEBBE Shall we give, or shall we not give?”
¶ But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test me? Bring me a denarius, that I may see it.”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET But he saw through their hypocrisy and said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”

LSV And He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you tempt Me? Bring Me a denarius, that I may see”;

FBV Should we pay up, or should we refuse?”
¶ Jesus, realizing how hypocritical they were, asked them, “Why are you trying to catch me out? Bring me a coin to look at.”

TCNT Should we give, or should we not give?” But knowing their hypocrisy, Jesus said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”

T4T Jesus knew that they did not really want to know what God wanted them to do. So he said to them, “◄I know that you are just trying to make me say something wrong for which you can arrest me./Why are you just trying to make me say something wrong for which you can arrest me?► [RHQ] But I will answer your question anyway. Bring me a coin so that I might ask you something after I look at it.”

LEB But because he[fn] knew their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius so that I can look at it!”[fn]

12:15 *Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“knew”) which is understood as causal

12:15 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation

BBE Are we to give or not to give? But he, conscious of their false hearts, said to them, Why do you put me to the test? give me a penny, so that I may see it.

Moff Are we to pay, or are we not to pay?' But he saw their trick and said to them, "Why tempt me? Bring me a shilling. Let me see it."

Wymth Shall we pay, or shall we refuse to pay?" But He, knowing their hypocrisy, replied, "Why try to ensnare me? Bring me a shilling for me to look at."

ASV Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why make ye trial of me? bring me a denarius, that I may see it.

DRA Who knowing their wiliness, saith to them: Why tempt you me? bring me a penny that I may see it.

YLT And he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, 'Why me do ye tempt? bring me a denary, that I may see;'

Drby Should we give, or should we not give? But he knowing their hypocrisy said unto them, Why tempt ye me? Bring me a denarius that I may see [it].

RV Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it.
(Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye/you_all me? bring me a penny, that I may see it. )

SLT Should we give, or not give? And he knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a drachma that I might see it.

Wbstr Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it .

KJB-1769 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it.
(Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye/you_all me? bring me a penny, that I may see it. )

KJB-1611 Shall we giue, or shall we not giue? But he knowing their hypocrisie, said vnto them, Why tempt yee mee? Bring me a [fn]penny that I may see it.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation and footnotes)

12:15 Valewing of our money seuen pence halfe penie, as Mat. 18.28.

Bshps Ought we to geue, or ought we not to geue? But he seeyng their hypocrisie, sayde vnto them: Why tempt ye me? Bryng me a penie, that I may see it.
(Ought we to give, or ought we not to give? But he seeing their hypocrisy, said unto them: Why tempt ye/you_all me? Bring me a penny, that I may see it.)

Gnva Should we giue it, or should we not giue it? but he knew their hypocrisie, and said vnto them, Why tempt ye me? Bring me a peny, that I may see it.
(Should we give it, or should we not give it? but he knew their hypocrisy, and said unto them, Why tempt ye/you_all me? Bring me a penny, that I may see it. )

Cvdl Ought we to geue it, or ought we not to geue it? But he perceaued their ypocrisye, and sayde vnto them: Why tempte ye me? Brynge me a peny, that I maye se it.
(Ought we to give it, or ought we not to give it? But he perceived their hypocrisy, and said unto them: Why tempt ye/you_all me? Bring me a penny, that I may see it.)

TNT Ought we to geve or ought we not to geve? He vnderstode their simulacion and sayde vnto them: Why tepte ye me? Brynge me a peny that I maye se that.
(Ought we to give or ought we not to give? He understood their simulation and said unto them: Why tempt ye/you_all me? Bring me a penny that I may see that. )

Wycl Which witynge her pryuei falsnesse, seide to hem, What tempten ye me? brynge ye to me a peny, that Y se.
(Which witing her pryuei falsness, said to hem, What tempten ye/you_all me? bring ye/you_all to me a penny, that I see.)

Luth Er aber merkete ihre Heuchelei und sprach zu ihnen: Was versuchet ihr mich? Bringet mir einen Groschen, daß ich ihn sehe.
(He but noticee their/her hypocrisy/pretence and spoke to/for to_them: What tried you(pl)/their/her me? Bring to_me a Groschen, that I him/it see.)

ClVg Qui sciens versutiam illorum, ait illos: Quid me tentatis? afferte mihi denarium ut videam.[fn]
(Who knowing versutiam of_them, he_said those: What me tentatis? bring_it to_me penny/denarius as seeam. )

12.15 Qui sciens versutiam. Qui putant interrogationem Salvatoris ignorationem esse, non dispensationem, ex hoc loco discant, quod potuit scire cujus imago esset. Sed interrogat, ut ad sermonem eorum competenter respondeat. Denarium. Denarius genus nummi qui pro decem nummis computatur, et habet imaginem Cæsaris.

12.15 Who knowing versutiam. Who they_think question(n)nem Saviour he/she_doesn't_knowionem to_be, not/no dispensation, from this instead let_them_learn, that could to_know whose imago was. But asks, as to conversation their competenter respondeat. Denarium. Denarius kind/class nummi who/which for ten nummis computatur, and has image Cæsaris.

UGNT ὁ δὲ εἰδὼς αὐτῶν τὴν ὑπόκρισιν, εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, τί με πειράζετε? φέρετέ μοι δηνάριον, ἵνα ἴδω.
(ho de eidōs autōn taʸn hupokrisin, eipen autois, ti me peirazete? ferete moi daʸnarion, hina idō.)

SBL-GNT ὁ δὲ εἰδὼς αὐτῶν τὴν ὑπόκρισιν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Τί με πειράζετε; φέρετέ μοι δηνάριον ἵνα ἴδω.
(ho de eidōs autōn taʸn hupokrisin eipen autois; Ti me peirazete; ferete moi daʸnarion hina idō.)

RP-GNT Δῶμεν, ἢ μὴ δῶμεν; Ὁ δὲ εἰδὼς αὐτῶν τὴν ὑπόκρισιν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Τί με πειράζετε; Φέρετέ μοι δηνάριον, ἵνα ἴδω.
(Dōmen, aʸ maʸ dōmen; Ho de eidōs autōn taʸn hupokrisin eipen autois, Ti me peirazete; Ferete moi daʸnarion, hina idō.)

TC-GNT Δῶμεν, ἢ μὴ δῶμεν; Ὁ δὲ εἰδὼς αὐτῶν τὴν ὑπόκρισιν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Τί με πειράζετε; Φέρετέ μοι δηνάριον, ἵνα ἴδω.
(Dōmen, aʸ maʸ dōmen; Ho de eidōs autōn taʸn hupokrisin eipen autois, Ti me peirazete; Ferete moi daʸnarion, hina idō. )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 12:13–17: Jewish leaders tried to trick Jesus with a question about paying taxes

The chief priests, the scribes, and the elders mentioned in 11:27 sent men to trick Jesus. They tried to trap him into saying something that they could use to cause trouble for him. The leaders sent men from two different groups, the Pharisees and the Herodians. These groups had plotted together against Jesus before in 3:6.

The men asked Jesus, “Should the Jews pay taxes to the Roman Emperor Caesar or not?” The word “Caesar” was the title that the Roman people gave to their highest ruler, the emperor.The Romans worshipped their emperor as a god. The Romans ruled the Jews and forced them to pay taxes. Although the Herodians and the Pharisees agreed to oppose Jesus, they disagreed about whether a person should pay taxes to the Roman emperor. The Herodians wanted the Romans to continue to rule the Jews, so they supported paying taxes. The Pharisees did not want the Romans to rule, and they were against paying taxes to them.

The men’s question was difficult because either a “yes” or a “no” answer would cause problems for Jesus. If Jesus answered, “Yes, the Jews should pay taxes to the Romans,” he would displease the Jews. If he answered, “No, they should not pay,” he would displease the Roman government. But Jesus answered wisely and avoided the trap that the Jewish leaders had set for him.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

Paying Taxes to Caesar (ESV)

The Question about Paying Taxes (GNT)

Jewish leaders ask Jesus about paying taxes

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 22:15–22 and Luke 20:20–26.

12:15a

But Jesus saw through their hypocrisy

But Jesus knew that they were not being sincere,
Jesus realized that they had a deceitful purpose for asking him the question.

But: The Greek word that the BSB translates as But connects the men’s question with Jesus’ response. The response contrasted with what the men expected. Use a natural way in your language to express this contrast.

Jesus saw through their hypocrisy: The Greek word that the BSB translates as saw through is more literally “knowing.” Jesus knew the men were asking the questions in 12:14f and 12:14g only because they wanted to trap him. They pretended to be sincere, but they were actually trying to get Jesus into trouble by making him give a wrong answer.

hypocrisy: The Greek word that the BSB translates as hypocrisy indicates that a person is different from how people think he is. He appears to have a certain purpose or attitude, but actually he has a very different purpose or attitude. People do not know that purpose or attitude. The men who questioned Jesus appeared to be sincerely concerned about whether it was right to pay taxes to Caesar. However, what they really wanted was to trap Jesus. See how you translated the related word “hypocrites” in 7:6a.

12:15b

and said, “Why are you testing Me?

He asked, “Why are you^(plur) trying to trick me into saying something wrong?
So he said to them, “You^(plur) should not be trying to trap me in order to accuse me!”

Jesus asked the question in this part of the verse because he knew that these men were not sincere. In some languages it may be natural to indicate a result connection. For example:

So he asked them

Why are you testing Me?: This is a rhetorical question. Jesus asked this question to rebuke the Pharisees and the Herodians. He knew that they were trying to trick him and he knew why they were trying to trick him. They wanted him to say something that would cause trouble for him. There are at least two ways to translate this rebuke:

As a rhetorical question, as in the BSB.
As a statement. For example:
You should not be trying to trick/test me!
You are trying to trap me into saying something wrong!

Use whichever form is most natural to express a rebuke in your language.

testing: The Greek word that the BSB translates as testing has almost the same meaning as the phrase that was translated “catch him in his words” in 12:13. The men were testing Jesus. They tried to make him say something that would cause trouble for him. In some languages it may be necessary to indicate the reason that the men were testing him. For example:

Why are you testing me to cause trouble for me?

Why are you trying to trick me into saying something that you can accuse me with?

12:15c

Bring Me a denarius to inspect.”

Bring me a denarius coin so I can see it.”
Then he said, “Show me one of the coins that people use to pay the tax.”

Bring Me a denarius to inspect: In some languages the two verb phrases Bring Me a denarius to inspect can be expressed with a single verb. For example, the CEV has:

Show me a coin!

Consider how your language would naturally express this request.

denarius: A denarius was a Roman coin that was made of silver. It was used by the Jews to pay their taxes to the Roman government. The denarius had the name and the image of Caesar on it.

Here are some other ways to translate denarius:

Use a more general term or a descriptive phrase. For example:
Roman coin/money
coin used for paying taxes
Use a borrowed word along with a general term. For example:
denarius coin

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

αὐτῶν τὴν ὑπόκρισιν

˱of˲_them (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ εἰδώς αὐτῶν τήν ὑπόκρισιν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Τί μέ πειράζετε Φέρετε μοί δηνάριον ἵνα ἴδω)

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of hypocrisy, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [that they were acting hypocritically] or [that they were being hypocritical]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

τί με πειράζετε?

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ εἰδώς αὐτῶν τήν ὑπόκρισιν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Τί μέ πειράζετε Φέρετε μοί δηνάριον ἵνα ἴδω)

Jesus is using the question form to rebuke the Herodians and the Pharisees. If you would not use the question form for this purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or an exclamation. Alternate translation: [I know that you are testing me.] or [Stop testing me!]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / yousingular

πειράζετε? φέρετέ

˱you_all˲_˓are˒_testing (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ εἰδώς αὐτῶν τήν ὑπόκρισιν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Τί μέ πειράζετε Φέρετε μοί δηνάριον ἵνα ἴδω)

Because Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees and the Herodians, the word you and the command Bring are plural.

Note 4 topic: translate-bmoney

δηνάριον

˓a˒_denarius

A denarius was a silver coin equivalent to about one day’s wage for a hired worker. You could try to express this amount in terms of current monetary values, but that might cause your Bible translation to become outdated and inaccurate, since those values can change over time. So instead you might state something more general or give the equivalent in wages. Alternate translation: [a silver coin] or [a coin worth one day’s wage]

Parallel MARK 12:15

Section 12:13–17: Jewish leaders tried to trick Jesus with a question about paying taxes

12:15a

12:15b

12:15c