Mark 12:13-17, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Mark 12:13-17
Jesus Refuses the Tax Trap and Names God's Claim
Pharisees and Herodians flatter Jesus and ask about Caesar's tax; he exposes the test, uses a denarius image and inscription, and distinguishes what belongs to Caesar from what belongs to God.
Why this sits here
The failed arrest attempt gives way to a series of verbal traps; the first combines Pharisees and Herodians around an imperial coin, and Jesus limits Caesar beneath God's claim.
Mark 12:13-17 opens with “And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his…” and closes with “And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and to God the….”
Why this reading fits
Interpretive limit or uncertainty
The saying avoids both simple revolt and unlimited state claim. What belongs to God is not defined as a leftover sphere; interpreters differ on irony, accommodation, and resistance.
A phrase that matters
give back / render
ἀπόδοτε · apodote
The verb asks what is owed to Caesar while leaving God's encompassing claim in view.
A needed correction
Reading Mark 12:13-17 in its complete Markan, Jewish, first-century, and Passion-shaped setting rules out these uses:
The saying does not grant governments unlimited authority.
It does not identify one modern tax policy or party as biblical.
Bearing an image does not make money or rulers divine.
What remains true
Jesus refuses a tax trap by limiting Caesar's claim beneath the total claim of God.
How this should shape us
What faithful practice follows?
Meet lawful civic obligations while testing state demands against what belongs to God: persons, truth, justice, and worship.
Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Read it sentence by sentenceEach line inside the larger movement
Narrative and structural evidence
Mark 12:13-17 opens with “And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his…” and closes with “And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and to God the….” The internal movement runs from “Pharisees and Herodians flatter Jesus and ask about Caesar's tax” to “distinguishes what belongs to Caesar from what belongs to God.”
Interpretive limit or uncertainty
The saying avoids both simple revolt and unlimited state claim. What belongs to God is not defined as a leftover sphere; interpreters differ on irony, accommodation, and resistance.
Original-language wording and grammarTechnical detail appears only where it helps
give back / render
The verb asks what is owed to Caesar while leaving God's encompassing claim in view.
How certain? probableWhat the first readers would have understoodRelevant history and culture
Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, and Roman rule
Mark narrates Jesus and Jewish contemporaries within first-century Galilean, Judean, temple, village, household, synagogue, and Roman-imperial settings. For Mark 12:13-17, the needed reconstruction is bounded by: The saying avoids both simple revolt and unlimited state claim. What belongs to God is not defined as a leftover sphere; interpreters differ on irony, accommodation, and resistance.
How certain? probableWhy translations sometimes differMaterial translation choices
KJV wording in 12:13-17
The pinned KJV remains displayed. SBLGNT, STEP, and NET comparison clarify older English, syntax, and material alternatives where this unit requires them: The saying avoids both simple revolt and unlimited state claim. What belongs to God is not defined as a leftover sphere; interpreters differ on irony, accommodation, and resistance.
How certain? probableEarlier Scripture and inherited backgroundSupported quotations, allusions, and inherited ideas
Israel's Scriptures and Jewish life
Mark 12:13-17 belongs inside Jewish Scripture, worship, purity, Sabbath, kingdom, temple, Passover, prophetic hope, and debate as locally relevant. Christian interpretation must preserve that first horizon and reject antisemitic or supersessionist caricature.
How certain? strongHow this connects with the rest of ScriptureThe passage's own meaning remains primary
Synoptic and canonical relationships
Mark's own wording and sequence control Mark 12:13-17. Matthew and Luke often reuse or reshape Mark under the widely supported Markan-priority model, while Matthean-priority and other models remain alternatives; parallels may clarify reception but cannot overwrite Mark.
How certain? probableTextual variantsManuscript differences only when they affect meaning
Text and transmission
Mark's textual history is checked against the SBLGNT and NET notes. The material local control is: The saying avoids both simple revolt and unlimited state claim. What belongs to God is not defined as a leftover sphere; interpreters differ on irony, accommodation, and resistance.
How certain? probableWhere careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters differ?
Best judgment: The saying avoids both simple revolt and unlimited state claim. What belongs to God is not defined as a leftover sphere; interpreters differ on irony, accommodation, and resistance.
How certain? probableTheology that emerges from this passageConclusions drawn after reading the complete section
Theological contribution
God's kingdom, Jesus' identity and authority, Passion-shaped service, faithful following, accountable power, mercy, resurrection hope, and care for vulnerable people control the theological use of Mark 12:13-17.
How certain? strongTheological contribution
Pharisees and Herodians flatter Jesus and ask about Caesar's tax; he exposes the test, uses a denarius image and inscription, and distinguishes what belongs to Caesar from what belongs to God.
How certain? strongCommon ways this passage gets misusedFair explanation, context check, and stronger reading
The saying does not grant governments unlimited authority.
A memorable line or action in movement 53 can be detached from its actors, first-century setting, and Mark's Passion-shaped plot.
Pharisees and Herodians flatter Jesus and ask about Caesar's tax; he exposes the test, uses a denarius image and inscription, and distinguishes what belongs to Caesar from what belongs to God.
Read Mark 12:13-17 as the complete unit, preserve The saying avoids both simple revolt and unlimited state claim. What belongs to God is not defined as a leftover sphere; interpreters differ on irony, accommodation, and resistance.
The saying does not grant governments unlimited authority.
It does not identify one modern tax policy or party as biblical.
A memorable line or action in movement 53 can be detached from its actors, first-century setting, and Mark's Passion-shaped plot.
Pharisees and Herodians flatter Jesus and ask about Caesar's tax; he exposes the test, uses a denarius image and inscription, and distinguishes what belongs to Caesar from what belongs to God.
Read Mark 12:13-17 as the complete unit, preserve The saying avoids both simple revolt and unlimited state claim. What belongs to God is not defined as a leftover sphere; interpreters differ on irony, accommodation, and resistance.
It does not identify one modern tax policy or party as biblical.
Bearing an image does not make money or rulers divine.
A memorable line or action in movement 53 can be detached from its actors, first-century setting, and Mark's Passion-shaped plot.
Pharisees and Herodians flatter Jesus and ask about Caesar's tax; he exposes the test, uses a denarius image and inscription, and distinguishes what belongs to Caesar from what belongs to God.
Read Mark 12:13-17 as the complete unit, preserve The saying avoids both simple revolt and unlimited state claim. What belongs to God is not defined as a leftover sphere; interpreters differ on irony, accommodation, and resistance.
Bearing an image does not make money or rulers divine.
Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Mark 12:13-17, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and material variants checked independently of the KJV.
Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Mark.txt, 12:13-17
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.
STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT Matthew–Acts data, rows for 12:13-17
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, older-English clarification, variants, background, and alternatives.
NET Bible Mark PDF, printed pp. 1868–1901, 12:13-17 and attached translator/textual notes
Supports: Narrative boundaries, plot, characterization, kingdom, Christology, discipleship, conflict, Passion, and ending.
Broadhead, Mark, printed pp. 88–101, Mark 11.1–13.37; subsection covering 12:13-17
Supports: Authorship/date limits, whole-book movement, secrecy, disciple failure, Passion, Sonship, and reader-first context.
Enter the Bible Mark course, Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, and related passage index; applied to 12:13-17
Supports: A complete confessional evangelical interpretation used as one traditioned voice, not consensus.
McKinley, “Mark,” Introduction and commentary heading covering Mark 12:13-17
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Exact location: Mark 12:13-17, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and material variants checked independently of the KJV.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Mark.txt, 12:13-17
Open the Mark Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT Matthew–Acts data, rows for 12:13-17
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Mark with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, older-English clarification, variants, background, and alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible Mark PDF, printed pp. 1868–1901, 12:13-17 and attached translator/textual notes
Open the official NET Mark PDF ↗modern scholarly narrative commentary
Mark, Second Edition
Edwin K. Broadhead
Sheffield Phoenix Press; distributed online by the Society of Biblical Literature, 2009
Supports: Narrative boundaries, plot, characterization, kingdom, Christology, discipleship, conflict, Passion, and ending.
Exact location: Broadhead, Mark, printed pp. 88–101, Mark 11.1–13.37; subsection covering 12:13-17
Open Broadhead's complete Mark commentary ↗modern scholarly book introduction
Mark course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Paul S. Berge; revised by Kristofer Phan Coffman
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, 2023 revision; current online course inspected 2026
Supports: Authorship/date limits, whole-book movement, secrecy, disciple failure, Passion, Sonship, and reader-first context.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Mark course, Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, and related passage index; applied to 12:13-17
Open the Enter the Bible Mark course ↗modern open confessional commentary
Mark
Mike McKinley
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023 online edition
Supports: A complete confessional evangelical interpretation used as one traditioned voice, not consensus.
Exact location: McKinley, “Mark,” Introduction and commentary heading covering Mark 12:13-17
Open McKinley's Mark commentary ↗