When they handed it to him, he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied.
Parallel translations
- WEB They brought it. He said to them, “Whose is this image and inscription?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.”
- KJV And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar’s.
- BSB So they brought it, and He asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they answered.
- NKJV So they brought it. And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”
- NASB And they brought one. And He *said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
They bring a denarius, and Jesus asks whose image and inscription it bears; they answer, 'Caesar's.'
Overview
The coin bears Caesar's image, marking it as part of the civil order under his rule. Jesus uses their own acknowledgment to set up His answer. The mention of image subtly recalls that humans bear God's image and owe themselves to Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Matt 22:19–22Show me the tax money.” They brought to him a denarius.
- 2 Tim 2:19However God’s firm foundation stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let every one who names the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness.”
- Luke 20:24–26Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?” They answered, “Caesar’s.”
- Rev 3:12He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will go out from there no more. I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God, and my own new name.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 12:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.