Peter said to him, “From strangers.” Jesus said to him, “Therefore the children are exempt.
Parallel translations
- KJV Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.
- BSB “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the sons are exempt,” Jesus declared.
- NKJV Peter said to Him, “From strangers.” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free.
- NASB When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are exempt.
- NLT “They tax the people they have conquered,” Peter replied. “Well, then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free!
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
Peter agrees that kings tax strangers, and Jesus concludes that the sons are therefore free. Jesus thus claims a unique relationship to God, whose temple it is.
Overview
As the Son of the God who dwells in the temple, Jesus is exempt from its tax, and his followers share in that freedom as God's children. The saying quietly asserts his divine sonship and the new standing of those united to him. Yet exemption will not become a stumbling block, as the next verse shows.
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 17:26 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
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