22:15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said.
22:16 So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality.
22:17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?”
22:18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites?
22:19 Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius.
22:20 Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?”
22:21 They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
22:22 When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.
Μt 22:15-22
15 Τότε πορευθέντες οἱ Φαρισαῖοι συμβούλιον ἔλαβον ὅπως αὐτὸν παγιδεύσωσιν ἐν λόγῳ.
16 Καὶ ἀποστέλλουσιν αὐτῷ τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτῶν μετὰ τῶν Ἡρῳδιανῶν λέγοντες· διδάσκαλε, οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἀληθὴς εἶ καὶ τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ διδάσκεις, καὶ οὐ μέλει σοι περὶ οὐδενός· οὐ γὰρ βλέπεις εἰς πρόσωπον ἀνθρώπων·
17 εἰπὲ οὖν ἡμῖν, τί σοι δοκεῖ; ἔξεστι δοῦναι κῆνσον Καίσαρι ἢ οὔ;
18Γνοὺς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὴν πονηρίαν αὐτῶν εἶπε· τί με πειράζετε, ὑποκριταί;
19 Ἐπιδείξατέ μοι τὸ νόμισμα τοῦ κήνσου. Οἱ δὲ προσήνεγκαν αὐτῷ δηνάριον.
20 Καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· τίνος ἡ εἰκὼν αὕτη καὶ ἡ ἐπιγραφή;
21 Λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Καίσαρος· τότε λέγει αὐτοῖς· ἀπόδοτε οὖν τὰ Καίσαρος Καίσαρι καὶ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῷ Θεῷ.
22 Καὶ ἀκούσαντες ἐθαύμασαν, καὶ ἀφέντες αὐτὸν ἀπῆλθον.
Comments
A rather straightforward passage for readers of Greek. Jesus is confronted with a malevolent ‘political hot potato’ as R. T. France describes it.
[15] συμβούλιον ἔλαβον ὅπως αὐτὸν παγιδεύσωσιν ἐν λόγῳ: ‘they held a council (συμβούλιον), i.e. deliberated, conferred’.
ὅπως αὐτὸν παγιδεύσωσιν ἐν λόγῳ: παγιδεύω, ‘I trap, ensnare’, a Hellenistic noun; cf. παγίς,ἡ, ‘trap, snare’ (dimin. of πάγη). The clause ὅπως αὐτὸν παγιδεύσωσιν is an indirect question and obj. of the expression ‘they deliberated, conferred how to’. (Although the question depends on a vb in the past tense, it is expressed in the subj. mood for the sake of vividness.) Thus in effect, ‘They conferred and deliberated, wondering how might we trap him?’
ἐν λόγῳ: dat. of place (or manner), ‘in speech’; the figurative snare was laid to catch Jesus in a trap of words.
[16] διδάσκαλε, οἴδαμεν: διδάσκαλος, ‘teacher’ < διδάσκω, ‘I teach’, also in Homer and cl. Gr. Cf. Engl. didactic.
οἴδαμεν:koine for ἴσμεν, ‘we know’ < oἶδα, ‘I know (by reflection)’ (LSJ).
οὐ μέλει σοι περὶ οὐδενός: the impers. μέλει + dat. pers., ‘it is of concern or interest to someone’. Thus: ‘You do not care for anyone’. They know that Jesus is indifferent to the possibility of earning enemies.
οὐ γὰρ βλέπεις εἰς πρόσωπον ἀνθρώπων: πρόσωπον, ‘face, countenance’; ‘mask’ (cl. Gk: LSJ); hence in LXX, ‘surface’ (Muraoka). Jesus does not look at the externals of persons.
[17] εἰπὲ οὖν ἡμῖν: the particle οὖν can introduce a logical conclusion that arises from a state of affairs or a real fact. ‘Given that you are impartial, tell us therefore…’
ἔξεστι δοῦναι: the impers. ἔξεστι + dat. pers. + inf., ‘it is allowed, permissible, possible’. δοῦναι, aor. inf. < δίδωμι, ‘I give’.
[18] Γνοὺς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὴν πονηρίαν αὐτῶν: Γνοὺς, aor. part. < γι(γ)νώσκω, ‘I perceive’. Πονηρία, here, ‘evil design and intention’ (LXX: Muraoka), hence malice. St Matthew stated their ill intent in v. 15.
[20] τίνος ἡ εἰκὼν αὕτη: εἰκὼν, ‘likeness, image, whether picture or statue’ (cl. Gk: LSJ). The representation of Tiberius on the denarius is both a picture and a relief (related to a statue). The demonstrative pron. αὕτη is a deictic word, ‘THIS here image’. One can imagine Jesus pointing to the image of the emperor. Here he is looking at the literal πρόσωπον of a human being on the coin; cf. v.16, οὐ γὰρ βλέπεις εἰς πρόσωπον ἀνθρώπων.
[21] ἀπόδοτε οὖν: postpositive οὖν again introduces a logical deduction; cf. v. 17, where the particle is also combined with an imperative, εἰπὲ οὖν.
ἀπόδοτε: 2nd pers. pl. imperat. < ἀποδίδωμι, ‘I return, pay back’.
[22] Καὶ ἀκούσαντες ἐθαύμασαν: θαυμάζω, abs., ‘I wonder, marvel’ (already in Homer: LSJ). Jesus’ pithy and witty answer thwarted their trap; they were ‘amazed’ (in the Engl. text) or ‘shocked’.
Insights into Biblical Greek Grammar and Syntax 