Matthew 22:20
New International Version
and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

New Living Translation
he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”

English Standard Version
And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”

Berean Standard Bible
“Whose image is this,” He asked, “and whose inscription?”

Berean Literal Bible
And He says to them, "Whose likeness and whose inscription is this?"

King James Bible
And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?

New King James Version
And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”

New American Standard Bible
And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”

NASB 1995
And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”

NASB 1977
And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”

Legacy Standard Bible
And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”

Amplified Bible
And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”

Christian Standard Bible
“Whose image and inscription is this? ” he asked them.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
“Whose image and inscription is this?” He asked them.”

American Standard Version
And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?

Contemporary English Version
and he asked, "Whose picture and name are on it?"

English Revised Version
And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
He said to them, "Whose face and name is this?"

Good News Translation
and he asked them, "Whose face and name are these?"

International Standard Version
Then he asked them, "Whose face and name is this?"

Majority Standard Bible
“Whose image is this,” He asked, “and whose inscription?”

NET Bible
Jesus said to them, "Whose image is this, and whose inscription?"

New Heart English Bible
He asked them, "Whose is this image and inscription?"

Webster's Bible Translation
And he saith to them, Whose is this image, and superscription?

Weymouth New Testament
"Whose likeness and inscription," He asked, "is this?"

World English Bible
He asked them, “Whose is this image and inscription?”
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and He says to them, “Whose [is] this image and the inscription?”

Berean Literal Bible
And He says to them, "Whose likeness and whose inscription is this?"

Young's Literal Translation
and he saith to them, 'Whose is this image and the inscription?'

Smith's Literal Translation
And he says to them, Whose is this image and inscription?
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And Jesus saith to them: Whose image and inscription is this?

Catholic Public Domain Version
And Jesus said to them, “Whose image is this, and whose inscription?”

New American Bible
He said to them, “Whose image is this and whose inscription?”

New Revised Standard Version
Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?”
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And Jesus said to them, Whose is this image and inscription?

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And Yeshua said to them, “Whose is this image and inscription?”
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament
And he said to them: Whose image and superscription is this?

Godbey New Testament
And He says to them, Whose is this image and superscription?

Haweis New Testament
And he saith unto them, Whose figure is this and inscription?

Mace New Testament
and he said unto them, whose image and inscription is this?

Weymouth New Testament
"Whose likeness and inscription," He asked, "is this?"

Worrell New Testament
And He saith to them, "Whose is this image and inscription?"

Worsley New Testament
And He saith unto them, Whose image and inscription is this?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Paying Taxes to Caesar
19Show Me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. 20“Whose image is this,” He asked, “and whose inscription?” 21“Caesar’s,” they answered. So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”…

Cross References
Mark 12:16
So they brought it, and He asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they answered.

Luke 20:24
“Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?” “Caesar’s,” they answered.

Romans 13:7
Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

1 Peter 2:13-14
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to the king as the supreme authority, / or to governors as those sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right.

Genesis 1:26-27
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.” / So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Exodus 20:4
You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.

Leviticus 19:36
You shall maintain honest scales and weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 4:16
that you do not act corruptly and make an idol for yourselves of any form or shape, whether in the likeness of a male or female,

1 Samuel 8:10-18
So Samuel spoke all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. / He said, “This will be the manner of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them to serve his own chariots and horses, and to run in front of his chariots. / He will appoint some for himself as commanders of thousands and of fifties, and others to plow his ground, to reap his harvest, and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ...

Proverbs 24:21
My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.

Isaiah 40:19
To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains?

Isaiah 46:6
They pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales; they hire a goldsmith to fashion it into a god, so they can bow down and worship.

Jeremiah 10:9
Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz—the work of a craftsman from the hands of a goldsmith. Their clothes are blue and purple, all fashioned by skilled workers.

Ezekiel 7:19
They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will seem unclean. Their silver and gold cannot save them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They cannot satisfy their appetites or fill their stomachs with wealth, for it became the stumbling block that brought their iniquity.

Daniel 3:1-7
King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statue sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. / Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other officials of the provinces to attend the dedication of the statue he had set up. / So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it. ...


Treasury of Scripture

And he said to them, Whose is this image and superscription?

superscription.

Luke 20:24
Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar's.

Jump to Previous
Image Inscription Jesus Likeness Portrait Superscription
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Image Inscription Jesus Likeness Portrait Superscription
Matthew 22
1. The parable of the marriage of the king's son.
9. The vocation of the Gentiles.
12. The punishment of him who lacked a wedding garment.
15. Tribute ought to be paid to Caesar.
23. Jesus confutes the Sadducees for the resurrection;
34. answers which is the first and great commandment;
41. and puzzles the Pharisees by a question about the Messiah.














Whose image
The Greek word for "image" is "εἰκών" (eikōn), which refers to a likeness or representation. In the context of this verse, Jesus is referring to the image on the Roman coin, which would have been the likeness of the emperor. This question challenges the Pharisees and Herodians to consider the authority and ownership represented by the image. In a broader theological sense, it invites reflection on the concept of being made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), prompting believers to consider whose image they bear in their lives and actions.

is this
The phrase "is this" emphasizes the present reality and tangible nature of the coin. It draws attention to the physical evidence of the coin's authority and ownership. In a spiritual context, it encourages believers to examine the evidence of God's image in their own lives, asking themselves what is evident in their actions and character.

and whose inscription
The Greek word for "inscription" is "ἐπιγραφή" (epigraphē), meaning a written engraving or inscription. The inscription on the coin would have declared the emperor's name and titles, signifying his authority and dominion. Historically, Roman coins often bore inscriptions that proclaimed the divinity or supreme authority of the emperor. This question from Jesus not only addresses the political and social implications of allegiance to earthly rulers but also challenges believers to consider the inscriptions on their hearts. What is written on our lives that declares our allegiance to God? The inscription serves as a metaphor for the values and truths that govern our lives, urging us to ensure that God's Word is inscribed on our hearts (Deuteronomy 6:6).

(20) Image and superscription.--Better, inscription. The coin brought would probably be a silver denarius of Tiberius, bearing on the face the head of the emperor, with the inscription running round it containing his name and titles.

Verse 20. - Image and superscription. The figure and inscription on the denarius. Jesus takes the coin, and points to it as he speaks. It must have borne a likeness of the emperor, and,therefore, as Edersheim remarks, must have been either a foreign one (Roman) or possibly one of the Tetrareh Philip, who on some of his coins introduced the image of Tiberius. The coins struck by the Romans in or for Palestine had, in accommodation to Jewish prejudices, no representation of any personage upon them. The Roman denarius at this date had on the obverse side the head of Tiberius, crowned with laurel leaves, and bore the legend, "TI CAESAR DIVI AVG FAVGVSTVS," and on the reverse, a seated female figure, with the inscription, "PONTIF MAXIM."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
“Whose
Τίνος (Tinos)
Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 5101: Who, which, what, why. Probably emphatic of tis; an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what.

likeness
εἰκὼν (eikōn)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1504: An image, likeness, bust. From eiko; a likeness, i.e. statue, profile, or representation, resemblance.

[is] this,”
αὕτη (hautē)
Demonstrative Pronoun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3778: This; he, she, it.

He asked,
λέγει (legei)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 3004: (a) I say, speak; I mean, mention, tell, (b) I call, name, especially in the pass., (c) I tell, command.

“and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

whose
(hē)
Article - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

inscription?”
ἐπιγραφή (epigraphē)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1923: An inscription, title, label. From epigrapho; an inscription.


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Matthew 22:19
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