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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 22:21 Render therefore unto Caesar

The Pharisees ask whether it is lawful to pay tribute to Caesar.

Spoken to
The Pharisees

Matthew 22:21 Ἀπόδοτε οὖν τὰ Καίσαρος Καίσαρι καὶ τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τῷ θεῷ.

KJV Verse

Matthew 22:21 Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 22:21 So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

What His Listeners Heard:

Give back, certainly, everything of Caesar's to Caesar, and everything of the Divine's to the Divine.

Lost In Translation:

This verse follows the common pattern of Jesus's sayings, repeating two phrases with one change between them. Here the duplicated phrase also repeats its keywords.The original Greek is much pithier, with the key words repeating themselves sequentially in two different forms, "to Caesar Caesars'" "to the Divine's the Divine's." Translation adds a verb phrase between them that doesn't exist in the original.

One key difference between the Greek and the English translations is that the word translated as "the things/what" means "anything" and can mean "everything" in the plural. So one sense is "everything of Caesar's" and "everything of the Divine."

 

KJV w/Translation Issues :

Render(CW) therefore unto Caesar the(IW) things [which are(IP)] Caesar's; and unto (MW) God the(IW) things [that are(IP)] (MW) God's.

KJV List (See full page for word-by-word analysis):
For analysis of each word of original Greek and biblical verses, click here.

Constantly Updated

My analysis standards and methods are constantly improving. New information on each verse is provided as articles are updated. It requires approximately two years for me to work through updating each of Jesus's verses.

What Jesus's Listeners Heard

The everyday meanings of the Greek words Jesus used were different than the definitions they have been given over time in biblical translation. The word translations here are based upon documents of his time such as the Greek Septuagint, not ideas unknown in his time.

About this Site

See what Jesus said in Greek and see how his words are changed in English translation. My goal is to translate Jesus's words as they were heard when he taught, not the way they are interpreted today. The work here resurrects the humor and cleverness of Jesus's words lost in translation.

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Each article provides detailed information on all the Greek words in each verse with links simplifying your own research. It compares the Greek to popular translations to show where words are confused, changed, left out, and added. This site offers research available nowhere else, such as how often Jesus uses a specific Greek word and links to a list of every verse in which he uses a given word.