What Does Luke 20:25 Mean in the King James?
And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which be Cæsar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Caesar’s image marks the coin; God’s image marks the person asked to render it.
THE MEANING
The verse sets two claims beside each other: Caesar receives what is his, and God receives what is God’s. A civic due remains bounded; it does not consume the claim God holds over the reader.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that giving Caesar his due gives Caesar total claim over you: the same sentence reserves what is God’s for God.
THE ROOT
ἀπόδοτε
apodote
GROWS FROM
ἀποδίδωμι
apodidōmi
To give back, repay, or render what is due.
“Render” in this verse is apodote. The imperative ἀπόδοτε (apodote) comes from ἀποδίδωμι (apodidōmi), meaning “give back” or “repay.” That return-sense frames each recipient as having a distinct claim: Caesar’s is real yet bounded, while God’s claim remains wider.
ALSO GROWS
didōmi: To give or grant.
δίδωμι
This is the base verb within ἀποδίδωμι (apodidōmi), revealing that rendering what is due is a form of giving back.
apodosis: Repayment or return.
ἀπόδοσις
This related noun makes the idea of settling what is owed explicit, illuminating the verse’s distinction between the two claims.
THE PATTERN
A particular obligation remains bounded within the wider belonging of all things to God.
A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.THE THREAD
Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.Romans uses the same verb, ἀποδίδωμι (apodidōmi), meaning “give back” or “render what is due,” for tribute, custom, fear, and honour. That shared root makes the civic dues in Luke a distinct account, one that does not exhaust what belongs to God.
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