What Does Mark 12:15 Mean?
Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing the masks they wore, said to them, Why do you test me? Bring me a denarius, that I may see it.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it.THE KEY
Their question sounds like a choice about giving, but Jesus turns the trap toward the coin they are already holding.
THE MEANING
A question can sound sincere while carrying a concealed aim, and its hidden motive remains visible to clear perception. The pretense is named, and the coin at the center of the dilemma is brought into view. Attention moves from the words spoken to the thing the speakers hold.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A carefully framed question cannot make its hidden motive invisible.
THE ROOT
ὑπόκρισιν
hypokrisin
GROWS FROM
ὑποκρίνομαι
hypokrinomai
to act a part, feign, or pretend; in some uses, to answer
“the masks they wore” in this verse is hypokrisin. The word points to a performed appearance that conceals what is meant underneath. Jesus addresses the hidden intention beneath the public question.
ALSO GROWS
hypokritēs: actor; one who plays a part
ὑποκριτής
This related word makes the sense of performed appearance visible in the passage’s charge of hypocrisy.
hypokrisis: acting, pretense, hypocrisy
ὑπόκρισις
This is the noun used in the verse: a displayed answer that masks the intention behind it.
πειράζετε
peirazete
GROWS FROM
πειράζω
peirazō
to test, make trial of, or put to proof
The verb names what their question is doing beneath its polite form: it puts Jesus to a test. The surface asks about a payment; the act beneath it is an attempt to trap him.
ALSO GROWS
peirasmos: test, trial, or temptation
πειρασμός
This noun shows the same testing idea as a condition or experience, clarifying the force of their challenge.
ekpeirazō: to test or put to proof
ἐκπειράζω
This intensified form carries the testing action into other scriptural scenes, linking a trap to a deliberate trial.
δῶμεν
dōmen
GROWS FROM
δίδωμι
didōmi
to give, grant, or bestow
“give” in this verse is dōmen. Their question repeats the verb of giving and frames the matter as a choice about transfer. Jesus asks to see the coin itself, making the concrete object behind their abstract dilemma visible.
ALSO GROWS
dosis: giving; a gift
δόσις
This noun keeps the focus on the act of giving that shapes the question.
dōron: gift; something given
δῶρον
This related word makes the transferred object explicit, echoing Jesus’ request to see the coin.
THE PATTERN
A hidden motive cannot be concealed by outward appearance from the one who sees beneath it.
But the LORD said to Samuel, Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, for I have pushed him away. The LORD does not see as the human sees. The human sees what is outside, but the LORD sees the heart.And no creation is hidden before him, but all things are naked and bared at the throat to the eyes of him to whom our account belongs.THE THREAD
But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why do you test me, you masked ones?Matthew uses the same verb for “tempt”: Jesus names the hidden intention before answering the question. That shared wording sharpens Mark’s scene: the test is exposed, then the coin behind it is brought into view.
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