Mark 12:16

New English Translation

¹⁶So^[a] they brought one, and he said to them, “Whose image^[b] is this, and whose inscription?” They replied,^[c] “Caesar’s.”

Mark 12:16 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate their response to Jesus’ request for a coin.
Mark 12:16 tn Or “whose likeness.”sn In this passage Jesus points to the image (Grk εἰκών, eikōn) of Caesar on the coin. This same Greek word is used in Gen 1:26 (LXX) to state that humanity is made in the “image” of God. Jesus is making a subtle yet powerful contrast: Caesar’s image is on the denarius, so he can lay claim to money through taxation, but God’s image is on humanity, so he can lay claim to each individual life.
Mark 12:16 tn Grk “they said to him.”

New English Translation (NET)