Bible Strands
Luke 20:23
But Jesus saw through their duplicity and said to them,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses the religious leaders immediately after they ask whether it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, speaking before he requests a denarius.
The words — κατανοήσας (katanoēsas) literally means "having perceived," describing Jesus' clear recognition of their πανουργίαν (panourgian), "craftiness" or "duplicity."
The thread — Jesus' perception of hidden motives appears in Matthew 22:18 and Luke 5:22, while the theme of divine judgment on human cleverness runs through 1 Corinthians 3:19.
Why it lands — The text demands that readers recognize human deception cannot evade Christ's sight and that genuine engagement with him must replace calculated testing.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me?
Cross-references
- Matthew 22:18 But Jesus knew their evil intent and said, “You hypocrites, why are you testing Me?
- Luke 5:22 Knowing what they were thinking, Jesus replied, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?
- 1 Corinthians 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”
- Psalms 95:9 where your fathers tested and tried Me, though they had seen My work.
- Matthew 16:1 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came and tested Jesus by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven.
- Luke 6:8 But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and stand among us.” So he got up and stood there.
- Luke 11:16 And others tested Him by demanding a sign from heaven.
- Luke 11:53 As Jesus went on from there, the scribes and Pharisees began to oppose Him bitterly and to ply Him with questions about many things,
- Luke 20:20 So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor.
- John 2:24 But Jesus did not entrust Himself to them, for He knew them all.