render unto Caesar

From the Holy Bible (Matthew, 22:21): Then he said to them, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.” (KJV; spelling modernized)[1]

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render unto Caesar (third-person singular simple present renders unto Caesar, present participle rendering unto Caesar, simple past and past participle rendered unto Caesar)

1. (idiomatic) To give (something) to one's state or government, especially in the form of a tax payment.
   • 1997, Nora Roberts, Holding the Dream‎, →ISBN:

     [S]he . . . made a note to suggest that her client ease some of the last quarter's profits into tax-free bonds. Render unto Caesar, sure, she thought, but not one damn penny more than necessary.

   • 2002 July 1, Lance Morrow, “God Knows What the Court Was Thinking”, in Time, retrieved 1 July 2016:

     Still, the ideal solution, I think, would be to render unto Caesar an affirmation of flag and country but to keep God in our hearts.

   • 2008 January 21, Sarah Vowell, “Radical love gets a holiday”, in New York Times, retrieved 1 July 2016:

     They fear that trying to find the homeless homes translates into raising the taxes they must render unto Caesar.