This begins an account of the religious leaders trying to trap Jesus with several difficult questions. Here the Pharisees ask him about paying taxes to Caesar.
The disciples of the Pharisees supported paying taxes only to Jewish authorities. The Herodians supported paying taxes to the Roman authorities. It is implied that the Pharisees believed that no matter what Jesus said, he would offend one of these groups. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit]])
These were officials and followers of the Jewish king Herod. He was friends with Roman authorities. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/translate-names]])
People did not pay taxes directly to Caesar but to one of his tax collectors. AT: "to pay the taxes that Caesar requires" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit]])