Warning: This page contains spoilers for the September 22, 2025, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as noon Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Political History) for Monday, September 22, 2025 (Season 42, Game 11):
The words of this doctrine are found in a sonnet by James I & bolstered by St. Paul writing, “the powers that be are ordained of God”
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Jonathan Goldman, a futures trader from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
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David Shutoff, a product development manager from Salem, Massachusetts
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Steven Olson, a band director from Princeton, Illinois (1-day total: $19,602)
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Week 3 of Season 42 begins today with Steven Olson taking up residency at the champions’ lectern, following his defeat of Paolo Pasco last Friday. His first title defense comes today against a futures trader in Jonathan Goldman and a product development manager in David Shutoff. I do have to say, though, my expectations are high whenever I see an occupation like “futures trader”; one would certainly hope that a contestant with that occupation has a firm grasp of Final Jeopardy strategy.
Meanwhile, Steven has definitely decided to be a student of the Matt Amodio School of Phrasing, prepending all of his responses with “What’s…?” I personally think it’s a good idea, as it’s a good habit to get into in order to prevent a phrasing misstep.
Finally, I would invite everyone to check out my editorial from yesterday, where I propose a realistic expansion of the upcoming postseason.
(Content continues below)
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Correct response: What is the divine right of kings?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2025 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
The divine right of kings is the political doctrine that basically states that a monarch’s legitimacy and right to rule over their kingdom is derived from a divine authority (usually God); it has historically been associated with monarchs such as Henry VIII of England, James VI of Scotland (James I of England), and Louis XIV of France. The writing of St. Paul referenced in the clue comes from Romans 13:1 (KJV), while the sonnet of James is “The Argument”, part of Basilikon Doron in 1599.
As someone who would probably wager the minimum $5 (unless under some sort of strategic duress) when it comes to religion-based Daily Doubles on the show, I’m not sure I could give a reasonable guess as to how this clue is going to play today. We shall see!
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Monday, September 22, 2025 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: King James Bible Talk; Eponyms; Hobbies & Pastimes; The Traitors; Project Runway; A Dose Of Reality TV)
Steven found the Daily Double, doubling up early to take a big lead into the first break. After 15 clues, the scores were Steven $6,600 David $1,800 Jonathan $1,400.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Steven 8 correct 1 incorrect
David 3 correct 1 incorrect
Jonathan 2 correct 0 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Jonathan took ballet in order to get the remaining credits he needed to graduate college.
David was an early adopter of pickleball, but no longer plays.
Steven is married to a fellow music teacher; they share a classroom.
Steven picked up another 9 correct to get his score into five figures after 30 clues.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Steven 17 correct 2 incorrect
David 6 correct 1 incorrect
Jonathan 3 correct 1 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Steven $10,200
David $3,000
Jonathan $2,200
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: “Cross” Words (& Phrases); Physics Class; Dis-Band-Ments; In The Bookstore; Asian Cities; Ari Shapiro On Talking & Listening)
Steven mostly had an excellent round with 14 more correct responses to bring his total to 31; however, he lost $7,000 on DD2 and only gained $4,000 of it back on DD3, which kept both David and Jonathan within mathematical striking distance entering Final Jeopardy.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Steven 31 correct 3 incorrect
David 15 correct 2 incorrect
Jonathan 7 correct 1 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Steven $20,400
David $13,400
Jonathan $7,400
While Jonathan got the first word down, Steven was fully correct in Final Jeopardy and is now a 2-day champion! He’ll go for win #3 tomorrow.
Tonight’s results:
Jonathan $7,400 – $0 = $7,400 (What Divine? Hi Eric + Lily)
David $13,400 – $7,001 = $6,399 (What is Monroe Doctrine)
Steven $20,400 + $6,404 = $26,804 (What is…Divine right of kings?) (2-day total: $46,406)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) KING JAMES BIBLE TALK $800 (clue #10)
Steven 2600 +2600 (David 1200 Jonathan 0)
2) ASIAN CITIES $1600 (clue #6)
Steven 15000 -7000 (David 5000 Jonathan 4200)
3) “CROSS” WORDS (& PHRASES) $1200 (clue #13, $17200 left on board)
Steven 10800 +4000 (David 7400 Jonathan 4200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 90
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Steven 4 4 5 5 3 4 3 4*
David 3 2
Jonathan
DJ! Round:
Steven 4 4 4* 3 3 2 5 3*
David 5 3† 2†
Jonathan 5 4
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Steven 3.75
Jonathan 4.50
David 3.00
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 0 (0.00 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Steven $22,800 Coryat, 31 correct, 3 incorrect, 50.88% in first on buzzer (29/57), 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Jonathan $7,400 Coryat, 7 correct, 1 incorrect, 12.28% in first on buzzer (7/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
David $13,400 Coryat, 15 correct, 2 incorrect, 29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity)
Combined Coryat Score: $43,600
Lach Trash: $6,800 (on 6 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $3,600
Lead Changes: 0
Times Tied: 0
Player Statistics:
Steven Olson, career statistics:
59 correct, 9 incorrect
2/4 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
49.12% in first on buzzer (56/114)
5/6 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $6,600)
2/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $18,900
David Shutoff, career statistics:
15 correct, 3 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity)
29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,400
Jonathan Goldman, career statistics:
7 correct, 2 incorrect
0/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
12.28% in first on buzzer (7/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $7,400
Steven Olson, to win:
3 games: 62.282%
4: 38.790%
5: 24.159%
6: 15.047%
7: 9.372%
Avg. streak: 3.651 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- The futures trader did not, in fact, have a firm grasp of Final Jeopardy strategy, especially when one takes into account that the ability to play again and win more money as a champion is much higher than any potential difference between second and third place.
- One also wonders if Jonathan might have been able to finish writing the correct response in time had he not chosen to write down his shoutouts first and instead spent the entire time trying to think of the correct response.
- Today’s J!6 clues can be found at the monthly archive.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Steven $20,400 David $13,400 Jonathan $7,400)
Steven: Standard cover bet over David is $6,401. (Actual bet: $6,404)
David: Standard cover over Jonathan is $1,401. This passes (Actual bet: $7,001)
Jonathan: To have any chance of victory, you have to bet at least $6,600; this is because if Steven is incorrect and makes a cover bet, he falls to $13,999. (Actual bet: $0)
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Today’s clue was an easy instant get for me. With the category being Political History, and then immediately jumping into religion, the only one that could bridge the two was the Divine Right of Kings. I do get being confused by the Monroe Doctrine because of the latter word, but it is still a relatively straightforward clue today.
I had no clue to FJ answer, but I concur, Andy, that the bet from third place left no chance at victory without some absurd betting from first.