2:16

This verse implies that some scribes were at Levi’s house also or that they were near enough to see Jesus eating. They were disturbed that Jesus was eating with tax collectors and sinners. Introduce the teachers of the law in a natural way in your language. Here is one way to do this in English:

Some scribes were also there. These scribes were part of the Pharisee group. When they saw…

2:16a

the scribes who were Pharisees:

There is a textual issue in 2:16a. (1) Some Greek manuscripts have “the scribes
of the Pharisees.” This indicates that some of the Pharisees were also scribes. For example, the Contemporary English Version says: “Some of the teachers of the Law of Moses were Pharisees” (Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Good News Bible, Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, English Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, God’s Word, New Living Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version). (2) Some Greek manuscripts have “the scribes and the Pharisees.” For example, the NET Bible says: “experts in the law and the Pharisees” (NET Bible, King James Version, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English). It is recommended that you follow option (1).) This phrase refers to the scribes who belonged to the religious group called the Pharisees. See the notes scribes and on Pharisees below.

scribes: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as scribes refers to teachers of the law. In New Testament times, their main task was to study and teach the law of Moses. The scribes were also mentioned in the preceding story in 2:6. See the note on 2:6a. They were first mentioned in Mark in 1:22. See also teacher of the law in the Glossary.

Pharisees: The Pharisees were a Jewish religious group or party. It was very important to them to obey all of the Jewish religious laws carefully and in detail.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

• Transliterate the word Pharisees according to the sounds of your language and indicate that it refers to a group of people. For example:

Farisi members
-or-
Parise adherents

• Transliterate the word Pharisees and indicate that it refers to a group of people with certain beliefs. For example:

people belonging to the Farise religious sect/group
-or-
members of the Jewish group called the Farasi

You may also want to include an explanation of Pharisees in the glossary of your translation.

2:16b

saw Jesus eating with these people: The Pharisees observed what was happening at Levi’s house. They noticed that Jesus was being friendly to sinners and tax collectors by eating with them. In some languages it may be possible to use a phrase that suggests friendliness. For example;

saw him sharing a meal with the sinners and tax collectors

these people: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as these people is literally “sinners and tax collectors.” See the notes on 2:15b for these words. In some languages it may be natural to use the same order here as you did there:

tax collectors and other sinners

2:16c

they: The pronoun they refers to the Pharisees.

His disciples: The phrase His disciples refers to Jesus’ disciples. See the note on “disciple” in 2:15b.

2:16d

“Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?”: This is a rhetorical question. The Pharisees were rebuking Jesus and his disciples. They did not really want to know the reason Jesus ate with the sinners. They wanted everyone to realize that it was wrong for Jesus to eat with despised people and they did not approve of it.

There are two ways to translate this rebuke:

• As a rhetorical question. For example, the New American Standard Bible says:

Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?

• As a statement. For example:

He should not eat with tax collectors and other sinners!
-or-
It is wrong for him to eat with tax collectors and other sinners!

Use whichever form is most natural for expressing this rebuke and showing disapproval in your language.

eat with:

There is a textual issue in 2:16d: (1) Some Greek manuscripts have
eat. For example, the Good News Bible says: “eat” (Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Good News Bible, Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, NET Bible, English Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, God’s Word, New Living Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English). (2) Some Greek manuscripts have eat and drink. For example, the King James Version says: “eateth and drinketh” (King James Version). It is recommended that you follow option (1). However, if the phrase “eat and drink” is a natural way in your language to describe eating a meal with other people, you may follow option (2).) Jesus was eating a meal with the tax collectors and “sinners.” Use a natural expression in your language to describe this situation.

tax collectors and sinners: Here the Pharisees were speaking about people whom they considered worse sinners than others. Use an appropriate expression in your language. See the notes on 2:15b and 2:16b.

© 2008 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.