Paragraph 5:31–32

Jesus responded to the Pharisees’ rhetorical question in 5:30 with a proverb and applied the proverb to his own work. Notice that the proverb and the way that Jesus applied it are parallel, and the similar parts are in the same order:

It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.

I have come to call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Jesus was comparing healthy people to righteous ones and sick people to sinners. He was comparing himself to a doctor.

Jesus used the words “healthy,” “sick,” and “doctor” as figures of speech. The “healthy” people represent people who think that they are already righteous and who think that they do not need any help. The “sick” represent people who know that they are sinners and need Jesus’ help. The “doctor” represents Jesus, who can help the sinners to become righteous.

It is important that people understand this figurative meaning. See the General Comment on 5:31–32 at the end of the notes on 5:32b and the Display for 5:31a and the following verse parts for translation suggestions.

5:31a

Jesus answered: The Pharisees and teachers of the law spoke to the disciples of Jesus, but it was Jesus himself who answered them. In some languages this may be more natural or clear if you say:

Jesus answered the Pharisees
-or-
Jesus heard their question and answered
-or-
Jesus answered for his disciples and said

It is not the healthy who need a doctor: The phrase It is not the healthy who need a doctor means that people who are healthy do not need a doctor to cure them.

need a doctor: In some languages it will be necessary to make explicit in what sense people need a doctor. In those languages you could say:

need a doctor ⌊to help them⌋
-or-
need a doctor ⌊to heal/treat them⌋
-or-
need ⌊to consult⌋ a doctor

5:31b

but the sick: The phrase but the sick is an ellipsis. In this context it means:

but the sick ⌊people⌋ are the ⌊people who need a doctor⌋

People who know that they are sick are the ones who will go to a doctor for help.

General Comment on 5:31a–b

Consider how to translate this so that it sounds like a proverb. In some languages it may be natural to reverse the order of the verse parts. For example:

31bIt is sick people, 31anot healthy people, who need a doctor.

See also the General Comment on 5:31–32 at the end of the notes on 5:32b.

© 2009, 2010, 2013 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.