7:34a

The Son of Man: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as The Son of Man is literally “the Son of the human/person.” Jesus used this title to imply that:

(a) he was a true human being, and he represented all people.

(b) he came from God and had authority from God.

Try to use an expression that implies both meanings. Some expressions that translators have used are:

the Man whom God Sent
-or-
the True Man from God/Heaven
-or-
the Representative of Mankind
-or-
The Older Brother of All People

In some cases, an unusual title may correctly suggest a deeper meaning. For example:

the Child of a Person
-or-
the One who was Born as a Human

Translators have also used expressions that are more literal. These more literal expressions may be appropriate where readers are familiar with a literal title in another version.

In some languages it may be necessary to use a form like “I” to indicate that Jesus was referring to himself. For example:

I who became man/human
-or-
me, the Son of Man

This term first occurs in Luke at 5:24a.

came eating and drinking: The phrase came eating and drinking means that during his ministry on earth, Jesus ate bread and drank wine, as other people did. You may want to add the implied objects to these verbs:

came eating ⌊bread⌋ and drinking ⌊wine⌋

The word came is used here in the same way as it was in 7:33. It introduces Jesus’ custom about eating and drinking. In many languages a word like came may not be necessary to express this meaning. For example:

The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
But the Son of Man does have the custom of eating and drinking

See the note on 7:33a.

7:34b–c

and: The word and is used here in the same way as it was in 7:33. See the note on 7:33b. Here the word and introduces the result of 7:34a.

you say, ‘Look at this glutton and drunkard: The phrase you say introduces a quotation within another quotation. In some languages, it may be more natural to use indirect speech here. For example:

you say that he is a glutton and a drunkard

Look at this glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!: This quote expresses an example of the way that people criticized Jesus. It is different from what they said about John the Baptist. However, it indicated that the people rejected Jesus just as they rejected John. They did not believe that Jesus was God’s messenger.

In some languages you may need to make this fact explicit. For example:

…you ⌊reject/rejected me⌋ saying, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard.’

Look at this glutton: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Look at this glutton begins with a word that many English versions translate as “behold.” Other English versions do not translate it. It usually draws attention to what follows it. Here it also adds emphasis to the quotation of what the people said critically about Jesus. Other ways to translate it in this context are:

Look at this man! He is a glutton and wine drinker… (Good News Translation)
-or-
Look at him! A glutton and a drinker… (Revised English Bible)

See also the note at 7:12b on “He saw a dead man” for more suggestions for translating the word at the start of this phrase.

glutton: A glutton is a person who eats too much food. In your translation, use a word that people might use to shame someone who eats too much.

drunkard: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as drunkard refers to a person who habitually drinks too much wine. He drinks so much that he becomes “drunk,” that is, he does not act normally.

a friend of tax collectors and sinners!: People were saying that Jesus was friendly to people who had a reputation for being sinners, such as tax collectors. People thought that it was not good to be friendly to such people. When people said that Jesus was a friend of…sinners, they were accusing him, not praising him. In some languages it may be necessary to make this clear by saying something like:

far too friendly with tax collectors and ⌊other⌋ sinners

tax collectors: The phrase tax collectors refers to people who received taxes from their own people to give to the government that ruled them. See the note on 7:29a.

sinners: The word sinners refers to people who habitually offend God. Tax collectors were included in this group. The ways people may offend God include doing and thinking things that God does not approve. People may also offend God by their attitudes and by not doing what God wants them to do. Some ways to translate sinners are:

people who sin
-or-
people who do not obey God
-or-
wrongdoers

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