5:9

A little leaven works through the whole batch of dough: This is a proverb. People used this proverb to refer to a small amount of something having a large effect. Paul used this proverb to warn the Galatians about the false teaching.

The word leaven refers to a product like yeast that makes bread rise. It only takes a small amount of yeast to make a large amount of bread dough rise. In the Bible, leaven is almost always a symbol of evil. So here it means that just as leaven affects bread, a small amount of false teaching will affect the churches throughout Galatia and do great harm to them.

Some ways to translate this proverb are:

• Make it explicit that it is a proverb. For example:

“It takes only a little yeast to make the whole batch of dough rise,” as they say. (Good News Translation)

• Make it explicit that it is a warning. For example:

Be careful! “Just a little yeast makes the whole batch of dough rise.” (New Century Version)

• Make it explicit that the proverb refers to the false teaching. For example:

This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough! (New Living Translation (2004))

• Make it explicit that it is a proverb, a warning, and refers to false teaching. For example:

The teaching that is not true is spreading. As the proverb warns, “Even a little bit of leaven affects the whole lump of dough.”
-or-
Watch out. Remember the proverb that says: “A little yeast makes a lot of flour rise.” And this false teaching is like yeast.

leaven: The Greek noun that the Berean Standard Bible translates as leaven refers to a product that makes bread dough rise. The most common type of leaven is yeast. Most of the more modern English versions translate this word as “yeast.”

This word also occurs in Matthew 13:33, Mark 8:15, and Luke 13:21. If you have translated any of these passages, you should use the same word here.

If you have not yet translated the word “leaven” or “yeast”, here are some ways to translate it:

• Use an expression that describes the yeast. For example:

what spreads to make bread rise
-or-
bread-expanding substance

• Use a term from the national language and indicate its meaning. For example:

yisti that spreads to make bread swell

• Borrow a word and explain it in a footnote. Here is an example of a possible footnote:

Yeast is something that spreads in flour dough and causes it to rise so that after the dough is baked it is soft to eat.

works through the whole batch of dough: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as works through is more literally “leavens.” The word “leavens” is the verb form of the noun “leaven.” This verb refers to the process whereby leaven/yeast makes bread rise.

The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as batch of dough refers to an amount of clay or dough.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

to make the whole batch of dough rise (Good News Translation)
-or-
spreads through the whole batch of dough (God’s Word)
-or-
makes a lot of flour rise/swell

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