Paragraph 11:42–44

In this paragraph, Jesus said that God was not pleased with how the Pharisees were behaving. He also said that God would punish them.

11:42a–c

It may be more natural in some languages to reorder the clauses of 11:42a–c. See the General Comment on 11:42a–c at the end of 11:42c for an example.

11:42a

In Greek, this paragraph begins with a conjunction. Some versions, such as the Revised Standard Version, translate it as “But.” In this context, it probably has two functions:

(a) It introduces a contrast between the actual situation of the Pharisees (11:42b–c) and what they ought to have done (11:41a–b). Another way to introduce this contrast is to say:

But unfortunately, it will be bad…

(b) It introduces a new thought. Another way to introduce this new thought is to say:

Jesus continued, “How awful…”

The Berean Standard Bible, like some other English versions, does not explicitly connect this paragraph with the preceding verse.

Woe to you Pharisees!: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Woe to you expresses Jesus’ sorrow. This sorrow was due to the terrible things that would happen to the Pharisees. It implies that God would punish them. Some other ways to translate this exclamation are:

How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
How horrible it will be for you Pharisees! (God’s Word)
-or-
How sad/awful! God will punish you Pharisees severely.

If you have an idiom to express this idea, you may use it here.

The word Woe also occurs in 10:13a.

11:42b

This verse part begins with a Greek conjunction that introduces the reason for Jesus’ exclamation of woe in 11:42a. Many English versions translate this conjunction as “for” or “because.” The Berean Standard Bible and some other English versions do not translate this conjunction. In some languages it may be natural to introduce this reason without using an explicit conjunction.

You pay tithes of mint, rue, and every herb: God was not angry because the Pharisees gave a tenth of these herbs, but because they did not do other, more important things. In some languages it may be helpful to make this clear by supplying a word such as “although.” For example:

because, ⌊although⌋ you give to God a tenth of your mint…

This clause contains implied information. It is implied that the Pharisees were very strict in tithing even unimportant things such as herbs used to season food. In some languages, it may be helpful to make this information explicit. Making this explicit may avoid the wrong implication that the Pharisees tithed garden herbs but not other things, such as grain or animals. For example:

you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens (New Living Translation (2004))

You pay tithes: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as You pay tithes can also be translated this way:

you tithe (English Standard Version)

The Old Testament laws required the Jewish people to give to God a tenth of whatever they gained from their animals, grain crops, and garden fruits.

Some other ways to translate this are:

give God one of/from every ten
-or-
If you have ten…, you take one and give it to God
-or-
give God his part

mint, rue: The words mint and rue here refer to small plants. The leaves and stems of mint were used as an herb to season food. The leaves of the rue plant were used to give a bitter flavor to food. People also used it in medicines.

Some other ways to translate mint and rue are:

• Use a more generic word or descriptive phrase. For example:

small plants that you harvest for seasoning/flavoring food
-or-
seasoning/spice herbs

• Substitute another kind of herb.

and every herb: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and every herb refers in general to plants or vegetables that grew in gardens. People ate some of these for regular food. Others, like mint and rue, were small plants that people used to season or flavor their food.

Some ways to translate this phrase are:

any other kind of vegetable
-or-
every other plant in your garden (New Century Version)

11:42c

but: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as but here introduces a contrast. The Pharisees were doing one thing and not doing something else that was more important.

you disregard justice and the love of God: The terms justice and the love of God were examples of activities that were more important than tithing tiny plants. In some languages, it may be helpful to make the implied basis of the contrast explicit. For example:

you disregard ⌊things that are more important, such as⌋ justice and the love of God

you disregard justice: The word justice refers to acting justly or fairly toward other people. Some other ways to translate the clause you disregard justice are:

you fail to be fair to others (New Century Version)
-or-
you do not do what is right/fair to other people
-or-
you treat others unfairly

you disregard…the love of God: The phrase you disregard…the love of God means “you fail…to love God.” The Pharisees did not love God as they should have. Another way to translate this is:

you don’t love God (Contemporary English Version)

love: The word love means that a person values and reverences God with gratitude and affection.

This same word occurs in 10:27a–b.

General Comment on 11:42a–c

In some languages, following the sentence structure of the Berean Standard Bible may cause readers to think that God was punishing people because they were tithing their herbs. It may be clearer to reorder the verse in order to state first why God was going to punish the Pharisees. For example:

42aHow terrible for you Pharisees 42cbecause you neglect justice and the love of God, 42beven though you give God a tenth of your mint, rue, and other garden plants.

Another way to reorder 11:42a–c is to put the phrase “Woe to you” at the end, as follows:

42bYou Pharisees give God a tenth of your mint, rue, and all kinds of other garden herbs, 42cbut you neglect justice and the love of God. 42aWoe to you!

11:42d

You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former: The Greek of this part literally says “You ought to have done these without neglecting the others.” Most commentators interpret the word “these” to refer to acting justly and loving God. They interpret the phrase “the others” to refer to giving God a tenth. In many languages it will be clearer to make these references explicit. For example:

You should be fair and kind to others and still give a tenth to God. (Contemporary English Version)

Some other ways to translate this are:

It would be better if you were careful to do these more important things while you continued to give the tithe.
-or-
It is good if you give the tithe, but you should not forget to do the other things I have just mentioned.

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