Section 12:1–12

Jesus warned and encouraged his disciples

In the previous section, Jesus criticized the Pharisees and teachers of the law. They responded by being hostile to him. Here in Section 12:1–12 a large crowd gathered around Jesus and his disciples. Jesus spoke first to his disciples. He warned them that they must not be hypocrites like the Pharisees. His disciples should not be afraid to declare that they were loyal to him. They should not fear people, but they should fear and respect God, and they should never insult the Holy Spirit. Jesus encouraged them to remember that they were valuable to God. He assured them that the Holy Spirit would help them when people persecuted them.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Another possible heading for this section is:

Warnings and Encouragements (New International Version)

Some versions have divided this section into three shorter sections. Each section has one or more parallel passages. If you choose to divide this section, here are some examples of headings that you can use.

12:1–3
A Warning against Hypocrisy (Good News Translation) -or- Jesus warned his disciples not to be like the Pharisees

(There is a parallel passage for this section in Matthew 10:26–27.)

12:4–7
The One Whom People Should Fear -or- Jesus told his disciples whom they should fear

(There is a parallel passage for this section in Matthew 10:28–31.)

12:8–12
Confessing and Rejecting Christ (Good News Translation) -or- Don’t Be Ashamed of Jesus (New Century Version)

(There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 10:32–33, 12:32, 10:19–20.)

Paragraph 12:1–3

12:1a

In the meantime: In this context the Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as In the meantime means “at the same time.” It refers back to the events of the previous chapter. Some other ways to translate this expression are:

During that time
-or-
While these things were happening

a crowd of many thousands had gathered: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as many thousands is a general reference to a very large number. Nobody actually counted the number of people in the crowd. Other ways to translate this are:

an enormous crowd had gathered
-or-
a great many people came together

12:1b

they were trampling one another: The clause they were trampling one another indicates that the people in the crowd were stepping on each other’s feet and getting in each other’s way as they tried to get close to Jesus.

General Comment on 12:1a–b

In some languages it may be helpful to translate these verse parts as two sentences. For example:

Meanwhile many people had gathered together. They were so many/numerous that they were trampling on one another.

12:1c

Jesus began to speak first to His disciples: The expression Jesus began to speak first to His disciples indicates that Jesus spoke to his disciples before speaking to the rest of the people. In 12:13 one of the people in the crowd asked a question. After Jesus answered him, he began to tell a parable that was probably addressed to the whole crowd.

disciples: For help in translating the word disciples, see the note at 9:14b.

12:1d

Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy: This is a metaphor that compares the hypocrisy of the Pharisees to leaven, or yeast. A small amount of leaven spreads through a lump of bread dough and affects it all. Similarly, the hypocrisy of the Pharisees would spread among the people and affect them all. Some ways to translate this metaphor are:

• Make it clear that “leaven” is used here as a figure of speech. For example:

Be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees—I mean their hypocrisy. (Good News Translation)

• Change the metaphor to a simile and make explicit how hypocrisy is like leaven. For example:

Be careful not to be hypocritical like the Pharisees. Their hypocrisy is like leaven ⌊that spreads through bread dough⌋. ⌊It affects everyone.⌋

Translate this metaphor in a way that is most natural in your language.

Beware: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Beware is a warning. Use an expression that is natural in your language for warning people to watch out for something harmful or dangerous. Some English expressions are:

Be on your guard against (New International Version)
-or-
Don’t let yourself be influenced by (Translator’s Reference Translation)

leaven: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as leaven refers to a substance that makes bread dough rise. A person mixes this substance with water and flour. Then it spreads throughout the flour and makes the dough expand. The dough is then baked into bread.

If people in your area are not familiar with making dough rise, here are other ways to translate leaven:

• Use an expression that describes the leaven. 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:

leaven that spreads to make bread swell

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

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

Translate this in the way that is most natural in your language.

Pharisees: For advice on translating the word Pharisees, see the note at 11:37b.

hypocrisy: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as hypocrisy indicates that a person pretends to be different from how he really is. He appears to have a certain purpose or attitude, but actually he has a very different purpose or attitude. In front of other people, the Pharisees talked and acted as though they were righteous and loved God, but their real motives were sinful. In some languages it may be necessary to translate hypocrisy as a verb. For example:

the way they act/pretend like they’re serving God when they really aren’t (Translator’s Reference Translation)

See the note on “hypocrite(s)” in 6:42d and 12:56a.

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