Paragraph 20:39–40

20:39a

Some of the scribes answered: This is the first time that the scribes are mentioned in this section. In some languages a word like answered may wrongly imply that the scribes asked the question in this section. However, it was the Sadducees who asked it. The Sadducees and the scribes were members of different groups who had different beliefs.

Consider how to mention the scribes in a natural way. You should not imply that the Sadducees and scribes were the same group of people. One way to introduce them here is:

Some scribes ⌊were there listening to Jesus’ answer.⌋ They said….

scribes: These scribes were probably Pharisees. Pharisees believed that God does cause people who have died to live again, and they often argued with the Sadducees about this. See the note at 19:47b–d and teacher of the law in the Glossary for more information.

20:39b

Teacher, You have spoken well!: The scribes used the phrase You have spoken well to show that they agreed with what Jesus said in 20:34–38. They were telling him that he had given a good answer to the Sadducees’ question. They were happy that he had shown the Sadducees to be wrong. Other ways to translate this are:

Teacher, you have given a good answer! (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Teacher, what you have said is really true/right.

For help in translating Teacher, see the note on 20:21a.

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