3:11a

John replied: John answered the crowd.

Whoever has two tunics should share with him who has none: John meant that a person who had two tunics should give one of them to someone who does not have any tunic. John did not imply that the two people should share the tunics and wear them at different times. Another way to translate this is:

The man who has two tunics should give one of them to a man who has none.

Whoever has two tunics: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Whoever has two tunics is more literally “the (one/person) having two tunics.” It can refer to any person, either male or female. Some other ways to translate this are:

Whoever has two shirts (God’s Word)
-or-
If you have two shirts (New Living Translation (2004))

tunics: The word tunics describes an item of clothing that both men and women wore next to the skin. The closest modern English word may be “shirt.” Use a word in your language that refers to a basic item of clothing that everyone needs.

him who has none: The phrase him who has none refers to anyone who does not have a tunic. Another way to say this is:

a person who does not have ⌊even⌋ one tunic

3:11b

In some languages, it may be more natural to start a new sentence here. For example:

If you have food
-or-
Whoever has food (God’s Word)

and whoever has food: The phrase whoever has food means “anyone who has food.” The phrase is parallel to “whoever has two tunics” in the previous verse. This suggests that John was talking about anyone who had more food than one person needed.

Other ways to translate this are:

If you have extra food (Living Bible)
-or-
and the person who has food
-or-
and anyone with something to eat (New Jerusalem Bible)

should do the same: The phrase should do the same refers to giving something to someone in need, as the person with two tunics did. That is, the person who has more food than he needs should give food to the person who does not have enough food.

Other ways to say this are:

should share his food with a person who has none
-or-
should give some of it away to a hungry person

General Comment on 3:11a–b

The people had asked John what they should do. Therefore it may be natural for John to answer them using a plural form such as “you.” For example:

11aIf you(plur) have two tunics, you(plur) should give one of them to someone who does not have one. 11bIf you(plur) have more than enough food, you should give some of that away too.

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