2:15a

While Jesus was dining at Levi’s house: The Greek that the Berean Standard Bible translates as While introduces something that happened later, possibly several days afterwards. Here is another way to translate this word:

Later (Contemporary English Version)

In some languages it may be necessary to introduce this new action or event with a phrase such as:

Later Jesus went to Levi’s house. He was dining with Levi and others.
-or-
Levi invited Jesus to have dinner at his house. Later when Jesus was having dinner there…

dining: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as dining indicates that Jesus (and the other dinner guests) were lying down to eat. This was the custom of the times, and it is not necessary to say this explicitly. However, it would be good if the word you use for dining does not exclude the idea of lying down to eat.

Levi’s house: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Levi’s house is literally “his house.” Your translation should make it clear that the house belonged to Levi, not to Jesus. (see Luke 5:29).

2:15b

tax collectors and sinners: The phrase tax collectors and sinners refers to people whom the Pharisees despised because the Pharisees considered them to be particularly unrighteous. The tax collectors were one group or type of sinners. So in some languages it may be necessary to translate this as:

tax collectors and other sinners

tax collectors: In this context tax collectors received taxes from their own people to give to the people of Rome who had conquered them. See the discussion about this in the introduction to Section 2:13–17. Refer to how you translated “tax” in 2:14b.

sinners: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sinners refers to someone who habitually does what is contrary to God’s law. The Pharisees had added many other rules to God’s law. They considered people who did not obey those rules to be sinners. Tax collectors were included in this group of people.

The Bible implies that God did not necessarily consider such people to be worse sinners than other people. The New International Version indicates this by using quote marks: “sinners,” and the Good News Bible translates the word as “outcasts.” In some languages there may be a special way to refer to people whom others consider to be bad.

In other languages it may be helpful to include a footnote to explain the use of the word sinners in this context.

eating: In the Jewish culture, to eat with someone implied accepting that person as a friend. The Pharisees considered it inappropriate for a teacher like Jesus to eat with sinners. If eating with a “bad” person is not considered to be a problem in your culture, consider how to imply the Jewish viewpoint in your language. You may also want to include a footnote to explain this information.

disciples: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as disciples means “learners” who are in a relationship with a teacher. The learners commit themselves to their teacher in order to learn from him and live according to his teaching and example. In the New Testament disciples often lived with their teacher and followed him wherever he went.

Here are some ways to translate disciples:

• Use a term that refers to people who learn from a teacher or an expert. It is helpful if the term also implies that the learners are often with their teacher. For example:

learners/students
-or-
apprentices

Be careful not to use a term that would refer only to a student in a school or classroom.

• Use a term that refers to people who follow a teacher or leader by obeying his teaching. It is helpful if this term also implies learning from the teacher and actually following the teacher wherever he goes. For example:

followers
-or-
those who are committed/faithful (to a teacher/leader)

See disciple in the Glossary.

2:15c

for: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for here introduces an explanation of the fact that tax collectors were eating with Jesus and Levi in 2:15b. Use a natural way to connect 2:15b and 2:15c in your language. See the General Comment on 2:15b–c for a suggestion about how to reorder the verse.

there were many who followed Him: This clause indicates that many tax collectors and sinners had become followers of Jesus.

followed Him: The phrase followed Him indicates here that the tax collectors and sinners accompanied Jesus and tried to learn from his teaching and obey it.

General Comment on 2:15b–c

In some languages it may be more natural to reorder these two parts of 2:15. For example:

15cMany tax collectors and sinners were followers of Jesus, 15bso they came to eat with him and his disciples.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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