18:17a
If he refuses to listen to them: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as refuses to listen is a stronger word than “will not listen” in 18:16a. This word can also be translated “ignore, disobey.” It indicates that he has rejected what the witnesses say.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
If he ignores these witnesses (God’s Word)
-or-
If he rejects their words
them: This pronoun refers to the one or two witnesses that you take along with you.
tell it to the church: The Greek command that the Berean Standard Bible translates as tell it to the church is more literally “tell the church.” In Greek, there is no pronoun it here. Many English versions are like the Berean Standard Bible and add the word it to make the sentence more natural. In some languages, it will also be natural to add this word, or some similar words.
This command means that you are supposed to tell the whole story to the church. This would include giving them a report about what the brother did to you. It would also include giving them a report about what you have tried to do to resolve this issue.
Here are some other ways to translate this command:
tell the church (New Century Version)
-or-
tell the whole thing to the church (Good News Translation)
-or-
report the matter to the church (Contemporary English Version)
the church: Here the word church refers to the group of Christian believers who worship together in the same place. In the New Testament, the word church does not refer to a building.
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
the group of believers/followers
-or-
the group of people who believe in Jesus
The word church first occurs in 16:18b.
18:17b
And if he refuses to listen: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as refuses to listen is the same one as in 18:17a. Translate it the same way in both places. For example:
If he ignores (God’s Word)
-or-
If he rejects
even to the church: In this context, the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as even expresses something that would be surprising. The church is the final authority. We would normally expect the brother to listen and respond appropriately to the church. If he does not, it would be a surprising outcome.
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
And if he even refuses to listen to the church
-or-
If he still refuses to listen
-or-
Finally, if he will not listen to the church (Contemporary English Version)
18:17c
regard him as you would: This is a type of command. Jesus commanded you (singular) to think/treat the sinning brother in a certain way. This command is not to the church as a whole.
Here are some other ways to translate this command:
treat him as you would (New International Version)
-or-
consider (sing.) him as
-or-
think (sing.) of him as you would
-or-
act toward him as you (sing.) would act toward
a pagan or a tax collector: Both pagan and tax collector refer to kinds of people whom the Jews thought were bad. They were both outside the Jewish religious community. The Jews did not treat these people as well as they treated their fellow Jews within their community. (See the notes below where each term is explained.)
In some languages, it may be necessary to make some of this information explicit. For example:
⌊an outsider such as⌋ a Gentile and a tax collector
-or-
⌊a bad person such as⌋ a Gentile or a tax collector
Jesus was saying that a “Christian brother” who refuses to repent should no longer be considered a member of the group of believers.
a pagan: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as pagan refers to a person who is not a Jew. Many other English versions translate this word as “Gentile.” The Jews considered a Gentile to be someone who did not know God.
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
unbeliever (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
a person who does not know God (New Century Version)
This word also occurs in 6:7a.
a tax collector: The term tax collector refers to a Jew who collected taxes from his fellow Jews. Jews hated tax collectors. They considered them to be traitors, thieves, and religiously contaminated (“unclean”).
Here are some other ways to translate this term:
a person who collects taxes
-or-
a person who gathers money ⌊from other people⌋ for the government
See the note at 5:46b for more information on the term tax collector.
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