8:15a–b

Notice that the Berean Standard Bible begins this verse with words that Jesus spoke. In some languages it will be necessary to identify Jesus as the speaker first. See the note on “He cautioned them” below. See also the General Comment on 8:15a–b.

Watch out!…Beware: The Greek verbs that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Watch out and Beware have the same meaning here. They are both a command and a warning. They indicate that people should be alert to guard themselves against some danger or evil. In this context the specific danger is mentioned in 8:15b.

Jesus used these two verbs with the same meaning to emphasize the warning that he was giving them. In some languages it may not be natural to use two verbs like this. If that is true in your language, you may need to emphasize the warning in another way. For example:

Jesus earnestly cautioned them, “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.”
-or-
Jesus warned them, “Be very careful to avoid the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod.”

He cautioned them: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as cautioned is literally “was ordering, commanding.” Many English versions translate it as “warned” here because his command was a warning. Translate He cautioned them in a way that is natural in your language. The form of the Greek verb indicates that Jesus probably warned them more than once. He may have spoken for some time about his warning.

In the Greek text, the phrase He cautioned them occurs before Jesus’ actual words. The Berean Standard Bible puts this phrase in the middle of Jesus’ words. Place it where it would naturally occur in your language.

the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod: The text does not say in what way the leaven was related to the Pharisees and Herod. However, Jesus implied that the influence of the Pharisees and Herod was similar in some way to leaven.

In some languages it may be necessary to make the meaning slightly more explicit. For example:

the leaven/yeast that the Pharisees spread, and the leaven/yeast that Herod spreads
-or-
the leaven that comes from the Pharisees, and the leaven that comes from Herod

Remember that the disciples did not understand what Jesus meant. They thought he was talking about literal leaven. So you should not explain the meaning of leaven in the verse itself. You may want to include a footnote to give more information. For example:

The Jews used “leaven/yeast” as an idiom to refer to the spread of any influence, whether it be good or bad. Jesus used it here to refer to the bad influence that the Pharisees’ and Herod’s unbelief had on many people. (This suggested footnote is a shortened form of the footnote that appears in the TRT (page 100).)

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 some other ways to translate leaven:

• Use an expression that describes the leaven/yeast. 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:

yeast that spreads to make bread swell

• Borrow a word and explain it in a footnote. Here is an examples 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.

the Pharisees: In biblical times, the Pharisees were a Jewish religious group. See how you translated Pharisees in 8:11a.

Herod: The name Herod here refers to Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee. He was first mentioned in Mark in 6:14a. See how you translated “King Herod” there.

General Comment on 8:15a–b

In some languages it may be more natural to use indirect speech for Jesus’ words here. For example:

Jesus warned them earnestly to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod.

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