Translation commentary on Matthew 9:14

This section is bound closely to the previous one by the use of the adverb Then. Whereas the earlier passage dealt with the theme of eating, this passage is concerned with that of fasting. Evidently Jesus is still at the meal mentioned in the previous section, since he and his disciples do not get up and leave until verse 19.

The disciples of John are “the followers of John the Baptist,” as the commentators point out. Most translations do not specify which John is meant, but Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch and Good News Translation do so, and New Jerusalem Bible gives a footnote indicating who is meant. The parallels in both Mark (2.18) and Luke (5.33) mention “the disciples of John,” though in neither Mark nor Luke are they the ones who present Jesus with the question. Many translators will find it helpful to follow Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch and Good News Translation and specify John the Baptist. For a discussion of “John the Baptist,” see 3.1.

The text says the disciples, which would indicate it was all of John’s disciples who came, but many translators do say “some of the disciples.”

Of course, when it says they came to him, the text means “to Jesus.”

Why do we … fast: the translation should not indicate that the disciples of John and the Pharisees were fasting right then, or that they fasted all the time. Rather, they made a habit of fasting. The text can read “fast regularly” or “… on a regular basis.”

For comments on Pharisees, see 3.7.

For comments on fast, see 6.16.

As the RSV footnote indicates, there is a textual problem regarding the inclusion of the adverb which may mean either “much” or “often.” The UBS Greek text placed it in square brackets, indicating that its presence in the text is disputed.

But your disciples do not fast: Good News Translation has “… fast at all” (so Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition), representing one possible interpretation of the Greek present tense (“Why do we and the Pharisees make a rule of fasting, but your disciples do not do so?”).

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Matthew 9:14

Section 9:14–17

Jesus’ new teachings are better than the old customs

In this section, a third group of people, John’s disciples, criticized Jesus. (The first group was the scribes in 9:3. The second group was the Pharisees in 9:11.) They criticized Jesus and his disciples for not fasting. Jesus explained that there is a time for fasting and a time for not fasting. He explained that one day his followers would fast, but they would not fast while he was with them. This was different than the custom of always fasting twice a week like the Pharisees (and probably also the disciples of John) did.

So Jesus again showed that his new teachings were different than the old customs that the Jewish religious leaders had adopted. (He had started showing this in 6:16–18, where he taught his followers how to fast. They should fast in a way that other people do not notice that they are fasting. This was different from the Jewish practice of fasting with a sad face so other people would notice.)

Then Jesus told two parables to continue to explain that his new teachings are different than old Jewish religious customs. These parables indicate that his new teachings cannot be mixed with the old customs. They cannot be added to the old customs.

Many English translations begin this section with a heading like “Jesus Questioned About Fasting” (New International Version) or “The Question about Fasting” (Good News Translation). However, since 9:16–17 includes more than fasting, you should follow the heading above or one of the examples below:

The Superiority of the New (NET Bible)
-or-
The new ways of Jesus are better than the old ways
-or-
Concerning the new ways that Jesus taught

There are parallel passages for this section in Mark 2:18–22 and Luke 5:33–39.

Paragraph 9:14–15

9:14a

At that time: The conjunction At that time introduces a new story. This story did not necessarily happen immediately after the previous section, but it was probably close to the same time. The Greek text does not indicate how much time passed between these two stories.

Here are some other ways to introduce this new story:

One day (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Then (English Standard Version)
-or-
In those same days

John’s disciples: In the same way that Jesus had disciples who followed him and learned from him, John the Baptist also had disciples who followed him and learned from his teachings. You should translate the word disciples here in the same way as for Jesus’ disciples (9:10c).

In some languages, it will be good to make it clear that the name John refers to John the Baptist. For example:

the disciples of John the Baptist (New Living Translation (2004))

See how you translated “John the Baptist” in 3:1.

Also, probably only some of John’s disciples came. If people will think that all of them came, you may want to make it clear. For example:

⌊some⌋ of the disciples of John

9:14b–c

Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast so often, but Your disciples do not fast?: This is a real question. The main part of the question is “Why is that…Your disciples do not fast?” The words we and the Pharisees fast are information that was already known and not really part of the question. Make sure that people do not misunderstand the question and think that John’s disciples were asking why they (John’s disciples) and the Pharisees were fasting.

Here are some other ways to translate this question to make these things clearer:

• Divide the question into a statement and a question. For example:

We and the Pharisees fast. How is it that your disciples do not fast?
-or-
We and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast. Why?

• Change the order. For example:

Why don’t your disciples fast like we do and the Pharisees do? (New Living Translation (2004))

9:14b

Why is it that: These words introduce a real question. They ask the reason for something. In some languages, a question that begins with the word Why will imply that what follows is a rhetorical question that is a rebuke. So be careful to translate this as a real question.

Here are some other ways to introduce this question:

Why do
-or-
How is it that (New International Version)
-or-
What is the reason that

we and the Pharisees fast so often: There is a textual issue here:

(1) Some Greek manuscripts include a word that means “often.” (Berean Standard Bible: so often). For example:

we and the Pharisees fast often (Good News Translation)

(Berean Standard Bible, Good News Translation, NET Bible, King James Version, New Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, New Century Version)

(2) Some Greek manuscripts do not include the Greek word that means “often.” For example:

we and the Pharisees fast (Revised Standard Version)

(New International Version, English Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New Living Translation (2004), Revised English Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, New Jerusalem Bible)

It is recommended that you follow option (1). Many Greek manuscripts have it, and many English versions follow it. In addition, even if the word “often” were not part of the Greek text, it would be natural to add it in some languages to make the meaning clear.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

we and the Pharisees fast regularly
-or-
we fast often, and so do the Pharisees

we: The pronoun we is exclusive. It refers to John the Baptist’s disciples but not to Jesus’ disciples.

fast: The word fast means “choose not to eat for religious reasons.” People fast to humble themselves, to show sadness for their sins, or to seek God’s will or help. People usually fasted for one day, but it could be a shorter or longer period of time.

John’s disciples and the Pharisees fasted once or twice a week.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

do not eat ⌊to honor God⌋
-or-
stop eating ⌊to dedicate the day to God⌋

-or-

abstain from eating ⌊to worship God⌋

The word fast also occurs in 6:16a.

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