MAT 9:14 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) Then the disciples of Yohan approached Yeshua and said, “How come that we and the Pharisees fast regularly, but your disciples don’t fast?”

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT Then the disciples of John come to him, saying, “For what reason do we and the Pharisees often fast, but your disciples do not fast?”

UST Sometime later, the apprentices of John the Baptizer visited Jesus. They asked him, “We and the Pharisees frequently do not eat in order to please God. However, your apprentices do not do so. Why not?”

BLB Then the disciples of John come to Him saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees often fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"

AICNT Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast [often], but your disciples do not fast?”

OEB Then John’s disciples came to Jesus, and asked, ‘Why do we and the Pharisees fast while your disciples do not?’

WEBBE Then John’s disciples came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don’t fast?”

WMBB Then Yochanan’s disciples came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don’t fast?”

NET Then John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don’t fast?”

LSV Then the disciples of John come to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, and Your disciples do not fast?”

FBV Then the disciples of John came and asked, “Why is that we and the Pharisees fast frequently, but your disciples don't?”

TCNT Then the disciples of John came to Jesus and said, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast [fn]often, but yoʋr disciples do not fast?”

9:14 often 98.3% ¦ — WH 1.4%

T4T Later, the disciples of John the Baptizer came to Jesus and asked him, “We (exc) and the Pharisees often abstain from food to show that we want to please God, but your disciples do not do that. Why do they not?”

LEB ¶ Then the disciples of John[fn] approached him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”

9:14 That is, John the Baptist

BBE Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees frequently go without food, but your disciples do not?

Moff Then the disciples of John came up to him and said, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast a great deal, and your disciples do not fast?"

Wymth At that time John's disciples came and asked Jesus, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?"

ASV Then come to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?

DRA Then came to him the disciples of John, saying: Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but thy disciples do not fast?

YLT Then come to him do the disciples of John, saying, 'Wherefore do we and the Pharisees fast much, and thy disciples fast not?'

Drby Then come to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees often fast, but thy disciples fast not?

RV Then come to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?
(Then come to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy/your disciples fast not? )

SLT Then came to him the disciples of John; saying, Wherefore do we and the Pharisees fast much, and thy disciples fast not?

Wbstr Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but thy disciples fast not?

KJB-1769 ¶ Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?
(¶ Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy/your disciples fast not? )

KJB-1611 ¶ Then came to him the disciples of Iohn, saying, Why doe we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps Then came the disciples of Iohn vnto hym, saying: Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?
(Then came the disciples of Yohn unto him, saying: Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy/your disciples fast not?)

Gnva Then came the disciples of Iohn to him, saying, Why doe we and the Pharises fast oft, and thy disciples fast not?
(Then came the disciples of Yohn to him, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, and thy/your disciples fast not? )

Cvdl Then came the disciples of Ihon to hym sayinge: why do we & ye Pharises fast so oft: and thy disciples fast not?
(Then came the disciples of Yohn to him saying: why do we and ye/you_all Pharisees fast so oft: and thy/your disciples fast not?)

TNT Then came the disciples of Ihon to hym sayinge: why do we and the Pharises fast ofte: but thy disciples fast not?
(Then came the disciples of Yohn to him saying: why do we and the Pharisees fast ofte: but thy/your disciples fast not? )

Wycl Thanne the disciplis of Joon camen to hym, and seiden, Whi we and Farisees fasten ofte, but thi disciplis fasten not?
(Then the disciples of Yohn came to him, and said, Why we and Pharisees fasten ofte, but thy/your disciples fasten not?)

Luth Indes kamen die Jünger Johannes zu ihm und sprachen: Warum fasten wir und die Pharisäer so viel, und deine Jünger fasten nicht?
(Indes came the disciple Yohannes to/for him and said: Why fasten we/us and the Pharisees so many, and your disciple fasten not?)

ClVg Tunc accesserunt ad eum discipuli Joannis, dicentes: Quare nos, et pharisæi, jejunamus frequenter: discipuli autem tui non jejunant?[fn]
(Then they_came to him students Yoannis, saying: Why us, and Pharisees, yeyunamus frequenter: students however yours(sg) not/no yeyunant? )

9.14 Discipuli autem tui non jejunant. Joannes, Marcus et Lucas, etc., usque ad gratiam et potestatem intelligas.

9.14 Discipuli however yours(sg) not/no yeyunant. Yoannes, Marcus and Lucas, etc., until to grace and power intelligas.

UGNT τότε προσέρχονται αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ Ἰωάννου λέγοντες, διὰ τί ἡμεῖς καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι νηστεύομεν πολλά, οἱ δὲ μαθηταί σου οὐ νηστεύουσιν?
(tote proserⱪontai autōi hoi mathaʸtai Yōannou legontes, dia ti haʸmeis kai hoi Farisaioi naʸsteuomen polla, hoi de mathaʸtai sou ou naʸsteuousin?)

SBL-GNT Τότε προσέρχονται αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ Ἰωάννου λέγοντες· Διὰ τί ἡμεῖς καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι νηστεύομεν ⸀πολλά, οἱ δὲ μαθηταί σου οὐ νηστεύουσιν;
(Tote proserⱪontai autōi hoi mathaʸtai Yōannou legontes; Dia ti haʸmeis kai hoi Farisaioi naʸsteuomen ⸀polla, hoi de mathaʸtai sou ou naʸsteuousin;)

RP-GNT Τότε προσέρχονται αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ Ἰωάννου, λέγοντες, Διὰ τί ἡμεῖς καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι νηστεύομεν πολλά, οἱ δὲ μαθηταί σου οὐ νηστεύουσιν;
(Tote proserⱪontai autōi hoi mathaʸtai Yōannou, legontes, Dia ti haʸmeis kai hoi Farisaioi naʸsteuomen polla, hoi de mathaʸtai sou ou naʸsteuousin;)

TC-GNT Τότε προσέρχονται αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ [fn]Ἰωάννου, λέγοντες, Διὰ τί ἡμεῖς καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι νηστεύομεν [fn]πολλά, οἱ δὲ μαθηταί σου οὐ νηστεύουσι;
(Tote proserⱪontai autōi hoi mathaʸtai Yōannou, legontes, Dia ti haʸmeis kai hoi Farisaioi naʸsteuomen polla, hoi de mathaʸtai sou ou naʸsteuousi; )

9:14 ιωαννου ¦ ιωανου WH

9:14 πολλα 98.3% ¦ — WH 1.4%

Key for above GNTs: red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

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” (NIV) or “The Question about Fasting” (GNT). 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)

The new ways of Jesus are better than the old ways

Concerning the new ways that Jesus taught

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

9:14a

At that time John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked,

¶ Then the disciples of John came to Jesus and asked,
¶ One day, some of John the Baptist’s disciples came to Jesus. They said to him,

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 (CEV)

Then (ESV)

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’ disciplesYour translation of the term disciples should be general enough to allow for other people to have disciples as well. (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 (NLT)

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

9:14c

but Your disciples do not fast?”

but your^(sing) disciples do not fast?”
What is the reason that your disciples do not abstain from eating?”

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?
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? (NLT)

9:14b

“Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast so often,

“How is it that we^(excl) and the Pharisees often fast,
“We^(excl) regularly abstain from eating, and so do the Pharisees.

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

How is it that (NIV)

What is the reason that

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

Some Greek manuscripts include a word that means “often.” (BSB: so often). For example:
we and the Pharisees fast often (GNT) (BSB, GNT, NET, KJV, NRSV, CEV, GW, NCV)
Some Greek manuscripts do not include the Greek word that means “often.” For example:
we and the Pharisees fast (RSV) (NIV, ESV, NASB, RSV, NLT, REB, JBP, NJB)

It is recommended that you follow option (1). Many Greek manuscripts have it, and many English versions follow it.This word does occur in the UBS Greek New Testament, 4^th edition, but it is given a C rating indicating that the committee had difficulty in deciding whether to place it in the text. 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

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

stop eating to dedicate the day to God

abstain from eating to worship God

The word fast also occurs in 6:16a.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-newevent

τότε

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τότε προσέρχονται αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταί Ἰωάννου λέγοντες Διά τί ἡμεῖς καί οἱ Φαρισαῖοι νηστεύομεν οἱ δέ μαθηταί σοῦ οὒ νηστεύουσιν)

Here, the word Then introduces a new event that took place sometime after the previous event, probably relatively soon after. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces the next event. Alternate translation: [After that,] or [One day,]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

Ἰωάννου

˱of˲_John

Here, the name John refers to John the Baptist. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could refer to him more explicitly. Alternate translation: [of John the Baptist]

Note 3 topic: translate-tense

προσέρχονται

˓are˒_approaching

To call attention to a development in the story, Matthew uses the present tense in past narration. If it would not be natural to do that in your language, you could use the past tense in your translation. Alternate translation: [came]

Note 4 topic: writing-pronouns

αὐτῷ

˱to˲_him

The pronoun him refers to Jesus. If this is not clear for your readers, you could use the person's name here. Alternate translation: [to Jesus]

Note 5 topic: writing-quotations

λέγοντες

saying

Consider natural ways of introducing direct quotations in your language. Alternate translation: [and they said]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure

διὰ τί ἡμεῖς καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι νηστεύομεν πολλά, οἱ δὲ μαθηταί σου οὐ νηστεύουσιν?

If it would be helpful in your language, you could turn this sentence into two sentences, one giving the reason for the question, and the other asking the question. Alternate translation: [We and the Pharisees often fast. For what reason do your disciples not fast?]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive

ἡμεῖς

Here, the word we refers only to the disciples of John. It does not include Jesus or his disciples. Your language may require you to mark this form.

Parallel MAT 9:14

Section 9:14–17: Jesus’ new teachings are better than the old customs

9:14a

9:14c

9:14b–c

9:14b