MARK 2:16 Parallel Verse View

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

OET (OET-RV) When the teachers from the Pharisee party noticed that Yeshua was eating beside undesirables and tax-collectors, they asked his followers, “How come he eats with tax-collectors and other low-life?”

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
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 And the scribes of the Pharisees, having seen that he eats with the sinners and tax collectors, were saying to his disciples, “Does he eat with the tax collectors and sinners?”

UST Then, some Pharisees who taught the Jewish law noticed that Jesus was eating food with sinful people and people who collected taxes. They told Jesus’ apprentices, “He should not be feasting with people who collect taxes and other sinful people.”

BSB When the scribes who [were] Pharisees saw [Jesus] eating with [these people], they asked His disciples, “Why {does} He eat[fn] with tax collectors and sinners?”

2:16 BYZ and TR include and drink; see Luke 5:30.

MSB When the scribes and Pharisees[fn] saw [Jesus] eating with [these people],[fn] they asked His disciples, “Why {does} He eat and drink[fn] with tax collectors and sinners?”

2:16 CT the scribes who were Pharisees or the scribes of the Pharisees

2:16 Literally with tax collectors and sinners; CT with sinners and tax collectors

2:16 CT does not include and drink.

BLB And the scribes of the Pharisees, having seen Him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, were saying to His disciples, "Why does He eat with the tax collectors and sinners?"

AICNT And the scribes {of}[fn] the Pharisees, seeing that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “{Why does he eat}[fn] with tax collectors and sinners?”

2:16, of: Some manuscripts read “and.”

2:16, Why does he eat: Some manuscripts read “He eats.”

OEB When the teachers of the Law belonging to the party of the Pharisees saw that he was eating in the company of such people, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with the tax collectors and outcasts?’

WEBBE The scribes and the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why is it that he eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET When the experts in the law and the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

LSV And the scribes and the Pharisees, having seen Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, said to His disciples, “Why—that with the tax collectors and sinners He eats and drinks?”

FBV When the religious leaders of the Pharisees saw Jesus eating with such people, they asked Jesus' disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

TCNT When the scribes [fn]and the Pharisees saw Jesus eating with [fn]tax collectors and sinners, they said to his disciples, “Why is he eating [fn]and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?”

2:16 and 96.6% ¦ of CT 0.2%

2:16 tax collectors and sinners 97.7% ¦ sinners and tax collectors CT 0.2%

2:16 and drinking 92.9% ¦ — CT 0.7%

T4T The men who taught the Jewish laws who were there and who were members of the Pharisee sect saw that Jesus was eating with men who collected taxes and others who were considered {whom they considered} to be sinners. So they said to his disciples, “◄It is disgusting that he eats with such disgusting men as those who collect taxes, and with other sinners!/Why is it that he eats with such disgusting men as those who collect taxes, and with other sinners?►” [RHQ]

LEB And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they[fn] saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, began to say[fn] to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

2:16 *Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal

2:16 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to say”)

BBE And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was taking food with the tax-farmers and sinners, said to his disciples, Why does he take food and drink with such men?

Moff So when some scribes of the Pharisees saw he was eating with sinners and taxgatherers they said to his disciples, "Why does he eat and drink with taxgatherers and sinners?"

Wymth But when the Scribes of the Pharisee sect saw Him eating with the sinners and the tax-gatherers, they said to His disciples, "He is eating and drinking with the tax-gatherers and sinners!"

ASV And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with the sinners and publicans, said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?

DRA And the scribes and the Pharisees, seeing that he ate with publicans and sinners, said to his disiples: Why doth your master eat and drink with publicans and sinners?

YLT And the scribes and the Pharisees, having seen him eating with the tax-gatherers and sinners, said to his disciples, 'Why — that with the tax-gatherers and sinners he doth eat and drink?'

Drby And the scribes and the Pharisees, seeing him eating with sinners and tax-gatherers, said to his disciples, Why [is it] that he eats and drinks with tax-gatherers and sinners?

RV And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with the sinners and publicans, said unto his disciples, He eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners.
(And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with the sinners and publicans, said unto his disciples, He eateth/eats and drinketh/drinks with publicans and sinners. )

SLT And the scribes and Pharisees having seen him eating with publicans and sinful, said to his disciples, Why does he eat and drink with publicans and sinful?

Wbstr And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eating with publicans and sinners, they said to his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners.

KJB-1769 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?
(And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth/eats and drinketh/drinks with publicans and sinners? )

KJB-1611 And when the Scribes and Pharisees saw him eate with Publicanes and sinners, they said vnto his disciples, How is it that hee eateth and drinketh with Publicanes and sinners?
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation)

Bshps And when the scribes and pharisees sawe hym eate with publicanes and sinners, they saide vnto his disciples: howe is it that he eateth and drynketh with publicanes and synners?
(And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicanes and sinners, they said unto his disciples: how is it that he eateth/eats and drinketh/drinks with publicanes and sinners?)

Gnva And when the Scribes and Pharises sawe him eate with the Publicanes and sinners, they sayd vnto his disciples, Howe is it, that hee eateth and drinketh with Publicanes and sinners?
(And when the Scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with the Publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it, that he eateth/eats and drinketh/drinks with Publicans and sinners? )

Cvdl And whan the scrybes and Pharises sawe that he ate with publicans & synners, they sayde vnto his disciples: Why doth he eate and dryncke with ye publicans and synners?
(And when the scribes and Pharisees saw that he ate with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples: Why doth/does he eat and drink with ye/you_all publicans and sinners?)

TNT And when the Scribes and Pharises sawe him eate with publicans and synnere they sayde vnto his disciples: how is it that he eateth and drynketh with publicans and synners?
(And when the Scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinner they said unto his disciples: how is it that he eateth/eats and drinketh/drinks with publicans and sinners? )

Wycl And scribis and Farisees seynge, that he eet with pupplicans and synful men, seiden to hise disciplis, Whi etith and drynkith youre maystir with pupplicans and synneris?
(And scribes and Pharisees seeing, that he eat with pupplicans and sinful men, said to his disciples, Why eateth/eats and drynkith your(pl) mayest/mayir with pupplicans and sinners?)

Luth Und die Schriftgelehrten und Pharisäer, da sie sahen, daß er mit den Zöllnern und Sündern aß, sprachen sie zu seinen Jüngern: Warum isset und trinket er mit den Zöllnern und Sündern?
(And the scribes and Pharisees, there they/she/them saw, that he with the Zöllnern and sinners ate, said they/she/them to/for his disciples: Why eating and drinking he with the Zöllnern and sinners?)

ClVg Et scribæ et pharisæi videntes quia manducaret cum publicanis et peccatoribus, dicebant discipulis ejus: Quare cum publicanis et peccatoribus manducat et bibit Magister vester?
(And scribes/clerks and Pharisees seeing because to_eatt when/with publicnis and sinners, they_said students his: Why when/with publicnis and sinners eats and he_drank Teacher/Master your? )

UGNT καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς τῶν Φαρισαίων, ἰδόντες ὅτι ἐσθίει μετὰ τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν καὶ τελωνῶν, ἔλεγον τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ, ὅτι μετὰ τῶν τελωνῶν καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν ἐσθίει?
(kai hoi grammateis tōn Farisaiōn, idontes hoti esthiei meta tōn hamartōlōn kai telōnōn, elegon tois mathaʸtais autou, hoti meta tōn telōnōn kai hamartōlōn esthiei?)

SBL-GNT καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς ⸂τῶν Φαρισαίων⸃ ⸀ἰδόντες ⸂ὅτι ἐσθίει⸃ μετὰ τῶν ⸂ἁμαρτωλῶν καὶ τελωνῶν⸃ ἔλεγον τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ· ⸀Ὅτι μετὰ τῶν ⸂τελωνῶν καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν⸃ ⸀ἐσθίει;
(kai hoi grammateis ⸂tōn Farisaiōn⸃ ⸀idontes ⸂hoti esthiei⸃ meta tōn ⸂hamartōlōn kai telōnōn⸃ elegon tois mathaʸtais autou; ⸀Hoti meta tōn ⸂telōnōn kai hamartōlōn⸃ ⸀esthiei;)

RP-GNT Καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι, ἰδόντες αὐτὸν ἐσθίοντα μετὰ τῶν τελωνῶν καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν, ἔλεγον τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ, Τί ὅτι μετὰ τῶν τελωνῶν καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν ἐσθίει καὶ πίνει;
(Kai hoi grammateis kai hoi Farisaioi, idontes auton esthionta meta tōn telōnōn kai hamartōlōn, elegon tois mathaʸtais autou, Ti hoti meta tōn telōnōn kai hamartōlōn esthiei kai pinei;)

TC-GNT Καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς [fn]καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι, ἰδόντες [fn]αὐτὸν ἐσθίοντα μετὰ τῶν [fn]τελωνῶν καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν, ἔλεγον τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ, [fn]Τί ὅτι μετὰ τῶν τελωνῶν καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν ἐσθίει [fn]καὶ πίνει;
(Kai hoi grammateis kai hoi Farisaioi, idontes auton esthionta meta tōn telōnōn kai hamartōlōn, elegon tois mathaʸtais autou, Ti hoti meta tōn telōnōn kai hamartōlōn esthiei kai pinei; )

2:16 και οι φαρισαιοι 96.6% ¦ των φαρισαιων CT 0.2%

2:16 αυτον εσθιοντα 96.2% ¦ οτι ησθιε TH 0.3% ¦ οτι εσθιει ECM NA SBL WH 0.2%

2:16 τελωνων και αμαρτωλων 97.7% ¦ αμαρτωλων και τελωνων CT 0.2%

2:16 τι 95.9% ¦ — ECM^† NA SBL TH WH 1.8%

2:16 και πινει 92.9% ¦ — CT 0.7%

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

SOTN SIL Open Translation Notes:

Section 2:13–17: Jesus chose a tax collector to be his disciple

In this section Jesus called a man named Levi to be his disciple. For the meaning of “disciple,” see the note on 2:15.

Levi was a tax collector who worked for the Roman government. The Roman people had conquered the Jews, and they forced them to pay taxes to Rome. The Romans hired Jews to collect taxes from their own people. The other Jews despised these tax collectors because they worked for the Romans. They also hated tax collectors because they sometimes collected more money than necessary. Then they kept the extra money and became rich.

This story also tells about another conflict that Jesus had with the Jewish religious leaders. After Levi became Jesus’ disciple, Jesus came to have dinner at his house. Levi’s friends, who were also tax collectors or other sinners, also came to the dinner. During the dinner, the religious leaders criticized Jesus for associating with such people. Jesus answered that it is people who know they are sinners who need him, not those who believe themselves to be righteous.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

Jesus cares for outcasts

Jesus loves sinners

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 9:9–13 and Luke 5:27–32.

2:16

This verse implies that some scribes were at Levi’s house also or that they were near enough to see Jesus eating. They were disturbed that Jesus was eating with tax collectors and sinners. Introduce the teachers of the law in a natural way in your language. Here is one way to do this in English:

Some scribes were also there. These scribes were part of the Pharisee group. When they saw…

2:16a

When the scribes who were Pharisees

There were also some teachers of the law there who were from the group named Pharisees.
Some experts in the law who belonged to the Pharisee party/group

the scribes who were Pharisees: There is a textual issue in 2:16a. (1) Some Greek manuscripts have “the scribes of the Pharisees.” This indicates that some of the Pharisees were also scribes. For example, the CEV says: “Some of the teachers of the Law of Moses were Pharisees” (BSB, NIV, GNT, RSV, NJB, ESV, NASB, REB, GW, NLT, CEV, NCV). (2) Some Greek manuscripts have “the scribes and the Pharisees.” For example, the NET says: “experts in the law and the Pharisees” (NET, KJV, JBP). It is recommended that you follow option (1). This phrase refers to the scribes who belonged to the religious group called the Pharisees. See the notes scribes and on Pharisees below.

scribes: The Greek word that the BSB translates as scribes refers to teachers of the law. In New Testament times, their main task was to study and teach the law of Moses. The scribes were also mentioned in the preceding story in 2:6. See the note on 2:6a. They were first mentioned in Mark in 1:22. See also teacher of the law in the Glossary.

Pharisees: The Pharisees were a Jewish religious group or party. It was very important to them to obey all of the Jewish religious laws carefully and in detail.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

Transliterate the word Pharisees according to the sounds of your language and indicate that it refers to a group of people. For example:
Farisi members
Parise adherents
Transliterate the word Pharisees and indicate that it refers to a group of people with certain beliefs. For example:
people belonging to the Farise religious sect/group
members of the Jewish group called the Farasi

You may also want to include an explanation of Pharisees in the glossary of your translation.

2:16b

saw Jesus eating with these people,

They saw that he was eating with people who were known as sinners, including people who collected taxes,
noticed that he was sharing a meal with these tax collectors and other people who had a reputation for doing sinful things.

saw Jesus eating with these people: The Pharisees observed what was happening at Levi’s house. They noticed that Jesus was being friendly to sinners and tax collectors by eating with them. In some languages it may be possible to use a phrase that suggests friendliness. For example;

saw him sharing a meal with the sinners and tax collectors

these people: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as these people is literally “sinners and tax collectors.” See the notes on 2:15b for these words. In some languages it may be natural to use the same order here as you did there:

tax collectors and other sinners

2:16c

they asked His disciples,

so they asked his disciples,
Then the teachers of the law said to Jesus’ followers,
Then those experts in the law told Jesus’ followers that

they: The pronoun they refers to the Pharisees.

His disciples: The phrase His disciples refers to Jesus’ disciples. See the note on “disciple” in 2:15b.

2:16d

“Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

“Why does Jesus eat with people who collect taxes and with other sinners?”
“Jesus should not share meals with tax collectors and other people who sin!”
he should not be eating with tax collectors and other sinners.

“Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?”: This is a rhetorical question. The Pharisees were rebuking Jesus and his disciples. They did not really want to know the reason Jesus ate with the sinners. They wanted everyone to realize that it was wrong for Jesus to eat with despised people and they did not approve of it.

There are two ways to translate this rebuke:

As a rhetorical question. For example, the NASB says:
Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?
As a statement. For example:
He should not eat with tax collectors and other sinners!
It is wrong for him to eat with tax collectors and other sinners!

Use whichever form is most natural for expressing this rebuke and showing disapproval in your language.

eat with: There is a textual issue in 2:16d: (1) Some Greek manuscripts have eat. For example, the GNT says: “eat” (BSB, NIV, GNT, RSV, NJB, NET, ESV, NASB, REB, GW, NLT, CEV, NCV, JBP). (2) Some Greek manuscripts have eat and drink. For example, the KJV says: “eateth and drinketh” (KJV). It is recommended that you follow option (1). However, if the phrase “eat and drink” is a natural way in your language to describe eating a meal with other people, you may follow option (2). Jesus was eating a meal with the tax collectors and “sinners.” Use a natural expression in your language to describe this situation.