MARK 8:15 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) [ref]He told them, “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and of King Herod.”

Key: khaki:verbs, 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 he was commanding them, saying, “See, watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”

UST While they were sailing, Jesus ordered the apprentices, “Make sure that you guard against the yeast that the Pharisees use and the yeast that Herod uses.”

BSB “Watch out!” He cautioned them. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod.”

BLB And He was instructing them, saying, "Watch out! Take heed of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."

AICNT And he was warning them, saying, “Watch, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

OEB So Jesus gave them this warning. ‘Take care,’ he said, ‘beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.’

WEBBE He warned them, saying, “Take heed: beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET And Jesus ordered them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod!”

LSV and He was charging them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod,”

FBV “Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod!” he warned them.

TCNT Then Jesus gave them strict orders, saying, “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

T4T As they were going, Jesus warned them against the attitudes the Pharisees and Herod Antipas had, attitudes that were having a bad effect on other people. He did this by telling them a parable. He said, “Be careful! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod!”

LEB And he ordered them, saying, “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod!”

BBE And he said to them, Take care to be on the watch against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.

Moff So he cautioned them, "See and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."

Wymth and when He admonished them, "See to it, be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod,"

ASV And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.

DRA And he charged them, saying: Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.

YLT and he was charging them, saying, 'Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod,'

Drby And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and [of] the leaven of Herod.

RV And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.
(And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven/yeast of the Pharisees and the leaven/yeast of Herod. )

SLT And he enjoined them, saying, See ye, look away from the leaven of the Pharisees, and the leaven of Herod.

Wbstr And he charged them saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.

KJB-1769 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.
(And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven/yeast of the Pharisees, and of the leaven/yeast of Herod. )

KJB-1611 And hee charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leauen of the Pharisees, and of the leauen of Herode.
(And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven/yeast of the Pharisees, and of the leaven/yeast of Herode.)

Bshps And he charged the, saying: Take heede, beware of the leuen of the pharisees, and of the leuen of Herode.
(And he charged them, saying: Take heed, beware of the leaven/yeast of the Pharisees, and of the leaven/yeast of Herode.)

Gnva And he charged them, saying, Take heede, and beware of the leauen of the Pharises, and of the leauen of Herod.
(And he charged them, saying, Take heed, and beware of the leaven/yeast of the Pharisees, and of the leaven/yeast of Herod. )

Cvdl And he comaunded them, and sayde: Take hede, and bewarre of the leuen of the Pharises, and of the leuen of Herode.
(And he commanded them, and said: Take heed, and beware of the leaven/yeast of the Pharisees, and of the leaven/yeast of Herode.)

TNT And he charged the sayinge. Take hede and beware of the leven of the pharises and of the leve of Herode.
(And he charged the saying. Take heed and beware of the leaven/yeast of the Pharisees and of the leave of Herode. )

Wycl And he comaundide hem, and seide, Se ye, and `be war of the sowre dowy of Farisees, and of the sowrdowy of Eroude.
(And he commanded hem, and said, See ye/you_all, and be war of the sour dowy of Pharisees, and of the sowrdowy of Eroude.)

Luth Und er gebot ihnen und sprach: Schauet zu und sehet euch vor vor dem Sauerteig der Pharisäer und vor dem Sauerteig Herodes!
(And he commanded to_them and spoke: Look to/for and see you before/in_front_of before/in_front_of to_him Sauerteig the/of_the Pharisees and before/in_front_of to_him Sauerteig Herod!)

ClVg Et præcipiebat eis, dicens: Videte, et cavete a fermento pharisæorum, et fermento Herodis.
(And commanded to_them, saying: See, and cavete from ferment pharisæorum, and ferment Herodis. )

UGNT καὶ διεστέλλετο αὐτοῖς λέγων, ὁρᾶτε, βλέπετε ἀπὸ τῆς ζύμης τῶν Φαρισαίων καὶ τῆς ζύμης Ἡρῴδου.
(kai diestelleto autois legōn, horate, blepete apo taʸs zumaʸs tōn Farisaiōn kai taʸs zumaʸs Haʸrōdou.)

SBL-GNT καὶ διεστέλλετο αὐτοῖς λέγων· Ὁρᾶτε, βλέπετε ἀπὸ τῆς ζύμης τῶν Φαρισαίων καὶ τῆς ζύμης Ἡρῴδου.
(kai diestelleto autois legōn; Horate, blepete apo taʸs zumaʸs tōn Farisaiōn kai taʸs zumaʸs Haʸrōdou.)

RP-GNT Καὶ διεστέλλετο αὐτοῖς, λέγων, Ὁρᾶτε, βλέπετε ἀπὸ τῆς ζύμης τῶν Φαρισαίων καὶ τῆς ζύμης Ἡρῴδου.
(Kai diestelleto autois, legōn, Horate, blepete apo taʸs zumaʸs tōn Farisaiōn kai taʸs zumaʸs Haʸrōdou.)

TC-GNT Καὶ διεστέλλετο αὐτοῖς, λέγων, Ὁρᾶτε, βλέπετε ἀπὸ τῆς ζύμης τῶν Φαρισαίων καὶ τῆς ζύμης Ἡρῴδου.
(Kai diestelleto autois, legōn, Horate, blepete apo taʸs zumaʸs tōn Farisaiōn kai taʸs zumaʸs Haʸrōdou. )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 8:14–21: Jesus warned his disciples about the Pharisees and Herod

In the previous story, the Pharisees again showed that they did not believe in Jesus. In this story, Jesus warned his disciples about them and about King Herod. He told the disciples to be careful about their “leaven,” or “yeast.” Yeast is a substance that spreads throughout bread dough and causes it to rise.

In this story Jesus used yeast as a metaphor, but the disciples thought he referred to literal yeast. The Jews often spoke of yeast as a figure of speech to refer to any influence that spread rapidly. In this context it is clear that the ways that the Pharisees and King Herod influenced people were harmful. Other Gospels make two of these ways explicit:

In Luke 12:1, the yeast of the Pharisees was hypocrisy.
In Matthew 16:12 the yeast of the Pharisees was their teaching.

In this context the “yeast” of the Pharisees may have been their stubborn refusal to believe in him. The Pharisees had asked Jesus for a sign from God in order to discredit him. Herod also had refused to believe John the Baptist and had ordered his soldiers to kill him. Jesus warned his disciples that they should not be like the Pharisees and King Herod, who did not understand who he was, or believe in him.

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

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

Beware of the attitudes of the Pharisees and Herod that spread like yeast

The yeast of the Pharisees and Herod

The disciples did not yet understand what Jesus’ miracles showed about him

There is a parallel passage for this section in Matthew 16:5–11. Luke 12:1 also contains a reference to the yeast of the Pharisees.

8:15a

“Watch out!” He cautioned them.

Jesus cautioned them, “Watch out!
Jesus earnestly warned them

8:15b

“Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod.”

Guard yourselves against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”
to beware of the yeast of both the Pharisees and King Herod.

8:15a–b

Notice that the BSB 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 BSB 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.”

Jesus warned them, “Be very careful to avoid the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod.”

He cautioned them: The Greek word that the BSB 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 BSB 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

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 BSB 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
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.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-quotations

λέγων

saying

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

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet

ὁρᾶτε, βλέπετε ἀπὸ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί διεστέλλετο αὐτοῖς λέγων Ὁρᾶτε βλέπετε ἀπό τῆς ζύμης τῶν Φαρισαίων καί τῆς ζύμης Ἡρῴδου)

The terms See and watch out for similar things. Jesus is using the two terms together for emphasis. If it would be clearer for your readers, you could express the emphasis with a single phrase. Alternate translation: [Carefully watch out for] or [Keep away from]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

ὁρᾶτε, βλέπετε

Here, the word See means that the disciples need to make sure that something happens or does not happen. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a similar form or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [Make sure that you watch out]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

τῆς ζύμης τῶν Φαρισαίων καὶ τῆς ζύμης Ἡρῴδου

the leaven ˱of˲_the Pharisees ˱of˲_the leaven (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί διεστέλλετο αὐτοῖς λέγων Ὁρᾶτε βλέπετε ἀπό τῆς ζύμης τῶν Φαρισαίων καί τῆς ζύμης Ἡρῴδου)

Here, Jesus is using the possessive form to describe yeast that the Pharisees and Herod have or use. If this is not clear in your language, you could express the idea in another way. Alternate translation: [the yeast that the Pharisees and Sadducees have]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor