11:42 “But woe to you Pharisees! 1 You give a tenth 2 of your mint, 3 rue, 4 and every herb, yet you neglect justice 5 and love for God! But you should have done these things without neglecting the others. 6 11:43 Woe to you Pharisees! You love the best seats 7 in the synagogues 8 and elaborate greetings 9 in the marketplaces! 11:44 Woe to you! 10 You are like unmarked graves, and people 11 walk over them without realizing it!” 12
1 tn Grk “Woe to you…because you…” The causal particle ὅτι (Joti) has not been translated here for rhetorical effect (and so to the end of this chapter).
2 tn Or “you tithe mint.”
3 sn These small herbs were tithed with great care (Mishnah, m. Demai 2:1).
4 tn Grk “and rue.” Καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
sn Rue was an evergreen herb used for seasoning.
5 sn Justice was a major theme of OT ethics (Mic 6:8; Zech 7:8-10).
6 tn Grk “those”; but this has been translated as “the others” to clarify which are meant.
7 tn Or “seats of honor.” The term here is plural and is not a reference only to the lead “seat of Moses” in the synagogue, but includes the front seats near the ark.
8 sn See the note on synagogues in 4:15.
9 tn Grk “and the greetings.”
sn The later Jewish summary of oral tradition, the Talmud, notes elaborate greetings for rabbis. The rebuke here is for pride.
10 tc Most
11 tn Grk “men.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.
12 sn In Judaism to come into contact with the dead or what is associated with them, even without knowing it, makes one unclean (Num 19:11-22; Lev 21:1-3; Mishnah, m. Demai 2:3). To Pharisees, who would have been so sensitive about contracting ceremonial uncleanness, it would have been quite a stinging rebuke to be told they caused it.