11:42 “But woe to you Pharisees! 4 You give a tenth 5 of your mint, 6 rue, 7 and every herb, yet you neglect justice 8 and love for God! But you should have done these things without neglecting the others. 9
1 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.
2 sn See the note on synagogues in 4:15.
3 tn Grk “and the greetings.”
4 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).
5 tn Or “you tithe mint.”
6 sn These small herbs were tithed with great care (Mishnah, m. Demai 2:1).
7 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.
8 sn Justice was a major theme of OT ethics (Mic 6:8; Zech 7:8-10).
9 tn Grk “those”; but this has been translated as “the others” to clarify which are meant.