1 sn The tax collectors would bid to collect taxes for the Roman government and then add a surcharge, which they kept. Since tax collectors worked for Rome, they were viewed as traitors to their own people and were not well liked. Yet even they were moved by John’s call.
2 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
3 tn Or “some of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.
4 sn Teacher, you have spoken well! The scribes, being Pharisees, were happy for the defense of resurrection and angels, which they (unlike the Sadducees) believed in.