23:15 “Woe to you, experts in the law 2 and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You cross land and sea to make one convert, 3 and when you get one, 4 you make him twice as much a child of hell 5 as yourselves!
23:23 “Woe to you, experts in the law 6 and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth 7 of mint, dill, and cumin, 8 yet you neglect what is more important in the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You 9 should have done these things without neglecting the others.
1 tn Grk “for they say and do not do.”
2 tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.
3 tn Or “one proselyte.”
4 tn Grk “when he becomes [one].”
5 tn Grk “a son of Gehenna.” Expressions constructed with υἱός (Juios) followed by a genitive of class or kind denote a person belonging to the class or kind specified by the following genitive (L&N 9.4). Thus the phrase here means “a person who belongs to hell.”
6 tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.
7 tn Or “you tithe mint.”
8 sn Cumin (alternately spelled cummin) was an aromatic herb native to the Mediterranean region. Its seeds were used for seasoning.
9 tc ‡ Many witnesses (B C K L W Δ 0102 33 565 892 pm) have δέ (de, “but”) after ταῦτα (tauta, “these things”), while many others lack it (א D Γ Θ Ë1,13 579 700 1241 1424 pm). Since asyndeton was relatively rare in Koine Greek, the conjunction may be an intentional alteration, and is thus omitted from the present translation. NA27 includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.