complete verse (Matthew 23:3)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 23:3:

  • Uma: “That’s why you must follow all that they teach you. But don’t you learn/imitate their behavior, for they do not follow what they teach you.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Therefore believe/obey and follow all their teachings but do not follow their deeds, because they do not follow/agree with their teaching.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Therefore it is necessary that you guard and that you obey whatever they teach you. But don’t you imitate their activity, because they don’t obey what they teach you.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “therefore you must absolutely believe/obey all that they teach you. But don’t follow-the-example of their manner-of-life, because they aren’t following what they themselves are teaching.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “That’s why you are to do all they instruct you to do. But don’t copy the things they themselves do, because they don’t at all do the things they teach.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Therefore obey the word they command that you do. What they order you to do, then do it. But do not do like the walk of these teachers, because that word which they teach they do not do.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

formal pronoun: Jesus addressing his disciples and common people

Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.

As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator 2002, p. 210ff.), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.

Here, Jesus is addressing his disciples, individuals and/or crowds with the formal pronoun, showing respect.

In most Dutch translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and common people with the informal pronoun, whereas they address him with the formal form.

Translation commentary on Matthew 23:3

So practice and observe whatever they tell you indicates that Jesus respects the authority of the scribes and the Pharisees, even though he opposes their hypocrisy. Practice and observe (Good News Translation “obey and follow”) are used synonymously and so may be translated as one verb such as “obey.”

But not what they do is elliptical and may have to be expanded to “but don’t do what they do” or “but don’t follow their actions.”

Observe whatever they tell you refers to the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, which is defined more precisely as for they preach, but do not practice. In most languages preach and practice will require the explicit mention of an object; for example, “for they teach you to do certain things, but they do not do these things themselves” or “for they tell you what Moses’ Law requires a person to do, but they themselves do not obey the Law.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .