Matthew 15:1

In the original Greek according to Westcott-Hort, this verse is:

Τότε προσέρχονται τῷ Ἰησοῦ οἱ ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων γραμματεῖς καὶ Φαρισαῖοι, λέγοντες,

In the King James Version of the Bible, the text reads:

Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,

The New International Version translates the passage as:

Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,

The Jewish scribes were said to be proud of their knowledge of the law, while the Pharisees were proud of their sanctity. Those from Jerusalem were reputed as being the most learned of all.^[1][2] Theologian Johann Bengel makes the point that these events could not have taken place at the time of the Passover,^[3] when the Pharisees and scribes would have been in Jerusalem. John's Gospel notes in connection with the Feeding of the Five Thousand, "the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near"; in Matthew's Gospel the feeding of the five thousand is recorded in chapter 14 shortly before this event. Henry Alford connects these accounts, suggesting that the Scribes and Pharisees "had come expressly from Jerusalem to watch our Lord: most probably after that Passover which was nigh" at the time when the multitude were fed.^[4]