Mark 2 : 16

Greek employs the article οἱ with γραμματεῖς (nominative plural); Syriac ܘܣܦܪܐ and Latin scribæ lack the article, as neither language requires it for definite reference in this syntactic context.

Greek uses καὶ τῶν Φαρισαίων with genitive article construction (partitive or appositional); Latin mirrors this with et pharisæi (nominative coordination); Syriac ܘܦܪܝܫܐ employs simple coordination without article, reflecting typical Semitic asyndetic style.

Greek includes a third καὶ before ἰδόντες, creating a triadic coordination structure (scribes and Pharisees and having-seen). Both Peshitta and Vulgate omit this conjunction, treating the participle as directly modifying the subject without additional coordination.

Greek uses aorist participle ἰδόντες (having seen); Latin employs present participle videntes (seeing); Syriac uses temporal particle ܟܕ with perfect verb ܚܙܐܘܗܝ (when they saw him), making the temporal relationship more explicit through a subordinate clause rather than participial construction.

Greek ὅτι introduces indirect discourse after a verb of perception; Latin quia functions identically; Syriac ܕ (attached to ܕܠܥܣ) serves the same subordinating function but is morphologically bound to the following verb, reflecting typical Syriac syntax.

Greek places ἁμαρτωλῶν before τελωνῶν (sinners and tax-collectors); both Peshitta (ܡܟܣܐ ܘܥܡ ܚܛܝܐ) and Vulgate (publicanis et peccatoribus) reverse this order to tax-collectors and sinners. This represents a minor stylistic variation with no semantic impact.

Greek uses dative τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ with article and possessive pronoun; Latin employs dative discipulis ejus with possessive; Syriac ܠܬܠܡܝܕܘܗܝ uses pronominal suffix -ܘܗܝ directly attached to the noun, a standard Semitic construction eliminating the need for separate possessive.

Vulgate inserts a colon after ejus to mark the transition to direct speech, a Latin editorial convention not reflected in Greek or Syriac manuscript traditions.

Greek uses interrogative τί ὅτι (why that = why is it that); Latin Quare (wherefore/why) is a single adverb; Syriac ܡܢܘ (who/what/why) employs a simple interrogative particle. All three express the same causal question with different syntactic strategies.

Vulgate adds Magister vester (your Teacher) as the explicit subject of the question, clarifying who is eating and drinking. Neither Greek nor Peshitta includes this vocative expansion; both rely on context to identify Jesus as the implied subject of the third-person verbs.

Vulgate concludes with a question mark, an editorial convention. Greek uses a semicolon-paragraph marker (;¶) and Syriac lacks explicit punctuation, both reflecting manuscript traditions predating modern punctuation systems.