19:3a

He was trying to see who Jesus was: The Berean Standard Bible follows the literal Greek closely here. The statement probably indicates that Zacchaeus had heard about Jesus and so was trying to see him. He wanted to know what Jesus was like. Other ways to say this are:

He was eager to see what Jesus looked like (Revised English Bible)
-or-
Zacchaeus wanted to see what he was like (Contemporary English Version)

19:3b–c

The Berean Standard Bible follows the Greek order here. Other versions use a different order from the Greek text for the phrases in this verse. For example:

because he was short he could not see over the crowd (New International Version (2011))
-or-
but could not, on account of the crowd, because he was small in stature (Revised Standard Version)

The text gives two reasons why Zacchaeus could not see Jesus:

(a) there was a crowd around Jesus;

(b) Zacchaeus was too short to see over the people.

In some languages it is more natural to combine these two reasons. For example:

because he was too short to see above the crowd (New Century Version)

See the General Comment on 19:3a–c below for suggestions about reordering.

19:3b

but: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as but introduces a contrast. The contrast is between Zacchaeus wanting to see Jesus (19:3a) but not being able to see him (19:3c). Translate this contrast in a way that is natural in your language.

could not see over the crowd: This clause indicates that Zacchaeus could not see Jesus because many people were standing around Jesus. Zacchaeus was too short to see over them all. Some ways to say this are:

he was unable to see Jesus because there were many people ⌊surrounding Jesus⌋
-or-
he could not, because of the crowd (New International Version)

19:3c

because he was small in stature: The phrase because he was small in stature describes Zacchaeus’ height. He was not as tall as most people. Be sure not to imply that this clause describes Jesus. Other ways to translate this are:

Zacchaeus was a small man (God’s Word)
-or-
he was a little man (Good News Translation)
-or-
he was not a tall man

General Comment on 19:3a–c

It may be more natural in some languages to reorder the parts of 19:3. For example:

3aHe wanted to see who Jesus was 3bbut he could not 3cbecause he was a short man 3band because there was a crowd ⌊around Jesus⌋.
-or-

3aHe wanted to see who Jesus was, 3bbut a crowd was around Jesus. 3cZacchaeus was a short man, 3bso he was not able to see Jesus above the crowd.

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