3:24

For: In the Greek text 3:24 is connected to 3:23 with a conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For. It indicates that the clause that follows is background information that explains when this event happened. (The parentheses also help to indicate this.) Several translations do not explicitly translate this word but instead use parentheses. Indicate that the following clause is background information in whatever way is natural in your language.

John had not yet been thrown into prison: This statement is not part of the main story. It is a reference to what would happen later. The story is told in Matthew 14:3, Mark 6:17–20, and Luke 3:19–20. The author assumed that his readers already knew this story. In some languages it may be more natural to put this information before 3:23. See the General Comment on 3:23–24 following this note.

The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as been thrown is passive. King Herod was the one who ordered his soldiers/guards to put John in prison. (The word thrown is a figure of speech meaning that they put him in prison. They probably did not literally throw John into prison. But it does imply that they used force.)

There are at least two ways to translate this clause:

• Use a passive verb. For example:

John had not yet been put in prison. (English Standard Version)

• Use an active verb. For example:

This was before ⌊the authorities⌋ put John in prison.

It would be good to have a footnote saying why the authorities later put John in prison. For example:

King Herod later put John in prison because John criticized Herod for marrying his brother’s wife.

General Comment on 3:23–24

The information that John the Baptist was not yet in jail is background information and not on the story line. In some languages it is more natural to put 3:24 before 3:23. For example:

23–24 John had not yet been put in jail. He was at Aenon near Salim, where there was a lot of water, and people were coming there for John to baptize them. (Contemporary English Version)

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