15:29a

And those who passed by: The clause those who passed by refers to people who by chance were walking by the place where Jesus was crucified. They did not come to watch the crucifixion on purpose.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

people who walked by
-or-
those who happened to pass/walk by the cross at that moment

heaped abuse on Him: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the English idiom heaped abuse on Him means “to speak evil of him.” An example of the words these people spoke against Jesus are given in 15:29c–30.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

insulted him (God’s Word)
-or-
said terrible things about Jesus (Contemporary English Version)

The form of the Greek verb for heaped abuse indicates that this action was repeated many times. Many people who walked by insulted Jesus. Consider using a verb form or another way in your language to indicate this. For example:

were insulting him
-or-
repeatedly insulted him

15:29b

shaking their heads and saying: The phrase shaking their heads describes a gesture that indicates that the people were insulting Jesus. When Jews shook their heads, they showed that they did not respect the person whom they were looking at or talking to.

If people in your culture will not understand the meaning of this gesture, you could:

• Translate it literally and include a footnote to explain the meaning. A sample footnote could be:

Jews “shook their heads” at a person to indicate that they considered that person very low/shameful and therefore did not respect them.

• Translate it in a way that makes the meaning clear. For example, the New Living Translation says:

shaking their heads in mockery

• Translate only the meaning and not the gesture. For example:

and said in mockery
-or-
and said with scorn/disrespect

General Comment on 15:29a–b

It may not be necessary or natural in your language to have two verbs of speaking, such as “insulted” (15:29a) and “said” (15:29b). These could be combined into one verb. Also the action “shaking their heads” (15:29b) could be placed either before or after the verb/verbs of speaking. For example, you could say:

Those who passed by shook their heads and insulted him, “So! You who are…”

15:29c–30

Aha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, come down from the cross and save Yourself!: The people passing by said this to mock Jesus. It is based on something that Jesus had previously said. What he said was probably misunderstood by most people (see John 2:19–22 and Mark 14:58–59). This is the sense of the mockery:

(a) You said you can do great miracles such as destroying the temple and rebuilding it in three days.

(b) If you can do that, then do this: come down from the cross and save yourself.

These people did not believe that Jesus could do either (a) or (b). They believed that his being on the cross was proof that he did not have power to do great miracles.

Translate this in a natural way in your language to show that they were mocking Jesus. It should be clear that the people did not believe that he could do what they were telling him to do.

15:29c–d

Aha!: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Aha is an exclamation that here expresses mocking or ridicule. If you have a word or expression in your language that expresses mocking or ridicule, consider using it here. If you do not have such a word, you could leave this word untranslated.

You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days: These words in Greek are spoken as a way to address Jesus. They are not a complete sentence in themselves but simply lead to the command to “come down….” It may be natural in your language to make this a separate sentence as a number of English versions have done. For example:

So you would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days! (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
You were going to tear down the Temple and build it back up in three days! (Good News Bible)

It is implied here that Jesus had said or claimed he would do this. You may want to make this explicit in your language:

You said you could destroy the Temple and build it again in three days. (New Century Version)
-or-
So you’re the one who claimed you could tear down the temple and build it again in three days. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Didn’t you say that you would destroy the temple and build it in three days?

temple: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as temple here refers to the main temple building. The main building was the holiest part of the temple. It was the part where God was present in a special way.

Here are some other ways to translate the word temple:

• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:

house/building of God
-or-
house/place where God dwells
-or-
house/place where God is
-or-
holy/sacred house

• If your language has a word for “temple,” consider using it. But you may need to modify it. For example:

temple of the Lord

Be sure to use a different term from the one you have chosen for “synagogue.” There was only one temple, but there were many synagogues throughout the land of Israel where the Jews met regularly for worship.

See how you translated this term in 14:58b, where the same word occurs. See also temple, Meaning 2, in the Glossary for more information.

rebuild it: The temple had already been built when Jesus made this statement. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

build it again
-or-
put it back together again

in three days: The phrase in three days refers to how much time it would take Jesus to rebuild the temple. It does not mean that he would wait three days and then begin rebuilding the temple. Nor does it mean that he would wait three days and then rebuild it in an instant. See how you translated this at 14:58c.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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