24:11a

But: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But is more often translated as “and.” Here it introduces the apostles’ response to what the women said. In English it is natural to begin it with But because the apostles did not believe them, as the women might have expected. In many languages there may be a more natural way to introduce the apostles’ response to what the women said. Introduce their response in a natural way in your language.

their words seemed like nonsense to them: The clause their words seemed like nonsense indicates that what the women said seemed too impossible to be true. The apostles thought that what they said was not sensible. It seemed like a foolish story. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

The apostles thought that the women’s story didn’t make any sense (God’s Word)
-or-
their words seemed like a foolish story to them (Translator’s Reference Translation)

nonsense: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as nonsense refers to words that are not true or sensible. It describes statements that are considered absurd, ridiculous, or unbelievable. In some languages there is an idiom that expresses this meaning. Consider how you describe such a report or story in your language. Here is another way to translate this:

an idle tale (Revised Standard Version)

24:11b

and: The word and implies that 24:11b is the reason or result of the apostles’ impression of the women’s words. They did not believe the women’s report because it did not seem sensible. (See the example below in the General Comment on 24:11a–b.)

Connect the clauses in 24:11a–b in a natural way in your language.

they did not believe the women: The clause they did not believe the women indicates that the apostles did not believe what the women told them. They did not believe that men in shining clothes told them that Jesus was alive again. Some other ways to translate the clause are:

the apostles did not believe what the women said
-or-
they would not believe them (Revised English Bible)

For more information about using the word believe in this sense, see believe, Meaning 1, in the Glossary.

General Comment on 24:11a–b

Some English versions change the Greek order of clauses in 24:11a–b. Both 24:11a and 24:11b tell how the apostles responded to the women’s story. The apostles did not believe them (24:11a), and the women’s story seemed like nonsense (24:11b). Some English versions translate 24:11b as the reason that the apostles did not believe the women, and 24:11a as the result. Other versions translate the clauses as two different ways to express the same unbelief. Either translation is acceptable.

In some languages it may be more natural to reverse the order of the Greek clauses. For example:

24bBut they did not believe the women, 24abecause their words seems like nonsense (New International Version)

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