6:27

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?: This is a rhetorical question that expects the answer “no one can.” Jesus used this rhetorical question to emphasize that worrying is not helpful or beneficial because people are certainly not able to live longer by worrying.

Here are some ways to translate this emphasis:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

Can any of you add a single hour to your life by worrying? (God’s Word)
-or-
Can worry make you live longer? (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Even if you worry, can that make you live even one hour longer?

• As a statement. For example:

You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it. (New Century Version)
-or-
Worrying ⌊is useless. It⌋ cannot make you live even a minute longer.

Translate this emphasis in a way that is natural in your language.

a single hour: The Greek words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a single hour refers to a short length of time. So the Berean Standard Bible translates it as a single hour.

Here is a more general way to translate this phrase:

any more time

-or-

a single moment (New Living Translation (2004))

to his life: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to his life refers to the length of a person’s life.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

to his span of life (English Standard Version)

In some languages, it will be more natural to translate life as the verb “live.” For example:

Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it? (Good News Translation)

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