16:23a
But: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But often shows contrast. Here it introduces the words that Jesus said. These words show that he did not agree with what Peter has just said. Some English versions do not translate this conjunction.
Jesus turned and said to Peter: Peter may have started to rebuke Jesus while they walked side by side and away from the other disciples. Here, when Jesus wanted to rebuke/scold Peter, he turned and faced him.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
Jesus turned to face Peter and said to him
-or-
Jesus faced Peter and said
Get behind Me, Satan!: This is a rebuke. Jesus rebuked Peter for saying things that came from Satan. Peter had tempted Jesus not to follow God’s will, and Jesus strongly rejected that idea.
These words do not mean that Jesus ordered Peter to go away. He told Peter not to stop him from following God’s will.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
Get out of my way, Satan! (God’s Word)
-or-
Out of my sight, Satan! (Revised English Bible)
In some languages, it may be confusing for Jesus to call Peter Satan. If that is true in your language, you may need to make the meaning more explicit. For example:
⌊You are like⌋ Satan. Get away from me.
-or-
⌊That idea from⌋ Satan should go/be far from me!
-or-
⌊What you are saying is from⌋ Satan. Get out of my way!
For help to translate the word Satan, see the Note at 4:10a.
16:23b
You are a stumbling block to Me: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as stumbling block more literally means “a trap” (as in the New Living Translation (2004)). This refers to a stone or other thing that blocks a path or causes a person to stumble. Peter was a stumbling block because he was trying to stop Jesus from following God’s plan. It is sometimes translated in English as “hindrance” (as in the English Standard Version). It is often used figuratively to refer to something that tempts a person into sin.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
You are an obstacle in my way (Good News Translation)
-or-
You are blocking my path
-or-
You are trying to stop me from following God’s plan/path
-or-
You are tempting me to sin (God’s Word)
16:23c
For: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For introduces the basis for the things that Jesus said in 16:23b. Peter was hindering Jesus (16:23b) for/because he was not thinking the way that God thinks (16:23c).
Here are some other ways to translate this conjunction:
because (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
The reason ⌊I say this is⌋
Some English versions allow the context to indicate this connection. They do not explicitly translate this conjunction. Translate this connection in a natural way in your language.
you do not have in mind the things of God: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as have in mind means “think.” The words that Peter said in 16:22 came from his thoughts as a human being. They were not God’s thoughts or God’s will.
Peter thought that it was important for the Messiah to have a victory in the same way that people have victories. But God had a different plan.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
You aren’t thinking the way God thinks (God’s Word)
-or-
these thoughts of yours don’t come from God (Good News Translation)
-or-
the way you are thinking, it is not what God wants
you: The pronoun you here refers to Peter. It does not refer to Satan. Be sure that this is clear in your translation. For example, you might say:
you, Peter
the things of God: In this context, the phrase the things of God refers to God’s thoughts, plans and will. It does not refer to physical things.
Here is another way to translate this phrase:
the way God thinks (God’s Word)
but: There is a contrast here. The contrast is between “not thinking the things of God,” and “thinking the things of man.” Languages have different ways to indicate this negative-positive type of contrast. Here are some of the ways:
• With the conjunction but.
• With a conjunction other than but. This is a common way in English to show this type of contrast. For example:
rather
-or-
on the contrary
-or-
Instead
• With no conjunction. For example:
You are not thinking the things of God. You are thinking the things of man.
the things of men: Some words from the previous clause are implied but not repeated here. In some languages, it may be more natural to repeat some of those words from the previous clause. For example:
⌊you are thinking⌋ the way that humans think
-or-
⌊these thoughts come⌋ from a human way of thinking
things of men: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as men refers to “humans.” Here it does not refer only to males.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
the way humans think (God’s Word)
-or-
from a human point of view (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
as people think
General Comment on 16:23c
In some languages, it may be more natural to change the order of the clauses and put the positive clause first. For example:
you think like everyone else and not like God (Contemporary English Version)
Paragraph 16:24–28
In this paragraph Jesus spoke to all the disciples, including Peter. He is also speaking to all of us. He wanted to teach about how to understand things from God’s perspective. He also hinted how the lives of those who follow him will change.
© 2023 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.