20:27a
whoever wants to be: As in 20:26b, the Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as wants to be is more literally “might want to be.”
Here are some other ways to translate this verb:
whoever would be (English Standard Version)
-or-
if one of you desires/wishes
first among you: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as first refers to the most important person in a group. This word is parallel to the word “great” in 20:26. But it is more intense. The word “great” refers to an important person. But the word first refers to the most important person.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
most important among you (God’s Word)
-or-
the most important person among you
20:27b
must be your slave: As in 20:26c, the tense of must be is future in Greek. But it functions as a command. Here the command is a bit unusual in that it is a third person command.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
he must become the slave of the rest of you
-or-
it is necessary that he become your slave
your slave: A slave was a person who was not free to do what he wanted. He had to follow the will of his owner. A slave was the lowest status and least important person in society. He was at the very bottom of the social order.
This word is parallel to the word “servant” in 20:26c. But it is more intense. The word “servant” refers to a person who had very low status in society. But the word slave refers to the person who was the lowest.
If your language does not have a separate word for slave, you should translate it in a similar way to “servant” but with a strengthening word. For example:
must serve ⌊all the rest of⌋ you in complete submission
-or-
must be like a common servant
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