12:24a–b

Truly, truly, I tell you: This expression is often used in this Gospel. It introduces something important Jesus wanted to say. He was encouraging his listeners to listen carefully and accept what he said. See how you translated this expression in 5:24 and 8:58. For example:

I tell you the truth (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
I tell you for certain (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Listen to this true saying

unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a seed: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as unless is more literally “if not.” Jesus was saying that if a grain of wheat did not fall into the earth and die, it would remain just a single grain. It would only become more than a single grain if it fell into the ground and died. A seed must be buried in the ground, like it was dead, in order to produce a crop.

Jesus was illustrating his own death by comparing it to the way a wheat seed is planted in the ground. It was necessary for him to die in order to bear fruit (bring people into the kingdom of God). However, he did not explain this saying and it is best that you translate it literally. Here are other ways to translate this idea:

if a seed is not buried in the ground, it cannot produce fruit
-or-
a grain of wheat must fall to the ground and die to make many seeds (New Century Version)
-or-
only if a wheat seed falls into the earth and dies will it become many

a kernel of wheat: The people of Palestine grew a lot of wheat in Jesus’ time and used it to make bread. See how you translated wheat in Luke 3:17, 16:7 and 1 Corinthians 15:37. The kernel is the individual seed that can grow into a new wheat plant. Refer to the wheat seed in a way that is natural in your language. For example

a seed of wheat
-or-
A single grain of wheat (God’s Word)

Jesus used a kernel of wheat as an example of a seed that must be buried in the ground in order to produce many seeds. What Jesus said about the kernel of wheat is true for any type of seed. In some cultures where wheat is unknown, it may be more natural to use a different seed. For example:

a rice seed
-or-
a maize/corn seed
-or-
a seed

falls to the ground: A wheat seed has to enter the earth in order to start to grow and produce other seeds. Use the vocabulary that is natural in your language in this context. For example:

is dropped into the ground
-or-
is planted in the soil (New Living Translation (2004))

dies: When a seed is planted it does not literally die. It ceases to exist as a seed and grows into a young plant. A seed that actually dies does not produce more seeds. But Jesus was giving an illustration of his own death and burial.

It is good to translate literally if possible. In some languages it may be strange or impossible to say that a seed that starts to grow is “dying.” If that is true in your language, it may be necessary to use other words. For example:

loses/surrenders its own life
-or-
ceases to live as a seed

it remains only a seed: A grain of wheat that is never planted does not become many. It stays the same and will eventually dry up and become useless. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

will never be more than one grain (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
it remains only a single seed (New International Version)
-or-
it remains alone (English Standard Version)

General Comment on 12:24a–b

In some languages it may be natural to reverse the order of 12:24a–b. For example:

24b a grain of wheat remains no more than a single grain 24a unless it is dropped into the ground and dies (Good News Translation)
-or-

24b A single grain of wheat doesn’t produce anything 24a unless it is planted in the ground and dies. (God’s Word)

12:24c

but: The word but introduces a situation that contrasts with that in 12:24a–b. The result of not dying in 12:24a–b is that the grain of wheat remains a single grain. However, the result of dying in 12:24c is that it bears much fruit.

if it dies, it bears much fruit: These clauses indicate that the wheat seed/grain that is planted grows and then produces many more seeds/grains. It does not, of course, produce fruit like bananas or oranges, which is what the English word usually means. Jesus was comparing his death and burial to what happens to a seed. A seed that is planted becomes many and produces fruit. Jesus was saying that his death would result in many people receiving life. Here are other ways to translate these clauses:

If it does die, then it produces many grains (Good News Translation)
-or-
if it dies, it bears a rich harvest (Revised English Bible)

if it dies: The seed does not literally die but stops existing as a seed. See 12:24a–b. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

if it ceases to exist as a seed
-or-
if it loses/surrenders its own life

it bears much fruit: Literally this clause means that a single seed will produce many fruits (whether grains, vegetables, or fruits). Jesus was using this illustration to say that his death would produce many members of God’s kingdom. They would receive life because of his death. But Jesus did not explain this, so it is recommended that you translate this idea literally. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

it produces many seeds (New International Version)
-or-
it will produce lots of wheat (Contemporary English Version)

General Comment on 12:24a–c

In this illustration, 12:24a–b discusses the negative possibility, that a seed is not planted. 12:24c discusses the positive possibility, that a seed is planted. In some languages it may be natural to discuss the positive before the negative. For example:

24c a grain of wheat must fall to the ground and die to make many seeds. 24a But if it never dies, 24b it remains only a single seed. (New Century Version)

© 2020 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.