Paragraph 14:5–7

In this paragraph, Thomas told Jesus that the disciples did not know where he was going or how to get there. Jesus answered that he himself was the way to God.

14:5a

Lord: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Lord means “master” or “one who has authority over others.” People used this word as a polite title when they spoke to an elder or someone in authority. Here are other ways to translate this word:

Master
-or-
Chief

In some languages it may be necessary to say “my Lord” rather than Lord when talking to someone. For example:

⌊my⌋ Chief/Master

See how you translated Lord in 13:25, 36, when other disciples addressed Jesus with this word.

said Thomas: Thomas is the name of one of Jesus’ disciples. The Greek has the word “him” that refers to Jesus. Because this is the beginning of a new paragraph, it may be natural to make this explicit. For example:

Thomas said to Jesus (New Century Version)

we do not know where You are going: Thomas did not understand what Jesus was talking about. He wanted to know where Jesus would go.

we: This pronoun is exclusive here. It refers to the disciples but not to Jesus.

14:5b

so how can we know the way?: This is a rhetorical question. It expresses disagreement with what Jesus just said. Thomas was disagreeing with Jesus’ statement that they knew the way to where he was going.

There are at least two ways to translate this rhetorical question:

• Use a rhetorical question. For example:

Lord, we do not know where you are going; so how can we know the way to get there? (Good News Translation)

• Use a statement. For example:

Lord, we do not know where you are going, so we cannot know the way to get there.

Translate this rhetorical question in a way that is natural in your language.

the way: This phrase here is short for “the way to where you are going.” See the note for the same phrase in 14:4 and how you translated it there. Translate it the same way in both places so that your readers will understand the connection.

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