15:6a

If anyone does not remain in Me: This clause is more literally “unless someone remains in me.” It introduces a situation which is the opposite of 15:5b. Here someone does not remain in Christ. See how you translated the opposite clause “The one who remains in Me” in 15:5. For example:

Whoever does not abide in me (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Those who do not remain in me (Good News Translation)

However, it is probably better to use a singular subject to remind the reader of Judas Iscariot. He was the only one of Christ’s first disciples who did not remain in Christ.

15:6b–d

he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned: This is a figure of speech, partly simile (like a branch) and partly metaphor (withers). The person who does not remain in Christ is compared to a branch that was removed from the main stem of a vine. Here are some ways that they are similar:

(a) The person who fails to remain with God is like a branch that fails to produce good fruit because both are useless.

(b) Useless people and useless branches are both burned. Fire is a symbol of judgment in scripture, so useless people will be judged. Useless branches will be burned in a literal fire.

In some languages a literal translation of this figure of speech may be difficult to understand. It may be necessary to help the reader understand the meaning by making some of it explicit. For example:

he is like a ⌊useless⌋ branch that is thrown away and withers. Branches like that are gathered/picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned

15:6b

he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers: The phrase like a branch refers to both the verbs: this person is thrown away like a branch and withers like a branch. So in some languages it may be natural to rearrange this whole phrase.

is thrown away: This verb phrase is passive. Some unknown person or persons will discard (throw away) the useless branch. There are at least two ways to translate this:

• Use a passive verb. For example:

is thrown out like a branch (NET Bible)
-or-
is discarded like branches are

• Use an active verb. For example:

God will throw him away like a branch

and withers: The verb withers refers to the way that a branch dries up and dies when it does not get water and food. For example:

and dry up (Good News Translation)
-or-
and then dries up

If you used an active verb for “is thrown away,” you may need to change this phrase. For example:

and he will dry up

15:6c–d

Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned: This clause has a series of three passive verbs describing what happens to useless branches. They are gathered up, thrown, and burned. There are at least two ways to translate these verbs:

• Use passive verbs. For example:

such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned (New International Version)

• Use active verbs. For example:

People pick up dead branches, throw them into the fire, and burn them. (New Century Version)

the fire: This does not refer to a particular fire but to any fire that might be burning at that time. So it may be natural to say:

a fire

© 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.