20:7a

The cloth that had been around Jesus’ head: The Jewish custom was to wrap a dead body in cloth up to the neck. Then they wrapped the head in another piece of cloth. See the note on 11:44c. Peter now noticed this second cloth, the head cloth. Refer to this head cloth in a way that is natural in your language. For example:

as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head (New International Version)
-or-
and the face cloth, which had been around Jesus’ head (NET Bible)
-or-
He also saw the piece of cloth that had been used to cover Jesus’ face. (Contemporary English Version) s5 20:7b

20:7b

The Greek begins this clause with a conjunction that the is often translated as “but.” Here it connects a negative statement (20:7b) to a positive statement (20:7c). This kind of sentence emphasizes the positive statement. Languages have different ways to indicate this type of emphasis. Here are some ways to show the emphasis:

• Use the conjunction “but” as in the New Revised Standard Version.

It wasn’t lying with the strips of linen but was rolled up separately. (God’s Word)

• Use a conjunction other than “but.” This is a common way in English to show this type of emphasis. For example:

It was not with the linen cloths. Instead, it was rolled up in a separate place.

• Do not use a conjunction as in the Berean Standard Bible. For example:

It was not with the cloth that was wrapped around the body. It was rolled up and in another place.

• Change the order of the clauses. For example:

The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. (New International Version)

You should translate this emphasis in the way that is most natural in your language.

was rolled up: This phrase further explains where the head cloth was lying. It was by itself a little distance from the other cloths. There are two ways to interpret the Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as was rolled up :

(1) It means rolled up. For example:

but was rolled up by itself (Good News Translation)

(Berean Standard Bible, Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, NET Bible, God’s Word, Contemporary English Version, New Jerusalem Bible)

(2) It means folded up. For example:

but folded up (English Standard Version)

(New International Version (1984), English Standard Version, New Living Translation (2004), New Century Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) and most important English translations. However, there is not a great difference in meaning.

The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as was rolled up is in the passive. The same verb in the active is found in Matthew 27:59 and Luke 23:53, where it means “wrapped.” The verb perhaps indicates that the cloth kept the shape that it had when it was wrapped around Jesus’ head.

There are at least two ways to translate this passive verb:

• Use a passive verb. For example:

was rolled up (Good News Translation)

• Use an active verb. Some scholars suggest that Jesus had rolled or folded the head cloth as a sign of his victory. However, the text does not state this. The cloth may have just kept the shape in which it was wrapped around Jesus’ body. So it is good to leave this as general as possible. For example:

The cloth was still lying in its place (New International Version)

20:7c

lying separate from the linen cloths: The head cloth was not with the cloths that had been wrapped around Jesus’ body. It was lying separately, but was still in the tomb. In some languages it may be natural to translate this as a positive expression. For example:

lying apart from the other wrappings (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
separate from the linen (New International Version)

General Comment on 20:6–7

In the Greek text 20:6–7 forms one long sentence. The Berean Standard Bible has broken it into three sentences. It may be clearer to break this up into several shorter sentences. For example:

Simon Peter arrived after him and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there. He also saw the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head. It wasn’t lying with the strips of linen but was rolled up separately. (God’s Word)

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