2:20a
This temple took forty-six years to build: This expression means “men have been building this temple for forty-six (46) years.”
Here are other ways to translate this clause:
It has taken forty-six years to build this temple. (Revised English Bible)
-or-
Workers have been constructing/building this temple for forty-six (46) years.
temple: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as temple refers to the temple building itself, as in 2:19a. Use the same expression in both verses.
2:20b
and You are going to raise it up in three days?: This is a rhetorical question. The Jewish leaders used it to say that they did not believe it, that it was impossible. They thought that Jesus was talking about the temple building. The temple took forty-six (46) years to build. So the leaders were amazed that Jesus said he could rebuild it in three days. To them this was completely impossible. So they asked this question not only because of surprise but also to rebuke him. There are at least two ways to translate this rhetorical question.
• Use a rhetorical question. For example:
Do you really believe you can build it again in three days? (New Century Version)
-or-
What makes you think you can rebuild it in three days? (Contemporary English Version)
• Use a statement that rebukes Jesus. For example:
You could not possibly rebuild it in three days!
Use whichever form is most natural in your language to express both surprise and rebuke.
General Comment on 2:20a–b
In some languages it may be natural to reverse the order of 2:20a and 2:20b. For example:
20b How could you raise this temple in three days? 20a It took forty-six (46) years to build!
© 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.