2:21

But Jesus was speaking about the temple of His body: This is a comment by the author, explaining Jesus’ words for the benefit of his readers. The author states that in 2:19, Jesus referred to his own body, not the temple building.

Here are other ways to translate this clause:

But the temple Jesus spoke about was his own body. (God’s Word)
-or-
But when Jesus said “this temple,” he meant his own body. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
But Jesus was talking about his body as a temple. (Contemporary English Version)

But: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But indicates a contrast. The contrast is between what the Jewish leaders thought (that Jesus spoke about the building) and what Jesus actually meant (Jesus spoke about his physical body). You should translate this contrast in a way that is natural in your language.

the temple of His body: The expression the temple of His body here means “the temple which is Christ’s body.” It indicates that the phrase the temple refers to Jesus’ body. His body was a temple in the sense that God lived there or was present there in a special way.

the temple: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible has translated as temple means the temple building itself. It is the same word as in 2:19 and 2:20.

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