5:10a
so the Jews said: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as so means “therefore.” It indicates a result.
There is some background information here that John’s original readers knew, so he did not include it. First, the Jewish Law required that people rest on the Sabbath. Also, the Jews believed that the man was working when he carried his mat. It is also implied that the Jews saw the man carrying his mat. The Jews themselves explain in 5:10c about the Jewish Law. So here you may want to only include the implied information that they saw the man carrying his mat. For example:
When the Jewish leaders saw the man carrying his mat, they said to him…. (Contemporary English Version)
the Jews: Although the Greek text and the Berean Standard Bible only say the Jews here, John was referring to “the leaders of the Jews.” In some languages to say the Jews would imply that Jesus was not a Jew. This term was often used for Jewish leaders who were against Jesus. You may want to make this explicit. For example:
the Jewish authorities (Good News Translation)
-or-
the Jewish leaders (New Living Translation (2004))
the man who had been healed: The verb had been healed is passive. There are several ways to translate it here:
• Use a passive verb. For example:
the man who was cured (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
the man who was made strong
• Use an active verb. For example:
the man whom Jesus had healed
-or-
the man whom Jesus made strong
• Refer to the man in a different way. For example:
When the Jewish leaders saw the man carrying his mat, they said to him (Contemporary English Version)
5:10b
This is the Sabbath!: Here are other ways to translate this clause:
It is the Sabbath.
-or-
Today is our (incl.) day for resting.
See the note on 5:9c. See how you translated the term Sabbath in that verse.
5:10c
It is unlawful for you to carry your mat: This clause means that the Jewish leaders thought that the man should not carry his mat. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
It is against the law for you to carry your bed. (Revised English Bible)
-or-
No one is allowed to carry a mat on the Sabbath! (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
You must/should not carry your mat today.
unlawful: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as unlawful means “ought not to,” “should not” or “must not.” The Jewish leaders said that the man should not carry his mat. They meant that the law did not allow him to do that. The word unlawful in the Berean Standard Bible means “not allowed by the law” or “forbidden by the law.”
The law of that day was the laws given to Moses by God. They are recorded in Exodus through Deuteronomy in the Old Testament. There were laws that said that the Jews must not work on the Sabbath. See Exodus 20:8–11; Deuteronomy 5:12–15.
The Old Testament law did not say anything about carrying mats on the Sabbath. However, Jewish leaders had added many additional laws to make sure that people kept the law of Moses. They explained what they thought the law meant by work. It was those laws that did not allow the man to carry his mat.
General Comment on 5:9–10
The Jews told the man that it was the Sabbath in 5:10b because the Jewish law commanded rest on the Sabbath. Here is a good model for making this connection clear:
9c But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, 10a so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, 10b “You can’t work on the Sabbath! 10c The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!” (New Living Translation (2004))
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