5:47a–b

But since you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?: This is a rhetorical question. Jesus used it as a strong statement and a rebuke. Jesus rebuked the religious leaders for not believing what Moses wrote and not believing what he said either. Refusing to believe Jesus meant that they also refused to believe Moses.

Here are three ways to translate this rebuke:

• Use a rhetorical question. For example:

But since you don’t believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say? (New Living Translation (2004))

• Use a statement. For example:

And because you do not believe what Moses wrote, you will not believe what I say.
-or-
You really do not believe what he wrote so you do/can not believe what I say.

• Use both a statement and a rhetorical question. For example:

You do not believe what Moses wrote. So how can you believe what I say?

Translate this rhetorical question in a way that is natural in your language.

5:47a

But: The Greek conjunction the Berean Standard Bible translates as But marks contrast. The contrast is between what would happen if they believed Moses (in 5:46) and what would happen if they did not believe Moses (5:47). Even though the Jewish leaders said that they believed Moses, Jesus said that they did not really believe him. And because they did not really believe Moses, they could not believe Jesus.

since: This conjunction introduces a condition that was fulfilled. Here is another way to translate this word:

because

you do not believe what he wrote: Jesus was saying that the religious leaders did not believe what Moses had written about the prophet who would come. (See the note on “he wrote about me” at 5:46b).

he: This pronoun refers to Moses. In some languages it is more natural to make this explicit. For example:

if you don’t believe what Moses wrote (New Century Version)

5:47b

how will you believe what I say: This clause indicates that because they did not meet the condition, the religious leaders could not believe in Jesus. Unless they believed what Moses wrote, they would not be able to believe Jesus’ words. For example:

how can you believe what I say (New Century Version)
-or-
you will not/never be able to believe what I say

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