Paragraph 6:14–15

This paragraph tells how people reacted after Jesus did the miracle to feed them.

6:14a

When the people saw the sign that Jesus had performed, they began to say: The people reacted when and because they saw the miracle. Here are other ways to translate these clauses:

Having seen the sign that Jesus had done, the people began to say….
-or-
The people saw the sign that Jesus did. So/Then they began to say….

sign: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sign refers to a miracle that has a special meaning. In this context the miracle that Jesus did revealed his greatness. See how you translated this word in 2:11. Also see Key Biblical Terms Miracle, Sign, Wonder, Mighty Work A.1.

Here are other ways to translate sign :

a great deed that reveals
-or-
a powerful work that teaches
-or-
a miracle that tells something

6:14b

Truly this is the Prophet who is to come into the world: The people spoke of a specific prophet—the Prophet. This was the prophet that the Jewish scriptures (our Old Testament) said that God would send to his people. Over a thousand years before, the prophet Moses said that this prophet, a prophet like himself, would come. See Deuteronomy 18:15, 18. The people had earlier wondered if John the Baptist was this prophet. See John 1:21. They were now saying that Jesus was the Prophet.

Here are other ways to translate this clause:

This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world. (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting! (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
He must truly be the Prophet who is coming into the world. (New Century Version)

Truly: This word means “surely” or “indeed.” See translation examples using those words in the previous note.

who is to come: In your translation, make sure that your choice of verb and tense for who is to come is natural. The speakers and their ancestors had been waiting for the prophet to come. Now (when they said this) they believed that he had arrived. They no longer had to wait. See the above notes for examples.

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