12:10a
And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven: The word And introduces another statement that talks about people saying something about Jesus, the Son of Man. In 12:9 Jesus referred to people who denied him. They publicly said that they did not follow him as their Master. Here in 12:10 Jesus referred to anyone who speaks a word against him. He indicated that God can forgive a person who speaks against Jesus.
Jesus was referring here to the possibility of forgiveness if the person repents of speaking against him. He did not mean that everyone who speaks against him will automatically be forgiven. In some languages it may be necessary to indicate this implied information in some way. For example:
Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven (New Century Version)
everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man: The phrase everyone who speaks a word against means “anyone who says something bad about.” This is a very general description. It can include statements that are hostile, disrespectful, or insulting.
the Son of Man: Here Jesus again referred to himself as the Son of Man, as he did in 12:8b. In some languages it may be necessary to make this explicit here, as well as in 12:8b. For example:
against me, the Son of Man
See the note at 11:30b.
will be forgiven: In this context the verb will be forgiven indicates that God will choose not to punish those people for their sin of speaking against Jesus. God will cancel their guilt and treat them as though they had not spoken in that way.
Some possible ways to translate will be forgiven are:
will be pardoned for their sin
-or-
their guilt will be erased/removed
-or-
the wrong that they have done will be forgotten/canceled
See how you translated the verb “forgive” in 11:4a.
The phrase will be forgiven is a passive verb phrase. It contains implied information about who forgives and what is forgiven. The implied information is:
⌊God⌋ will forgive ⌊them⌋ ⌊for their sin of speaking against the Son of Man⌋.
In some languages it may be necessary to translate this verb as an active verb and to make some of this implied information explicit. For example:
⌊God⌋ will pardon ⌊them⌋ ⌊for this sin of theirs⌋
-or-
⌊God⌋ will erase ⌊the guilt of that sin⌋
12:10b
but: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible here translates as but introduces a contrast between who God will forgive (12:10a) and who he will not forgive (12:10b).
whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as blasphemes can refer to speaking evil of either God or people. Here Jesus was referring to anyone who insults or dishonors the Holy Spirit of God. From the passage in Matthew 12:22–32, it appears that Jesus was referring specifically to people who saw the work of the Holy Spirit and said that it was the work of Satan. This is what the Jewish leaders had done in 11:15.
Some other ways to translate the word blasphemes are:
slanders (Revised English Bible)
-or-
speaks against (New Century Version)
-or-
dishonors (God’s Word)
Holy Spirit: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Holy Spirit refers to the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is God, together with God the Father and God the Son. The Holy Spirit is Spirit in the sense that he is a living being who does not have a physical body. He is Holy in the sense that he is God and unique from every other being. He is perfect in every way and is completely pure and sinless.
Some ways to translate Holy Spirit are:
Spirit/Breath of God
-or-
Holy/Sacred Spirit
Do not imply that the Holy Spirit is like the ghost of a dead person or that God has died.
Translate this term consistently with the way you translated it in 10:21a.
will not be forgiven: As in 12:10a, if you need to supply a subject, you should supply “God.” For example:
⌊God⌋ will not forgive ⌊him/them⌋
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