12:56a
You hypocrites!: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as hypocrites (adding the word You to show that this is direct address) refers to people whose words are inconsistent with their behavior. They may pretend to be different than they really are, or they may not realize that their beliefs about themselves are not true. In this context the people were intelligent enough to recognize the signs that rain or hot weather was coming. But they refused to recognize that Jesus’ miracles were signs that he was the one whom God had sent to save the world.
Translate hypocrites with a term in your language that fits this context. In some languages you may have an idiom to express it. Some other ways to translate it in English are:
You frauds! (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
You inconsistent people (Translator’s Reference Translation)
-or-
You people think you know so much
See the note on “hypocrisy” in 12:1d. See also the note on “hypocrite” in 6:42d. In some languages, the term for “hypocrite” may be general enough to fit all these contexts. In other languages, it may be necessary to use a different term for different kinds of hypocrisy.
12:56b
You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky: This clause indicates that the people in the crowd could understand the weather signs (clouds and wind) that they could see on the earth and in the sky. Other ways to translate this clause are:
You know how to interpret the weather signs of the earth and sky (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
You can predict the weather by looking at the earth and sky (Contemporary English Version)
12:56c
Why don’t you know how to interpret the present time?: This is a rhetorical question. It functions as a rebuke. Jesus was rebuking the crowd for not knowing how to interpret the events that were happening at that time. He implied that they should know how to interpret them.
Some ways to translate this rebuke are:
• As a rhetorical question. For example:
Why don’t you understand what is happening now? (New Century Version)
• As a statement. For example:
But for some reason you don’t know how to judge the time in which you’re living. (God’s Word)
-or-
You should know how to interpret the present time!
Translate this rebuke in a way that is natural in your language.
interpret the present time: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as interpret the present time refers to interpreting what was happening in that period of time. Jesus was referring specifically to the years when he was teaching and doing miracles among the people. The people did not know how to interpret what Jesus was doing. They did not understand that God had sent him, and they did not know what God was going to do through him.
In some languages it may be necessary to make some of this information explicit. For example:
interpret ⌊what I am doing at⌋ this time
-or-
understand the meaning of ⌊the signs that God is causing me to show at⌋ this time
interpret: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as interpret refers to examining or considering something and making a decision about its worth and value. In this context Jesus probably implied that the people should carefully consider the signs that Jesus had done and decide what the signs meant.
the present time: The phrase the present time refers here to the period of history in which Jesus and his listeners were living. It does not refer only to the time when Jesus was speaking to that particular crowd.
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