Section 13:31–35
Jesus grieved for the people in Jerusalem
In this section Jesus spoke about how he would die in Jerusalem, as many other prophets had. He mourned that the people of Jerusalem would not turn to him so that he could save them from the coming destruction.
Some other headings for this section are:
Jesus’ Sorrow for Jerusalem (New International Version)
-or-
Jesus’ Love for the Residents of Jerusalem
There is a parallel passage for this section in Matthew 23:37–39.
Paragraph 13:31–33
In this paragraph some Pharisees warned Jesus that Herod wanted to kill him. Jesus replied that he intended to finish the work he was doing, even though that meant that he would die in Jerusalem.
13:31a
At that very hour: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as At that very hour means that the Pharisees came to Jesus immediately after he taught in 13:24–30. One way to express this is:
Right when Jesus said that
some Pharisees: Pharisees were members of a Jewish religious group or party. It was very important to them to obey all of the Jewish religious laws. They were generally opposed to Jesus. These particular Pharisees may have been sincere in warning Jesus about the danger he was in or they may have simply wanted him to leave the area.
Here are some ways to translate the word Pharisees:
• Transliterate the word according to the sounds of your language and indicate that it refers to a person. For example:
Farisi members
-or-
Parise adherents
• Transliterate the word Pharisees and indicate that it refers to a group of people with certain beliefs. For example:
people belonging to the Farise religious sect/group
-or-
members of the religious group called the Farasi
This word first occurs in 5:17b.
13:31b
Leave this place and get away: In some languages it may be more natural to combine these two clauses into one, as the Revised Standard Version has done:
Get away from here.
Notice that the Pharisees were advising Jesus about how he could keep himself safe. The Berean Standard Bible has translated this verse part as a command, as do other versions such as the Revised Standard Version, but you should consider how a courteous warning is normally expressed in your language. In some languages it may be more natural to say:
We advise you to leave here and go to a different place.
13:31c
because: In Greek, 13:31c begins with a conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as because. It introduces the reason for the advice in the previous verse part. Another way to translate this is:
for (Revised Standard Version)
Herod: The Pharisees were referring here to Herod Antipas, the governor/ruler of Galilee. See the note on 9:7a. In some languages it may be necessary to specify who Herod was. For example:
Herod Antipas (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Governor Herod
However, when the Pharisees spoke to Jesus, there was no confusion about which Herod they meant. In some translations it may be better to put this information in a footnote or include a cross-reference to 9:7.
wants to kill You: This phrase means “desires/intends/plans to have you killed.”
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