14:11a

For: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For introduces the general principle that Jesus wanted people to understand from the preceding parable. In some languages it may be necessary to clarify this connection. For example:

⌊This parable illustrates⌋ that…
-or-

⌊I told this parable to teach you⌋ that

In other languages an explicit conjunction may not be necessary. For example:

Those who honor themselves (God’s Word)

everyone who exalts himself will be humbled: The verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as will be humbled is passive. Other ways to translate it are:

• Use an active verb that does not require a subject. For example:

Everyone who ⌊tries to⌋ honor himself will receive shame
-or-
Seeking your own honor results in shame/humiliation

• If it is necessary in your language to supply a subject, the implied subject is God. For example:

⌊God⌋ will humble everyone who exalts himself

In some languages it may be more natural to reword this clause as an “if” clause followed by a conclusion. For example:

If you put yourself above others, you will be put down (Contemporary English Version)

exalts himself: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as exalts himself literally means to raise or lift up oneself. This is a figurative way to describe someone who tries to gain honor from other people. Some other ways to translate this are:

make themselves great (Good News Translation)
-or-
tries to make himself look important

14:11b

and: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and introduces another principle that Jesus illustrated by the parable in 14:8–10. This principle corresponds to the principle in 14:11a. However, the results of a person humbling himself (11b) contrast with the results of exalting himself (11a), so some English versions have “but” here. For example:

but people who humble themselves will be honored (God’s Word)

Connect 14:11a and 14:11b in a natural way in your language.

the one who humbles himself will be exalted: This clause indicates that if a person decides to be humble and willingly takes a place of low status, God will honor him. As in the previous clause, in some languages it will be necessary to make the implied subject “God” explicit. For example:

⌊God⌋ will honor the one who humbles himself.

If you used an “if” clause in the previous part of the verse, you will also need to do the same thing here. For example:

But if you humble yourself, you will be honored. (Contemporary English Version)

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