14:35a

It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile: The phrase It is fit means “It is good” or “It is useful.” Salt that has lost its strength is useless. It does not help to improve either the soil or the manure pile.

for the soil nor for the manure pile: The phrase for the soil refers here to putting the salt on/in the soil as a fertilizer. The phrase for the manure pile refers to putting something like salt in the manure pile to make fertilizer.

These two phrases refer to a similar purpose. In some languages it may more natural to combine them into one expression. For example:

It is not even useful for making fertilizer to improve the soil.

14:35b

it is thrown out: The clause it is thrown out means that people throw useless salt away. It is rubbish. In some languages it may be more natural to use an active verb. For example:

People simply throw it out. (Contemporary English Version)

14:35c

This verse part is the same as 8:8d and Mark 4:9. It would be good to translate it the same way.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear: With this saying, Jesus commanded or urged the crowd to give careful attention to the parable that they had just heard. He implied that they should do more than just listen to it. They should understand its meaning and then act on what they had learned from it.

This saying assumes that everyone in the crowd had ears that were able to hear. Jesus said it to all the people there who were listening to him. Some other ways to translate this saying are:

• Use “they” or “you” instead of he. For example:

⌊All⌋ those who have ears to hear, let them hear.
-or-

⌊All of⌋ you who have ears to hear, hear.

• Use a different type of clause or clauses. In some languages it may be more natural to use an “if” clause or a reason clause. For example:

If/Since you have ears that can hear, then pay attention.

• Translate the saying without including the word “ears.” For example:

You people who can hear me, listen! (New Century Version)

• Change the order of the clauses. For example:

Listen, then, if you have ears! (Good News Translation)

If you have an expression in your language that urges an audience to listen carefully to what you are saying, you may want to use it here.

hear…hear: The word hear is used twice in this verse part but with slightly different meanings. The first hear refers to the physical ability to hear. The second hear means to think about, understand, and respond to what the parable means.

Other ways to translate these two meanings are:

Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
You who are listening, think about what you have just heard.

let him hear: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as let him hear is an indirect command. It does not express permission. Another way to translate this is:

Anyone who has ears for listening should listen! (New Jerusalem Bible)

In some languages it may be necessary to make explicit what the listener should be listening to. In those languages you could supply a phrase such as “to me (Jesus)” or “to my words.”

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