15:7

In 15:6 the parable ended with the shepherd’s words. In 15:7 Jesus concluded the parable and showed how it applied to his listeners. If this is not clear in your language, you may want to supply a separate quote introduction. For example:

⌊Jesus concluded⌋

See the note on “in the same way” in 15:7a for more information.

15:7a

In the same way: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as In the same way here introduces the important truth that the parable illustrated. A shepherd cares about a sheep that is lost, and he searches for it until he finds it. Then he celebrates. In the same way, God cares about each sinful person, and he celebrates when any sinful person repents.

A sinner is like a lost sheep because he has stopped following (obeying) God, just as the sheep left the shepherd and became lost. God is happy when each sinner repents and turns to him.

I tell you: Jesus often used the words I tell you to begin a statement that he wanted to emphasize. He was asking people to listen with extra attention. Some ways to show this emphasis could be:

• As a phrase before Jesus’ statement. For example:

Let me tell you this
-or-
Listen
-or-
I assure you

• As an emphatic word within Jesus’ statement. For example:

In the same way there will certainly be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner…

If you have another way in your language to emphasize a statement or to alert people to listen with special attention, consider using it here. See how you translated this expression in 10:12.

15:7b–c

there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones: These two verse parts are a comparison. Jesus said that God and his angels rejoice very much when a sinner repents. They are even happier about this than they are about all the righteous people who do not need to repent. In languages that do not use comparisons in this way, you may be able to reorder the verse parts and translate the comparison like this:

7cThere is already rejoicing in heaven over ninety-nine righteous people who do not need to repent. 7bBut there will be great rejoicing over one sinner who repents.

15:7b

there will be more joy in heaven: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as joy in heaven refers primarily to God, but it also includes the angels, who are with him in heaven. It indicates here that God and those in heaven with him will be very happy. In some languages you may need to make the meaning more explicit. For example:

those in heaven will be happier
-or-
God and his angels in heaven will rejoice greatly

See heaven, Meaning 2, in the Glossary.

repents: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as repents means that a person “changes his mind, heart, or will.” In the Bible, it refers specifically to a person’s changing his mind and heart about sin and about God. When a person repents, he is sorry for his past sins. He decides to stop sinning and obey God.

Some ways to translate repents in this context are:

changes his thinking/mind/heart
-or-
rejects his sins

In some languages, you may have an idiom for this type of change. For example:

turns from sin to God
-or-
leaves his sinning behind

The word repent also occurs in 13:3b.

15:7c

righteous ones who do not need to repent: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as righteous ones refers to people who live according to God’s standards.

Jesus may have referred here to people who wrongly think that they are righteous. According to their thinking, they do not need to repent. However, Jesus may have referred to people who had already repented and so God considered them to be righteous. In some languages it may be helpful to add a footnote that gives these two options.

See the note on “the righteous” at 5:32a, where the context is similar.

Some ways to translate the word righteous are:

those who obey God’s law
-or-
those who do what is right

In some languages people use an idiom to express this meaning. For example:

those who follow a straight path
-or-
upright people

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