Section 19:45–48
Jesus expelled sellers from the temple courtyard
In this section, Jesus went to the temple in the city of Jerusalem. There he drove out the people who were selling things in the temple area. Then he quoted what God said in Isaiah 56:7: God intended his temple to be a place of prayer. Then Jesus told them that in contrast, they had made it “a den of robbers.” This is a reference to Jeremiah 7:11, where God used this phrase to accuse people who had done evil things in his temple. By using this phrase, Jesus implied that the sellers were cheating people and working against God’s purpose for the temple.
At the end of this section, Luke summarized the events of the next few days. Jesus taught in the temple. The Jewish leaders were angry and wanted to kill him. But they could not do it because he was surrounded by many people who listened eagerly to his teachings.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
Jesus Goes to the Temple (Good News Translation)
-or-
Jesus Clears the Temple (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Jesus sends the merchants from the temple
Parallel passages for this section occur in Matthew 21:12–17, Mark 11:15–18, and John 2:13–16.
Paragraph 19:45–46
19:45a
Then Jesus entered the temple courts: The word Then introduces what happened sometime after Jesus had come into Jerusalem. In your translation, it may be helpful to indicate that the events of 19:45 did not occur immediately after Jesus finished speaking in 19:44. Before Jesus entered the temple in 19:45, he completed his journey and came into the city of Jerusalem.
Jesus entered: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Jesus entered is literally “entering.” Many English versions say “he entered.” For clarity, it may be helpful to use the name Jesus, as the Berean Standard Bible and several other English versions do.
the temple courts: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as temple courts is literally just “temple” (as in most English versions). The temple consisted of the temple building itself and the walls and courtyards that surrounded it. Here temple refers specifically to the large outer courtyard, and not to the temple building itself.
Some English versions have made this clear by translating temple as “temple area” (New International Version), “temple grounds” (New American Standard Bible), or “temple courtyard” (God’s Word). You may want to do this also if your word or phrase for “temple” would make readers think that Jesus entered the temple building. If not, you can simply say “temple.”
Some ways to translate the term temple courts are:
• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:
courtyard of the house of God
-or-
courtyard of the house of sacrifice
-or-
courtyard of the house of worship
-or-
holy/sacred house courtyard
• If your language has a word for temple, consider using it. But you may need to modify it by saying:
courtyard of the temple of the Jews/Lord
-or-
big/great temple courtyard
See how you translated temple in 2:27 and 18:10. Also, see the word temple, Meaning 1, in the Glossary for more information about the temple and how to translate it.
19:45b
and began to drive out those who were selling there: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as drive out is literally “throw out.” In this context it indicates that Jesus forced people who were selling things in the temple to leave. Some other ways to translate the action are:
he started chasing out the people who were selling things (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
and began to throw out the people who were selling things there (New Century Version)
those who were selling there: The phrase those who were selling there refers to people who sold things in the temple area. They sold things that people needed for sacrifices such as animals, wine, oil, and salt. Here is another way to translate this:
merchants (Good News Translation)
If you are using footnotes in your translation to give background information, you may want to include one here. For example:
If someone needed to buy an animal so that he could offer it as a sacrifice to God in the temple, these merchants would sell it to him. They also sold other things that people needed for the sacrifices such as wine, oil, and salt.
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