20:36

See the General Comment on 20:36a–d following 20:36c–d for ways to reorder the clauses in this verse.

20:36a–b

In fact, they can no longer die, because they are like the angels: In 20:36a–b Jesus explained why people do not marry in the resurrection (20:35). The reason is that they will live forever like the angels. They will not need to marry and have children to ensure that human beings will continue to exist. The clause they can no longer die tells the way that people in the resurrection are like the angels. The angels do not die, and they also will not die.

Some other ways to translate 20:36a–b are:

Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
And they will never die again. In this respect they will be like angels (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels (New American Standard Bible)

In some languages it may be helpful to change the order of these clauses. For example:

36bIn that life they are like angels 36aand cannot die. (New Century Version)

In fact…because: In the Greek text, 20:36a and 20:36b each begin with the conjunction that is often translated as “for.” The Berean Standard Bible translates these words as In fact and because. The conjunction indicates that Jesus was explaining what he said in 20:35. Many English versions do not use a conjunction like “for” in either 20:36a or 20:36b, because the context already implies that 20:36a–b explains 20:35. Translate the explanation in a natural way in your language. See the examples in the next note.

they are like the angels: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as like the angels means “angel-like” or “equal to angels.” In this context the meanings are almost the same. The humans of the next age are like angels or equal to angels because they will not die. There are other ways in which they differ from angels. Be sure that your translation makes clear that the way they are like angels is that they do not die.

The word angels occurred in Luke 16:22. See how you translated it there. For more information, see angel, Meaning 1, in the Glossary.

20:36c–d

And since they are sons of the resurrection, they are sons of God: The phrase sons of God is used in a figurative sense here. In this context it indicates that the people who rise from death are God’s sons because they will live forever with him. Some ways to translate the connection between 20:36c and 20:36d are:

and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
they are children of God, because they share in the resurrection (Revised English Bible)

In some languages it may be helpful to change the order of 20:36c and 20:36d. For example:

36dfor being children of the resurrection, 36cthey are the sons of God (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

sons…sons: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible literally translates as sons refers to both men and women.

General Comment on 20:35–36

In 20:35 the Greek verbs are future forms, as in the Berean Standard Bible. In 20:36 the verbs are present forms. However, Jesus continued to talk about the future time of the resurrection. In some languages it may be more natural to use future verbs in both verses. For example:

35But in the future world no one who is worthy to rise from death will either marry 36or die. They will be like the angels and will be God’s children, because they have been raised to life. (Contemporary English Version)

General Comment on 20:36a–d

In some languages it may be helpful to change the order of the clauses in this verse. For example:

36cThey have ⌊already⌋ risen from death 36aand they cannot die again. 36bIn this way, they are like the angels. 36dThey are God’s children.

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