20:38a
He is not the God of the dead, but of the living: This statement is what Jesus concluded from Exodus 3:6. At the time when Moses was writing, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had all been dead for hundreds of years. However, only living people can know God and worship him. Moses called the Lord their God, and that implied that they were still alive with God.
In some languages it may be confusing to translate the clause He is not the God of the dead in a literal way. It may wrongly imply that God no longer cares for people who have died. God does care for people who worshiped him and who have died. They are still alive with him. Another way to translate this is:
He is not the God of people who no longer exist. He is the God of people who still exist.
not the God of the dead: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the dead here refers to dead bodies. It does not refer to the spirits of people who die. God continues to care for his people who have died. His people who die are not just corpses. They continue to live in God’s presence. Some ways to translate this are:
He is not the God of people who are dead.
-or-
He does not ⌊say to⌋ dead bodies, “I am your God.”
This statement does not imply that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did not die. They died, but their spirits continued to live with God. The statement also does not imply that God is only the God of people who have not yet died physically. One way to make that clear in English is:
He is not the God of people who remain/stay dead.
You may also want to explain more about the meaning in a footnote.
but: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as but indicates here that there is a contrast between being God of dead people and God of living people. Use a natural way in your language to show this contrast. For example:
He is not the God of dead people. Rather, he is the God of living people.
-or-
He is not the God of people who die and no longer exist. Instead, he is the God of people who are alive ⌊with him⌋.
of the living: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as living is plural. It refers to living people. In some languages it may also be helpful to supply the implied subject and verb here and say:
⌊he is the God⌋ of living ⌊people⌋
20:38b
for: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for here introduces an explanation of 20:38a. God is the God of living people, because to him, everyone who ever trusted him at any time is still alive. Introduce the explanation in a natural way in your language.
to Him all are alive: The phrase to Him here means “from God’s perspective” or “as He considers/sees.” To human beings, it may seem that people who have died are still dead. But to God, the people whose bodies have died are still alive. He cares for all of them.
all: There are two ways to interpret the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as all:
(1) It refers back to “those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age” in 20:35–36, including Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For example:
to him all of them are alive (New Revised Standard Version)
(New Revised Standard Version)
(2) It refers to “all people.” For example:
In God’s sight all people are living (Contemporary English Version)
(Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, New Jerusalem Bible)
Most English versions are ambiguous here. It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Jesus referred here to people who have a relationship with God, as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did. Some ways to translate it are:
all ⌊his children⌋
-or-
all ⌊his people⌋
-or-
all ⌊who belong to him⌋
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