21:6a
As for what you see here, the time will come when: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as As for what you see is literally “these things that you see.” It refers here to the temple, including the stones and gifts that his disciples admired in 21:5. Jesus indicated that he was going to tell them what would happen to the temple in the future. Some other ways to translate 21:6a are:
Let me tell you something about/concerning these things that you see. A time will come when….
-or-
You see these things ⌊now⌋, but the time is coming when….
-or-
The time will come when all these stones that you see….
See the General Comment on 21:6b–c below for other ways to connect 21:6a to 21:6b–c.
see: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as see means to look at something with focused attention. Other ways that you might translate this are:
looking at (New Century Version)
-or-
gazing at (NET Bible)
the time will come when: The phrase the time will come when is more literally “days will come in which.” This phrase introduces what Jesus predicted about the temple. He told what would happen to it in the future. In this context the word “days” refers in general to a period of time. It does not indicate whether the number of days will be few or many. Other ways to translate the phrase are:
the days will come when (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
there will be a time when
-or-
someday in the future
21:6b–c
not one stone will be left on another; every one will be thrown down: One way to translate this more literally is:
…there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down. (New American Standard Bible)
This statement is an emphatic way to say that the whole temple will be completely destroyed. This includes the parts that are not made of stone. Other ways to translate this meaning are:
…none of the walls/buildings will be left standing. Every wall will be broken down.
-or-
…nothing will be left of this ⌊beautiful⌋ temple. It will be completely destroyed.
Some languages have an idiom to describe something being totally destroyed. Describe the destruction in a natural way in your language.
will be left: The verbs will be left is passive. In some languages it may be more natural to translate without a passive verb. For example:
not even a single stone will remain in its place
-or-
⌊they⌋ will not leave even one stone on another one
-or-
there will no longer be one stone on top of the other
every one will be thrown down: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as will be thrown down means to destroy completely by tearing down and dismantling. Other ways to translate this word are:
will be torn down (God’s Word)
-or-
will be knocked down ⌊to the ground⌋
This is a passive clause. In some languages it may be necessary to use an active verb and supply a subject. In 19:43–44 Jesus said that the enemies of the Jews would do this. So here you may use a similar subject as you did there. For example:
when ⌊enemy armies⌋ will not leave one stone upon another…
General Comment on 21:6b–c
In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of 21:6b and 21:6c. For example:
6ceverything ⌊you see/admire here⌋ will be destroyed, 6band nothing will be left
In other languages it may be more natural to make one emphatic statement. For example:
this temple will be completely destroyed
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