Paragraph 23:32–34
23:32
In Greek, 23:32 begins with a conjunction that the New Jerusalem Bible translates as “Now.” Most English versions do not translate this conjunction. In this context the conjunction introduces background information about two other men who were led out with Jesus to be crucified. These men began to be led there before Jesus talked to the women in the preceding paragraph. Connect this information to the preceding paragraph in a way that is natural in your language.
Two others, who were criminals, were also led away to be executed with Jesus: The two men led out with Jesus were criminals, but Jesus was not a criminal. Be sure that this is clear in your translation. Some ways to make it clear in English are:
Two other men were also led away with Jesus to be executed. These men were both criminals.
-or-
Two criminals were also led out with him for execution… (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
criminals: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as criminals is a general word that refers to people who do evil things. In this context it refers to men who had broken the laws of the country in some way. Such crimes can include robbery or rebelling against the government. The parallel passages in Matthew 27:38 and Mark 15:27 use a more specific Greek word that is often translated as “robber.”
It is good to translate the word criminals here in a general way that can include crimes like robbery. For example:
evildoers
-or-
lawbreakers
were…led away to be executed with Jesus: The verbs were…led away and to be executed are passive verbs. Some ways to translate them are:
• Use one or more passive verbs. For example:
taken to be killed
-or-
led out…for execution (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
• Use one or more active verbs and supply a subject like “soldiers” or “Pilate’s men.” For example:
⌊soldiers⌋ led them away with ⌊Jesus⌋ in order to execute them
led away to be executed with Jesus: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as led away is more literally “led.” In this context it indicates that soldiers were forcing Jesus and the two other men to walk to the place of execution. The phrase with Jesus indicates that the soldiers were leading Jesus and the other two men to the place at the same time. Use a natural way in your language to describe this.
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