24:16

But: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But is a common conjunction that can be translated in different ways. Here it introduces a situation that is unexpected. The men were followers of Jesus, but they did not recognize him. Introduce this unexpected situation in a natural way in your language.

their eyes were kept from recognizing Him: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as their eyes were kept from recognizing Him is literally “their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.” It indicates that although Jesus’ followers saw him, they did not know him. Something caused them not to realize that he was Jesus.

The clause is passive. It does not specify what caused Jesus’ followers not to recognize him. Probably the most likely possibility is that God caused it. There are several ways to translate the clause:

• Use a passive clause. For example:

but they were kept from recognizing him (New Century Version)

• Use an active clause and supply “God” as the subject. For example:

But God kept them from recognizing him (New Living Translation (2004))

• Translate in a more general way. For example:

Although they saw him, they didn’t recognize him. (God’s Word)
-or-
but something prevented them from recognizing him. (Revised English Bible)

Translate the clause in a natural way in your language. In some languages there may be an idiom to translate the Greek idiom “their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.” For example:

they did not recognize him because it was as if their eyes were blind

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