24:47a

and: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and introduces another event that was prophesied in the Scriptures. Other ways to introduce it are:

Then
-or-
It is also written that
-or-
The Scriptures also say that

Connect 24:47a to the preceding verse in a way that is natural in your language.

in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed: In Greek this clause is more literally, “to be preached in his name repentance for forgiveness of sins.” This clause is passive. In some languages it may be necessary to translate it in an active way. For example:

In the Messiah’s name, his followers will preach to other people about repentance and forgiveness of sins

In some languages it may be more natural to use direct speech to tell what the Messiah’s followers must preach. For example:

With the Messiah’s authority, they will tell people: “Repent of your sins and God will forgive you.”

in His name: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as in His name means “with/using his authority.” The phrase His name refers to the authority of the Messiah/Christ, who was mentioned in 24:46. The Messiah/Christ will give his followers authority to preach about repentance for forgiveness of sins. They will preach as his representatives. The phrase in His name is emphasized in this clause.

Some other ways to translate in His name here are:

with the Messiah’s authority
-or-
by the authority of Christ

repentance and forgiveness of sins: The phrase repentance and forgiveness of sins indicates that people must repent of their sins so that God will forgive them. God’s forgiveness is a result of their repentance, and many English versions make this connection more explicit. In some languages it may be necessary to translate the actions of repentance and forgiveness as clauses and to indicate who will repent and who will forgive them. For example:

that when people repent of their sins, God will forgive them

repentance: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as repentance means for a person “to change his/her mind, heart, or will.” In the Bible, it refers specifically to a person changing his mind and heart about sin and about God. When a person repents, he is sorry for his past sins. He decides to stop sinning and obey God.

Some ways to translate repentance in this context are:

change their thinking/mind/heart
-or-
reject their sins

In some languages, you may have an idiom for this type of change. For example:

turn from sin to God
-or-
leave their sinning behind

forgiveness: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as forgiveness refers to God pardoning or removing the guilt of people’s sins. God cancels their guilt and treats them as though they had never offended him. Some ways to translate this are:

pardoning of sins
-or-
canceling sins/guilt
-or-
release ⌊people⌋ from ⌊the bad consequence⌋ of ⌊their⌋ sins

In many languages there may be an idiom to refer to forgiving sins. For example:

erase sins/guilt
-or-
wiping away ⌊people’s⌋ sins

sins: The Greek word that English versions translate as sins refers to anything that people do or do not do that is against God’s will. This includes acts, thoughts, and attitudes that break God’s laws or are contrary to what God wants or approves. A person also sins when he does not do what God wants him to do.

You should translate sins with a general term that can include any wrongdoing against God or another person. Here are some problems to avoid:

(a) The term should not imply that only serious crimes like murder or stealing are sins. Other offenses like gossip and greed are also sins.

(b) The term should not include accidents or mistakes that are not against God’s will.

Some ways to translate sins are:

wrong acts
-or-
evil deeds

In some languages it may be more natural to translate sins with a phrase that includes a verb. For example:

doing evil/wrong

The word sins also occurs in 7:47 and 11:4.

proclaimed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as proclaimed means to publicly tell people something important. The word should not only refer to what a preacher does in church. Some other ways to translate proclaimed are:

announced
-or-
proclaimed
-or-
tell people

24:47b

to all nations: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as nations refers to ethnic groups or people groups rather than to political states or geographic regions. Jesus was sending his disciples to preach the message to all the different groups of people on earth.

24:47c

beginning in Jerusalem: Here Jesus told his followers that he wanted them to begin preaching this message in the city of Jerusalem. Then they would also go to other places, as Acts 1:8 indicates. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

You must begin to proclaim it in Jerusalem.
-or-
Start this preaching in Jerusalem.

General Comment on 24:46–47

In 24:46–47 Jesus summarized some prophecies in the OT Scriptures. At the time Jesus was speaking, some of the events had already happened (24:46b), and some had not yet happened (24:47). In your translation of these verses, it is important to use appropriate verb forms to make this clear. For example:

Jesus told them, “It is written in the Scriptures that the Messiah had to suffer and rise again on the third day. ⌊It is also written⌋ that repentance and forgiveness will be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem.”

© 2009, 2010, 2013 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.