3:17

In this verse, John illustrated the actions of the Christ by talking about a farmer harvesting his grain. After farmers harvested grain in that culture, they “threshed” it by dragging or rolling something heavy over the grain. This caused the seeds to separate from the stalk and the husks.

Then the farmer “winnowed” the grain by using a large fork to throw the whole grain into the air. The wind would blow away the lightweight straw and husks so that only the grain seed was left. The farmer would then put the grain seed into bags. He gathered the straw and husks to burn them.

John used threshing and winnowing as metaphors to describe how the Christ would separate people who repented from people who did not repent. If the meaning of this metaphor is not clear in your language, you may need to use a simile. For example:

He is ⌊like a farmer who is⌋ ⌊already⌋ holding his winnowing fork to separate the chaff from the wheat and ⌊then⌋ clean up his threshing area. He will separate ⌊people who repent from other people,⌋ ⌊and he will value them like⌋ the wheat a farmer gathers into his barn. But he will ⌊punish the other people⌋ with never-ending fire ⌊like a farmer⌋ burns up the useless husks of the grain.

3:17a

His winnowing fork is in His hand: This part of the verse describes a person who is about to winnow grain. When he has his winnowing fork in his hand, he is ready to begin to winnow the grain. In this context, this illustration is a metaphor. It indicates that the Christ was ready to act quickly. Other ways to translate this are:

He is ⌊like a farmer⌋ holding a winnowing fork
-or-
He has picked up his winnowing fork and is ready

winnowing fork: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as winnowing fork refers to a big implement that looks something like a fork. People used it to throw grain into the air so that the wind would separate the grain from the chaff that is useless as food. The winnowing fork represents the Messiah’s authority to separate people who repent from those who refuse to repent.

If people in your area are not familiar with a winnowing fork, you can describe the action of winnowing and not mention the instrument. For example:

He is ready to separate the grain from the chaff

to clear His threshing floor: There are two ways to interpret the Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to clear His threshing floor:

(1) It means to clear/clean the threshing floor. For example:

to clean out his threshing floor (NET Bible)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Revised English Bible, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, NET Bible, God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004))

(2) It means to thresh out all the grain. For example:

he is ready to separate the wheat from the husks (Contemporary English Version)

(Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The farmer would clear/clean his threshing floor by letting the wind blow the chaff to the side and then gathering and storing the grain. The chaff would then be gathered and burned.

threshing floor: A threshing floor was a flat area outdoors where the grains of wheat were separated from the chaff.

3:17b

gather the wheat into His barn: The farmer put the grain in a safe place where he stored it. This represents the Christ/Messiah saving people who believe in him.

wheat: The word wheat refers to a certain type of grain plant and to the grain that the plant produces. Wheat plants have a stalk. On top of the stalk there are clusters of seeds, which are the wheat grains.

In some areas wheat may not be known. If that is true in your area, other ways to translate it are:

• Use a more general term. For example:

grain

• Use a different type of grain that is grown in your area and is similar to wheat. For example:

barley

You may want to include a footnote in your translation to give information about wheat.

His barn: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as barn refers to a storage area for grain. It can also be translated as:

storehouse (NET Bible)
-or-
granary (New Revised Standard Version)

3:17c

He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire: The chaff was the husk and the stalk (or straw). A farmer burned the chaff because it was not good to eat. This illustrates the fact that the Christ will punish those who do not repent. The unquenchable fire is a fire that people cannot put out and that never stops burning. The fire that a farmer uses to burn chaff does not burn forever, but the unquenchable fire represents eternal punishment for people who do not repent.

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