6:9a
Then: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then introduces the next development in the conflict. Most English versions translate it here as “Then.” A few versions translate it as “And” (Revised Standard Version). Connect verses 6:8 and 6:9 in the way that is most natural in your language.
Jesus said to them: Jesus asked the Pharisees and the teachers of the law a question. In some languages, it may be natural to translate this as:
Jesus asked them
them: The pronoun them refers to the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. They were the people who wanted to accuse Jesus. The pronoun does not refer to the whole crowd.
6:9b–d
I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?: This is a rhetorical question. It emphasizes a fact that everyone knew to be true: It was lawful on the Sabbath to do good, not evil. It was also lawful to save life, not to kill. Jesus emphasized this fact in order to challenge the Pharisees and teachers of the law. He challenged them to admit that healing the man on the Sabbath was lawful.
There are at least two ways to translate this rebuke:
• As a rhetorical question. For example:
I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it? (New Living Translation (2004))
• As a statement and a challenge. For example:
We know that it is lawful on the Sabbath to do good, and not to do harm. We know that it is lawful to save life, and not to kill. Do you agree with this?
-or-
I want you to consider whether our law permits us to do good or to do evil on the rest day. Tell me whether it permits us to save a person’s life or to kill him.
Use whichever form is most natural in your language to emphasize a fact that everyone knows is true and to express a challenge.
6:9b
I ask you: The phrase I ask you introduces a question. Some other ways to translate this are:
I have a question for you. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Here is a question:
-or-
Consider this:
which is lawful: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as lawful means “permitted ⌊in the religious law⌋.” It is the same word that was used in 6:2b and 6:4b. You should translate it in the same way here. Some other ways to translate this word are:
Does the law permit (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Is it legal (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
what is the right thing (God’s Word)
Sabbath: For advice on translating the word Sabbath, see the note at 6:1a.
6:9c
to do good or to do evil: The terms good and evil are very general terms. Use general terms to describe what is morally good/right and what is morally evil/wrong. You could also use a term that means to help people and a term that means to hurt or harm people. For example:
To help or to harm? (Good News Translation)
-or-
to help ⌊someone⌋ or to harm ⌊someone⌋
6:9d
to save life: The phrase to save life in this context refers to saving someone from danger or distress. If you cannot speak generally about saving life, you could say:
to save/rescue a person
-or-
to save/rescue a person ⌊from danger/death⌋
See save, Meaning 1a, in the Glossary.
to destroy it: The phrase to destroy it means “to destroy a life” or “to kill.” If you have an expression similar to “save a life,” use an expression here that contrasts with it, even if your expression does not use the word “destroy.” If you must speak about saving a person, then you could simply say “to kill” or “to kill a person” here.
General Comment on 6:9b–d
In some languages, it may be clearer to express 6:9b–d as four separate questions or statements. For example:
Does our Law allow ⌊us⌋ to do good on the Sabbath? Or does it allow ⌊us⌋ to do evil? Does it allow us to save ⌊someone’s⌋ life? Or does it allow ⌊us⌋ to kill ⌊someone⌋?
In other languages, it may be more natural to express 6:9b–d as two questions. One question could refer to the actions of doing good and saving life. The other question could refer to the actions of doing evil and killing. For example:
Is it lawful to do good and to save ⌊a⌋ life? Or it is lawful to do evil and to kill ⌊someone⌋?
© 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.