Paragraph 7:24–28

7:24–26

In these verses Jesus talked to the people about John. He wanted them to think about what kind of person John was. Three times he asked the people similar rhetorical questions and suggested answers to these questions. Consider how to translate this rhetorical conversation in a natural way in your language.

All of the questions in 7:24–26 refer to the time when John was preaching and baptizing in the desert. Many people were going there to hear him preach then and to be baptized by him. In some languages it may be necessary to make some of this information explicit. For example, you could make this context clear in the first question of 7:24b:

⌊When John was preaching/baptizing⌋ in the desert, what did you go out to see?

7:24a

After John’s messengers had left: The phrase John’s messengers refers to the two disciples whom John had sent to Jesus. In this part of the verse, they left Jesus to return to John.

Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: In the previous paragraph Jesus was speaking to John’s disciples. In this paragraph he spoke to the crowd about John.

the crowds: The plural phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as the crowds has the same meaning here as the singular form “crowd.” It refers to a large group of people. Your translation should not imply that there were different groups of people there. Some other ways to translate this are:

the people (New Century Version)
-or-
the large crowd of people
-or-
the many people there

7:24b–c

What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind?: Scholars interpret the phrase A reed swaying in the wind in different ways. The interpretation you choose will also affect the way you translate the question What did you go out into the wilderness to see? The two main interpretations are:

(1) It refers figuratively to a man who has a weak character. He often changes his opinions because he is influenced by what other people think of him. For example:

What kind of person did you go out to the desert to see? Was he like tall grass blown about by the wind? (Contemporary English Version)

(Contemporary English Version, Living Bible, New Living Translation (2004); probably Good News Translation)

(2) It refers literally to the tall grass that is found in the desert of Judea. For example:

Did you go out into the desert just to see tall grass that the wind blows around?

(Berean Standard Bible, English Standard Version, God’s Word, New American Standard Bible, New Century Version, NET Bible, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Revised Standard Version)

Bible scholars are quite evenly divided between those who favor interpretations (1) and (2). Many English versions translate the questions fairly literally. If you need to translate more explicitly, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

Some ways to translate interpretation (1) are:

What kind of person did you go out to the desert to see? ⌊A man who is like⌋ a reed blown about by the wind?
-or-
What kind of person did you go out to the desert to see? ⌊A man as weak as⌋ a reed that is swayed by the wind?

What: If you have a question word that can be used with either people or things, it would be good to use it here. You can use the same word where the question is repeated in 7:25a and 7:26a. In some languages there may be different question words for people and things. For example:

what (for things)
-or-
whom (for people)

Consider which question word would be most natural in this context. As you translate, remember that the answer Jesus finally gave to the question “What did you go out into the desert to see?” was “A prophet” (7:26).

If you are following interpretation (1) above, you may want to say:

“What kind of person/man did you go out to the desert to see?”

7:24b

What did you go out into the wilderness to see?: This is a rhetorical question. Jesus used it to focus people’s attention on the topic of John the Baptizer. Jesus was asking the crowd to think about John.

Some ways to translate this rhetorical question are:

• As a question. For example:

What did you go out into the desert to see?
-or-

⌊When⌋ you went into the desert ⌊to see John⌋, what ⌊kind of person⌋ did you expect to see?

• As a polite instruction. For example:

Think about what ⌊kind of man⌋ you went out into the desert to see.

wilderness: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as wilderness refers to a wild area where few people lived. Some versions translate it as “desert” (Contemporary English Version, God’s Word). But while it was often a dry area, it was not just sand and barren ground. Some wild grasses and bushes grew there. Some languages have a special word to refer to such areas, such as “the bush” (Africa) or “steppes” (Asia). Other ways to translate this word are:

uninhabited place
-or-
wild, open area

You may use the same word or expression that you used in 1:80 and 3:2.

7:24c

A reed swaying in the wind?: This also is a rhetorical question. This question is an ellipsis. Its full form is “Did you go out into the desert to see a reed swaying in the wind?” Jesus asked this question to make people think about what John was like. There are two ways you could translate this:

• As a question. For example:

⌊Did you go to see⌋ a reed swayed by the wind?
-or-

⌊Was he like⌋ tall grass blown by the wind?

• As an emphatic statement. For example:

You certainly did not go to see a reed swayed by the wind.
-or-
Surely you did not go out just to see someone who was like tall grass that the wind blows.

The answer to this rhetorical question is “No.” In some languages it may be necessary to make the answer explicit:

A reed swayed by the wind? ⌊No, of course not!⌋

The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as A reed swaying in the wind is literally “a reed swayed by the wind” or “a reed shaken by the wind.” This phrase contains a passive verb. Another way to translate it is:

A reed that the wind can ⌊easily⌋ sway?

reed: A reed is a tall blade of wild grass.

General Comment on 7:24b–c

It is possible to combine the two rhetorical questions in 7:24b–c and translate them as one question or statement. For example:

⌊When⌋ you went out into the wilderness, did you go out to see a reed swayed by the wind?
-or-

⌊When⌋ you went out into the wild/uninhabited place, you certainly did not go out to see tall grass blown around by the wind.

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