7:26a

What then did you go out to see?: The Greek question that the Berean Standard Bible translates as What then did you go out to see? is exactly the same as the question in 7:25a. (The Berean Standard Bible adds the word “then” here for the sake of English style.)

What: See the note on What at 7:24b–c.

7:26b

A prophet?: This rhetorical question suggests yet another answer to the question asked in 7:24b, 7:25a, and 7:26a. This time it suggests the correct answer. If you need to translate it as a full sentence, you could say:

⌊Did you go out to see⌋ a prophet?

There are two ways to translate this rhetorical question:

• As a question. For example:

⌊Did you expect to see⌋ a prophet?

• As an emphatic statement. For example:

Surely it was a prophet that you went out to see.

(If you follow this option, you will not translate the answer “yes” in 7:26c.)

prophet: See also the note on prophet at 7:16b. See prophet in the Glossary.

7:26c

Yes: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Yes is emphasized here. Some ways that English versions express this emphasis are:

Yes indeed (Good News Translation)
-or-
He certainly was! (Contemporary English Version)

I tell you: Jesus often used the words I tell you to begin a statement that he wanted to emphasize. It indicates that the statement was important and that people should listen carefully to it. Some other ways to show this emphasis are:

• Use a phrase before Jesus’ statement. For example:

Let me tell you this
-or-
Listen
-or-
I assure you

• As an emphatic word within the following statement. For example:

He was much more than a prophet.
-or-
He was, in fact, more than a prophet.

If you have another way in your language to emphasize an important statement, consider using it here.

and more than a prophet: Jesus was saying here that John was certainly a prophet, and he also had another very important role. God had sent John especially to prepare people for the Messiah. Other ways to say this are:

and great among the prophets
-or-
and not just an ordinary prophet
-or-
and he has a greater ⌊mission⌋ than other prophets

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