7:49a
But: This verse begins with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “and.” Many English versions do not use a conjunction here. Other versions use various conjunctions to connect the verses: “And” (King James Version), “Then” (Revised Standard Version), and “But” (New Revised Standard Version). This verse tells the reaction of the guests to the statement in 7:48. It comes between two things that Jesus said to the woman in 7:48 and 7:50. Connect these verses in a way that is natural in your language.
those at the table began to say to themselves: This clause introduces the question in 7:49b. There are two ways to interpret the Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as say to themselves here:
(1) It refers to thoughts. The guests thought about the question in 7:49b without speaking out loud. For example:
say to themselves (Good News Translation)
(Berean Standard Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Good News Translation, New American Standard Bible, King James Version, Revised English Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, God’s Word)
(2) It refers to spoken words. The guests spoke to each another about the question in 7:49b. For example:
saying to one another (Contemporary English Version)
(Revised Standard Version, New International Version, NET Bible, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version, New Century Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This view is favored by the majority of Bible scholars. The same Greek expression is used in 7:39a, where it is clear that the thought was not spoken aloud. Some other ways to translate this are:
asked themselves
-or-
thought (God’s Word)
those at the table: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as those at the table is literally “the ones who were reclining with (him).” This refers to the other men who were guests at the feast. Refer to them in a way that in natural in your language.
7:49b
Who is this who even forgives sins?: This is a rhetorical question. It does not imply that the people did not know who Jesus was. It expresses their surprise and disapproval that Jesus declared that the woman’s sins were forgiven. They believed that only God had the authority to forgive sins. There are two ways to translate this:
• As a rhetorical question that implies surprise or disapproval. For example:
Who does this man think he is, going around forgiving sins? (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
Who is this who dares to forgive sins? (Contemporary English Version)
• As an exclamation that implies surprise or disapproval. For example:
This man dares to say that he forgives sins! ⌊That is shocking!⌋
-or-
I cannot understand why/how this man says that he forgives sins!
The people who said this did not believe that Jesus had authority to forgive sins. You may need to make this explicit in your translation by saying something like:
Who is this man who claims the authority ⌊that only God has⌋ to forgive sins?
-or-
I am amazed/shocked that this man believes that he can even forgive sins!
-or-
This man does not have authority to forgive sins! ⌊Only God does.⌋
even: The word even emphasizes the greatness of the authority that Jesus was claiming. He claimed to have authority even to forgive sins. The people thought that only God had that authority, and to claim the authority to forgive sins was like claiming to be God. Since they did not believe that Jesus was God, they were offended. Some other ways to say this could be:
Who is this man who claims such ⌊divine⌋ authority as to forgive sins?
-or-
Who is this man who goes so far as to forgive sins?
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