9:50a
Jesus replied In Greek this verse is literally “And/But Jesus said to him.” Jesus told John that they should not stop the man. Introduce Jesus’ words in a natural way in your language.
The Greek text specifies “to him.” Most English versions include these words. However, the verb phrase “Do not stop” is plural. This indicates that Jesus addressed this phrase not only to John but also to the other disciples. Another way to translate this is:
Jesus said to him and to the other disciples (Good News Translation)
The Berean Standard Bible says only Jesus replied. It does not specify to whom Jesus was talking. Consider whether you need to make this information explicit in your translation.
Do not stop him: The command Do not stop is in the present tense in Greek. In this context, this tense indicates a general principle: “Do not be stopping.” You should translate this as a general principle. For example:
Do not stop ⌊people like⌋ him.
stop him: As in 9:49b, it may be necessary to say explicitly what action was stopped. If this is true in your language, use an expression that is similar to the expression in 9:49b.
Jesus replied: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Jesus replied is literally “Jesus said.” In some languages it may be more natural to translate the clause the way the Berean Standard Bible does, since Jesus responded to what John said. See the note at the beginning of 9:50a.
In Greek, these words occur at the beginning of 9:50. Most English versions put them there. The Berean Standard Bible places the words Jesus replied in the middle of Jesus’ response. Place the clause that introduces the quote where it is natural in your language.
9:50b
for: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for introduces the reason/basis for the command in 9:50a.
For a way to change the order of 9:50a–b, see the General Comment on 9:50a–b below.
whoever is not against you is for you: This expression states that there are two groups of people:
(1) Those who are for Jesus.
(2) Those who are against Jesus.
All people are in one of these two groups. So if someone is not against you, then he is for you. The pronoun you refers primarily to Jesus’ disciples. The parallel verse in Mark 9:40 uses the pronoun “us,” referring to both Jesus and his disciples, but Luke focused here on the disciples. Some other ways to translate this are:
The man who is not against you is on your side. (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
the person who is not your enemy is your friend
General Comment on 9:50a–b
In some languages, it may be more natural to put the basis for Jesus’ command (9:50b) before the command (9:50a). For example:
50bWhoever is not against you is for you. 50aSo/Therefore do not stop him.
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