11:28a–b

“By what authority are You doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave You the authority to do them?”: These two questions have almost the same meaning. The Jewish leaders asked Jesus these questions in order to challenge his authority. They did not believe that God had authorized him to do what he was doing. So by their questions they were implying that God had not sent him. They used two questions to emphasize this challenge.

If it is not natural in your language to ask about Jesus’ authority in two different ways, you may want to combine these questions. For example:

Who told you that you could do these things?
-or-
Who authorized you to speak and act like this? (the Message version)

11:28a

By what authority: The phrase By what authority means “What right/permission do you have to…?” This question suggests that Jesus needed to have permission to do what he did. It implies that he needed permission from someone who was more important than he was.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

What gives you the right…? (God’s Word)
-or-
What right do you have…? (Contemporary English Version)

authority: The word authority refers to the moral or legal right to do something. This word also occurs in 1:22b and 10:42b–c.

doing these things: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as doing these things refers to the things that Jesus had been saying and doing. It may refer specifically to what Jesus said and did when he chased the customers, merchants and people who exchanged money out of the temple courtyard. It may refer to everything that Jesus had done and taught in the preceding few days. Or it may refer to everything Jesus had said and done throughout his ministry. Try to translate in a way that allows for all these possibilities. For example:

the things that you have said and done

Be careful that your translation of this question does not refer to what Jesus was doing when they approached him (11:27b). They were not asking him what authority he had to walk in the temple area.

they asked: The Berean Standard Bible places the words they asked in the middle of the two questions. In Greek, these words occur at the beginning of 11:28. Place the words they asked where it is natural in your language.

11:28b

And: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as And connects the two questions in 11:28a and 11:28b. These questions have almost the same meaning. Some versions, including the Good News Bible, do not use a conjunction here. Connect the questions in a natural way in your language.

who gave You the authority to do them?: This question is similar to the question in 11:28a. They wanted Jesus to say whether God or some human authority had given him the right to speak and act as he had been doing. The leaders themselves did not actually believe that anyone had given Jesus such a right.

Here is another possible way to translate this question:

Who sent you with this kind of authority?

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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