1:15a
This verse quotes words that Jesus said as he preached. See the note on “he said” below.
The time is fulfilled: The clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as The time is fulfilled indicates that the time that God had appointed and chosen for the Messiah to begin his work had arrived.
Here are some other ways to say this:
The right time has come (Good News Bible)
-or-
The appointed/designated time is here
This clause is passive. In some languages it may be necessary to make explicit that God was the one who decided the time. For example:
The time that God designated has arrived
-or-
Now is the time that God chose
In some languages it might be more natural to use the word “day” instead of time with the verbs “arrived” or “has come.” Use word combinations that are natural in your language.
He said: In Greek, the phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as He said is literally, “and saying.” It identifies Jesus as the speaker. Use a natural way in your language to identify the speaker of a quote. In Greek the phrase occurs at the beginning of 1:15a. Place this information wherever it is natural in your language.
1:15b
the kingdom of God: The phrase kingdom of God refers to God’s activity of ruling and caring for his people as their king. It does not refer to a land or country that he rules over. It refers to the relationship that he has with his people. He leads, protects, and cares for them. They obey, trust, and submit to him as their king.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
• As a noun. For example:
God’s rule/reign
-or-
God’s kingship
-or-
God’s chieftaincy
-or-
God’s government
• As a verbal expression:
God rules his people
-or-
God cares for his people as King
See also kingdom of God, Context 3, in the Glossary.
is near: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as is near is literally “has approached.” Here it probably indicates that God was establishing his rule in a new way in this world. (There is disagreement among the scholars as to whether this phrase means near spatially (i.e., already here, in the person of Jesus) or near in time (God will soon rule over people through the ministry that the Messiah is just beginning). No versions unambiguously follow the first interpretation. In the context of the preceding words “The time has come,” it seems more likely that “near” is a temporal expression rather than a spatial one. However, it also seems likely that “near” does not rule out the idea that God’s rule was already beginning through Jesus’ work.)
Here are some other ways the entire clause may be translated:
God has established his chieftaincy here and now.
-or-
God has come as King for his people.
1:15c
Repent and believe in the gospel: This statement is a command that is based on the fact that God’s rule is near. In some languages this relationship is indicated with a connector like “so” or “therefore.” Use a natural way in your language to indicate the relationship.
Repent: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Repent means for a person “to change his mind, heart, or will.” In the Bible, it refers specifically to changing the mind and heart about sin and about God. When a person repents, he is sorry for his past sins. He decides to stop sinning and obey God.
Here are some other ways to translate Repent in this context:
Change your thinking/mind/heart
-or-
Reject your sins to live/be for God
In some languages, you may have an idiom for this type of change. For example:
Turn from sin to God
-or-
Leave your sinning behind
See how you translated the word “repentance” at 1:4c.
believe in the gospel: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as believe in the gospel means “to accept that the gospel is true.” In this context the gospel is the statement in 1:15b that the kingdom of God is near.
believe: The word believe here implies that the person who believes will act on the good news by committing himself to God.
In some languages it may be good to use more than one verb to express this type of belief. For example:
believe and trust in this gospel
-or-
believe and act on this gospel
See believe, meaning 1, in the Glossary.
the gospel: In this context, the phrase the gospel probably refers to the statement that Jesus had just made about the kingdom of God being near. It also refers to the “gospel of God” in 1:14b.
Here are some ways to specify this:
his gospel
-or-
this good news
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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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