12:23

The Sadducees finished their sad story in 12:22. In 12:23 they asked Jesus the question that they had prepared. In some languages it may be necessary to indicate that the Sadducees have finished their story and will now ask Jesus a question. The Berean Standard Bible includes the word “then” in the middle of the question to indicate this. Here are some other ways to say this:

So tell us, whose wife will she be… (New Living Translation)
-or-
So now, whose wife will she be…

12:23a

In the resurrection:

There is a textual issues in 12:23a. After the word
resurrection, some Greek manuscripts have the phrase “when they are raised.” (1) Some Greek manuscripts do not have this phrase. For example, the Contemporary English Version says: “When God raises people from death, whose wife will this woman be?” (New International Version, Revised Standard Version, New Living Translation, New Century Version, God’s Word, Contemporary English Version). (2) Other manuscripts have the phrase when they are raised. For example, the NET Bible says: “In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be?” (Good News Bible, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, NET Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English). The Berean Standard Bible follows the manuscripts that include when they are raised, but it translates the phrases “In the resurrection” and “when they rise again” together as one phrase. In your translation, you could follow the option that is most clear and natural in your language.) The resurrection refers to the time when God will cause people who have died to live again. The Sadducees did not believe that this would ever happen. They referred to it in this story only to make belief in a resurrection look foolish.

whose wife will she be: The Sadducees asked Jesus to say which of the seven men would be her husband when God caused people to live again. The Sadducees thought that there was no good answer to this question.

12:23b

For: The Greek connector that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For introduces an explanation of 12:23a. Some English versions use “since” or “after all” here or do not use a connector. Use a natural way to connect 12:23a and 12:23b in your language.

all seven were married to her: The Sadducees referred here to the seven brothers who had married the one woman. The Sadducees implied that this would create an impossible situation in the resurrection. They believed that no woman could have seven husbands at the same time.

General Comment on 12:23a–b

In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of information in this verse. For example:

23b
So, because all seven brothers had married the woman, 23awhose wife will she be when dead people live again?

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