Paragraph 12:24–27

In this paragraph Jesus answered the Sadducees’ question. There are two parts to Jesus’ answer. He explained that:

(a) When people live again after they have died, they will be like the angels, who do not marry. (12:25)

(b) In one of the books of Moses, God indicated that the great ancestors of the Jewish people were still alive with him. This showed that he does cause people to live again after they die. (12:26–27)

Then Jesus told the Sadducees that they were wrong not to believe that dead people can live again (12:27).

12:24a–c

Jesus said to them: The phrase Jesus said to them introduces Jesus’ answer to the Sadducees. His response begins with a rhetorical question. Use a natural way in your language to introduce it.

Aren’t you mistaken, because you do not know…?: This part of the sentence is the beginning of a rhetorical question. It emphasizes the fact that the Sadducees were mistaken because they did not know certain things.

See the discussion and examples in the next note. Use a natural way in your language to introduce the reason that the Sadducees were wrong.

Aren’t you mistaken…?: Jesus used this rhetorical question in two ways:

(a) to rebuke the Sadducees by telling them they were wrong.

(b) to explain to them why they were wrong.

Here are some ways to translate this rhetorical question:

• As a rhetorical question or as more than one question. For example:

Is not this why you are wrong…? (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Why don’t you understand? Don’t you know…? (New Century Version)

• As a statement or as more than one statement. For example:

Surely the reason why you are wrong is that… (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
You are completely wrong! You don’t know… (Contemporary English Version)

• As both a statement and a question. For example:

How wrong you are! And do you know why? It is because… (Good News Bible)

mistaken: The word mistaken indicates that the Sadducees were wrong about what they believed. They wrongly believed that God does not cause dead people to live again. Another way to translate this is:

You are wrong about what you believe

because you do not know: The phrase because you do not know introduces the reasons why the Sadducees were mistaken. See the General Comment on 12:24a–c for a suggestion about giving these reasons first.

you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God: The pronoun you refers to the Sadducees. They knew something about the Scriptures and the power of God, but they did not understand them. The New American Standard Bible says:

you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God

not know the Scriptures: Here the phrase the Scriptures refers to the books of the Old Testament. The Sadducees did not understand that these Scriptures teach that God causes dead people to live again.

not know…the power of God: The phrase the power of God refers to God’s ability to do whatever he wants to do. In this context the Sadducees did not believe that God has the power to cause people to live again after they die.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

you do not know…how powerful God is.
-or-
you do not understand what God is able to do.

General Comment on 12:24a–c

In some languages it may be more natural to state a reason before a result. If that is true in your language, you may want reverse the order of the parts of this verse. You may put the reasons (24b–c) before the result (24a). For example:

24bYou do not know the Scriptures 24cor the power of God! 24aThat is the reason why you are so wrong.

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