14:41a

When Jesus returned the third time: In this part of the verse there is implied information. The text implies that Jesus went away a third time to pray, and he prayed as he had before. After he prayed, he went back to where the three disciples were. In some languages it may be necessary to make some of this information explicit. For example:

He went back and prayed for a third time, and then he returned to where the three disciples were

He said: The Berean Standard Bible places the words He said after “returned the third time.” In Greek these words occur at the beginning of 14:41a. Place the words He said where it is natural in your language.

The phrase He said here introduces a rhetorical question that functions as a rebuke. Introduce the words that follow in a way that is natural in your language.

14:41b

Are you still sleeping and resting?: There are two different ways to interpret this part of the verse:

(1) Jesus was rebuking his disciples. He expressed surprise and disappointment that they were still sleeping. For example, the Revised Standard Version says:

Are you still sleeping and taking your rest?

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Good News Bible, Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, NET Bible, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation, 1996 edition, New Century Version, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, English Standard Version)

(2) Jesus was giving his disciples permission to continue to sleep and rest. (See H. B. Swete page 347) He said this because he was disappointed that they were sleeping again after he warned them twice to stay awake. For example, the New Jerusalem Bible says:

You can sleep on now and have your rest.

(New Jerusalem Bible, King James Version, God’s Word)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), as the majority of English versions do. There are several ways to translate this rebuke:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

Still sleeping? Still resting? (New Living Translation, 1996 edition)
-or-
Up to now, in spite of the fact that I admonished you, are you sleeping, are you resting your body?

• As an exclamation or statement. For example:

I am amazed that you are still sleeping and resting!

Translate this in a natural way in your language for this context.

sleeping and resting: The words sleeping and resting have similar meanings, but they are different. A person can rest without sleeping. Also, one disciple could have been asleep, while another was just lying down and resting. Since the text does not specify the details, it is better to try to express both meanings in the translation, if possible. For example:

sleeping and taking a rest

14:41c

That is enough!: Scholars connect the word enough to its context in two different ways:

(1) The word enough refers to the sleeping and resting of the disciples. For example:

That’s enough sleeping and resting!
-or-
You have rested and slept enough!

(2) The word enough refers to warnings that Jesus was giving the disciples against sleeping. Jesus implied that he had warned them enough. Since Judas was coming to betray him, there was no more time to warn the disciples. For example:

That’s enough of my rebuking you.

English versions are ambiguous about this issue. It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

14:41d

The hour has come: The words The hour has come refer to the “day” or “time” when the suffering that Jesus had prayed about would begin. This is the same hour that was mentioned in 14:35b–c. It would begin when Judas betrayed him and he was arrested.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

The day/time/hour that God has designated has already arrived.
-or-
Now is the time.
-or-
The time of suffering has begun.

14:41e

Look: The word Look is used here to get the hearer’s attention. It indicates to the hearer that the information that follows is important. The word indicates that Jesus wanted the disciples to give their attention to what he was going to tell them. Another way to say this is:

Listen!

Because it is not normal English style to use a word like “Look” in this context, many English versions do not translate this word. Consider whether there is a similar expression in your language that would be natural to say in this context. See how you translated this word in 1:2b–c, where the Berean Standard Bible translates it as “Behold.”

the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners: This is a passive clause. It focuses on Jesus as the Son of Man. In some languages it may be necessary to use an active clause here. For example:

they betray/give me, the Son of Man, into the hands of sinful people

the Son of Man: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the Son of Man is literally “the Son of the human/person.” Jesus used this title to imply that:

(a) he was a true human being, and he represented all people.

(b) he came from God and had authority from God.

Try to use an expression that implies both meanings. Here are some other expressions that translators have used:

the Man whom God Sent
-or-
the True Man from God/Heaven
-or-
the Representative of Mankind
-or-
The Older Brother of All People

In some cases, an unusual title may correctly suggest a deeper meaning. For example:

the Child of a Person
-or-
the One who was Born as a Human

Translators have also used expressions that are more literal. These more literal expressions may be appropriate where readers are familiar with a literal title in another version.

Jesus referred to himself here. See the example in the preceding note for a way to indicate that.

is betrayed: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as is betrayed refers to the action that is just then happening. In some languages it may be helpful to emphasize this, since 14:41d focuses on the fact that the hour has come. For example, the Good News Bible says:

The hour has come! Look, the Son of Man is now being handed over to the power of sinners. (Good News Bible)

betrayed into the hands of: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as betrayed into the hands of means “to deliver a person into the power of [someone else].” The words into the hands are a figure of speech. To put someone “into the hands” of others means to cause others to gain power over them. Another way to say this is:

[be put] under the control/power of sinners

Betrayal often implies using deceit. For example, in this case Judas pretended to be Jesus’ friend, but he arranged for the enemies of Jesus to capture him.

The phrase into the hands of also occurs in 9:31c.

sinners: The word sinners means “sinful people” or “evil people.” They are people who habitually do what is contrary to God’s law.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

evil people
-or-
people who want to do evil

© 2008 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.