14:62a

“I am,” said Jesus: By saying I am, Jesus answered “yes” to the high priest’s question. In his reply Jesus indicated that he was the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One. In languages that do not have a verb “to be,” here are some other ways to translate Jesus’ answer:

Jesus said in reply, “Yes indeed.”
-or-
Jesus replied, “Yes, that is true.”

said Jesus: In Greek the phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as said Jesus occurs at the beginning of this verse. Place it where it is natural in your language. The New Century Version says:

Jesus answered, “I am….” (New Century Version)

14:62b

and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power: Here Jesus predicted that the high priest and council members would see him sitting at God’s right hand side. When Jesus said this, he predicted that what Psalm 110:1 said about the Messiah would be fulfilled. You may want to include a cross-reference to Psalm 110:1 here.

and: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and shows that the clause in this part of the verse continues what Jesus was saying in 14:62a.

you: The pronoun you is plural and refers to the high priest and council members.

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.” It is a title that Jesus often used to refer to himself. It implies that:

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

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

Here are some other ways to translate this title:

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 languages it may be necessary to indicate explicitly that Jesus was referring to himself here. For example:

I, the Son of Man

This same term occurs in 14:21a.

sitting at the right hand: The phrase sitting at the right hand refers to the place of special honor next to God. In the culture at that time, the king or person having the greatest authority sat on a throne. The person with the next greatest authority and power after the king would sit at the king’s right hand side.

In many languages you may need to make the meaning of sitting at the right hand more explicit. For example:

sitting in the place of special honor at the right hand side

Power: The Jews often did not use God’s name when they were referring to him. The word Power is another way to refer to God without using his name. The word Power means “God, the One with all power and authority.” (See 14:61c for the note on “Blessed One,” which is a similar way to refer to God without using his name.)

Here are some other ways to translate this expression:

the Almighty (Good News Bible)
-or-
God, the Powerful One (New Century Version)

14:62c

coming with the clouds of heaven: The phrase coming with the clouds of heaven refers back to the phrase “you will see the Son of Man” in 14:62b. It indicates another way that the council members will see Jesus. They will see him coming with the clouds of heaven. Jesus referred here to the prophecy in Daniel 7:13–14. The Jewish leaders all knew that this prophecy was about the Messiah, so they knew that Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah.

The phrase coming with the clouds of heaven is similar to words in 13:26, “men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.” There is another statement about Jesus’ coming in 8:38: “when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

In the Old Testament a cloud often symbolized God’s presence, power, and glory. In this context coming with the clouds of heaven may imply that Jesus will be coming with God’s glory from heaven, the place where God lives. Another way to translate coming with the clouds of heaven here is:

coming with glorious/magnificent clouds from the place where God lives

If a literal translation will not be meaningful in your language, you may need to indicate the symbolism more explicitly. For example:

coming with the power and glory of God

See how you translated the similar phrase in 13:26. See also heaven, Meaning 2, in the Glossary.

To help your readers understand the significance of this phrase, you may want to add a footnote. For example:

When Jesus said this, he was quoting the prophecy about the Messiah in Daniel 7:13–14. In that prophecy, someone like a “Son of Man” comes with great power to rule as king and to judge those who do evil.

with the clouds: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates here literally as with the clouds has a different Greek word than the similar phrase in 13:26 that can mean either “on” or “in” the clouds. There is little practical difference in meaning, so you may translate both phrases the same way.

Paragraph 14:63–65

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