3:12a

But: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible here translates as But is a simple connector that is often translated as “and” (as in the Revised Standard Version). Here this word introduces what Jesus said to the unclean spirits. Jesus’ reaction was unexpected, so some English versions here translate this conjunction as But. Other versions do not translate this word here. You should connect 3:11 and 3:12 in a way that is natural in your language.

He warned them sternly: The Greek words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as He warned them sternly is literally “he rebuked them much.”

Here are some other ways to translate this:

Jesus strongly warned them (New Century Version)
-or-
he sternly ordered them (NET Bible)
-or-
he insisted that they… (Revised English Bible)

3:12b

not to make Him known: The clause not to make Him known is an indirect command. Jesus was commanding the unclean spirits not to tell people that he was the Son of God.

If people will incorrectly think that Jesus was saying that he was not the Son of God, then you should add a footnote. A possible footnote is:

When Jesus ordered the demons to stop saying that he was the Son of God, this does not mean that Jesus was not the Son of God. He was. However, he did not want it announced in that way or at that time.

make Him known: The phrase make Him known refers to revealing the fact that Jesus was the Son of God.

General Comment on 3:12a–b

The clause make Him known in 3:12b is an indirect quotation. In some languages a direct command is more natural. For example:

12aBut Jesus commanded the evil spirits, 12b“Do not tell people who I am.”

© 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.