8:28

In this verse the disciples indicated that the people thought that Jesus was a prophet. All of the people whom they mentioned were prophets who had already died.

8:28a

Some say John the Baptist: In this part of the verse the disciples answered Jesus’ question in a natural way. They left some information implied because the meaning was clear from his question. In some languages it may be natural to make some or all of the information explicit. For example:

Some of the people say that you are John the Baptist

John the Baptist: This man, John, was called the Baptist because he baptized people. See how you translated John the Baptist in 6:14d and 6:25b.

8:28b

others say Elijah: In this part of the verse the disciples again left some information in their answer implied. In some languages it may be natural to make this information explicit. For example:

Other people say that you are Elijah

Elijah: Elijah was a prophet who lived more than five hundred years before Jesus. If people in your area do not know about Elijah, you may want to:

• Include some implied information in the text. For example:

Elijah the prophet

• Include a footnote to give information about him. Here is an example of a footnote:

Elijah was a prophet who lived more than five hundred years before Jesus. Jews thought that Elijah would return before the Messiah. They based this belief on Malachi 4:5–6.

8:28c

and still others, one of the prophets: The word still here indicates that the disciples were mentioning a third group of people who had another opinion. In this part of the verse the disciples again left some of the information in their reply implied. In some languages it may be necessary to make this information explicit, as in the previous two verse parts. For example:

and some other people say that you are one of the prophets

one of the prophets: In this context the prophets refers to men whom God sent in Old Testament times to speak his messages to people. Many of them did miracles that showed that God was with them. The Jews knew many stories of these men and what they had done by God’s power. Some of the Jews thought that Jesus was one of these prophets. Since Elijah was also a prophet, it may be natural to translate this as:

one of the other prophets

prophets: The word prophets refers to men who speak on behalf of God. A prophet tells people what God has revealed to him, and he also gives them messages from God.

Here are some other ways to translate prophets:

spokesmen for God
-or-
men who speak God’s words
-or-
God’s message-speakers

When choosing a term for prophets, consider how you will translate other words which are similar in meaning such as “angel,” “apostle,” and “preacher.”

While prophets did foretell the future, this was not their only function. Avoid using a word that focuses on telling the future.

See how you translated this word in 1:2a and 6:4. See also prophet in the Glossary for more information.

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