11:14a
And if you are willing to accept it: In Greek, the verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as accept does not have an object. Something must be accepted/believed, and there are two ways to interpret what that something might be:
(1) It is the second half of the verse: he is the Elijah who was to come. For example:
if you will believe me (New Jerusalem Bible)
(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Revised Standard Version, English Standard Version, NET Bible, New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, King James Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New Living Translation (2004), Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
(2) It is the prophets in 11:13. For example:
if you believe them (Contemporary English Version)
(Good News Translation, God’s Word, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This fits the context best and is the interpretation that most English versions follow.
if you are willing to accept it: This is an if clause, but it is not a normal if clause. The second part of this verse (he is the Elijah who was to come) is true even if people were not willing to accept it.
Many people in the time of Jesus mistakenly believed that Elijah would literally come back to earth. Jesus probably used this if clause to draw attention to their mistaken belief and to emphasize the truth of what he was about to say.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
if you are willing to accept/believe what I say, ⌊you will understand that⌋
-or-
whether you are willing to accept/believe this ⌊or not⌋
-or-
Even though you may find it hard to accept/believe, ⌊I tell you the truth.⌋
This clause does not imply that if the people are not willing to accept it, then John is not the Elijah who is to come.
11:14b
he is the Elijah who was to come: This clause indicates that John was the fulfillment of Malachi 4:5. In that verse, God said that he would send the prophet Elijah. This prophecy took place after Elijah had already gone to heaven. Because of this verse, the Jews were expecting Elijah to come back down among them.
In Luke 1:17, God told John’s father that John would go before the Lord “in the spirit and power of Elijah.” John was not the actual Elijah reborn, rather God gave him power just like he had given power to Elijah. So when the prophet Malachi said that Elijah would come, he was actually talking about a man who would be like Elijah. That man was John.
If you translate this clause literally and people think that John and Elijah are the same person, you may want to:
• Add some implied information about the prophecy. For example:
John ⌊fulfilled the prophecy⌋ about Elijah coming
-or-
John is ⌊the man whom the prophet was talking about when he said that⌋ Elijah would return
• Use “like” or “as” to show that John was not Elijah reborn. For example:
John is ⌊the one who came as⌋ Elijah ⌊whom the Scriptures said⌋ was to come
who was to come: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as who was to come indicates that Elijah’s coming was prophesied. The prophet Malachi foretold that Elijah would come.
Here are some other ways to translate this expression:
whose coming was predicted (Good News Translation)
-or-
the one the prophets said would come (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
whom ⌊the prophet foretold⌋ would come
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