11:3a
to ask Him: This clause implies that the disciples left John and went to where Jesus was to ask the question. In some languages, it may be necessary to make some of this explicit. For example:
⌊When they arrived,⌋ they asked him
Are You the One who was to come: This is a real question. John’s disciples certainly asked Jesus this question in a polite way. In some languages, a literal translation of the question may sound impolite. It may be necessary to begin the question with a term of respect. For example:
⌊Master/Teacher,⌋ are you the one who is to come…?
-or-
⌊Please,⌋ are you the one who is to come…?
the One who was to come: In this context, the phrase the One who was to come refers to “the Christ.” The Old Testament prophets had said that the Christ would come. John too was a prophet. He said that the Christ would come and that Jesus was the Christ. But for some unknown reason, when he was in prison, he began to doubt that Jesus was the Christ.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
are you the one whom ⌊God said⌋ will come…?
-or-
are you the person whom ⌊we were told⌋ would come ⌊to save us⌋…?
-or-
⌊The prophets said that⌋ someone would come ⌊to save us⌋. Are you that person?
You may want to add a footnote to explain these words. Here is a sample footnote:
Based on Old Testament prophesies, the Jews were expecting God to send a special person to save them. This person was called “the Christ.” The words “the one who was to come” refer to the Christ.
11:3b
we: The pronoun we refers to all the Jews, not only John’s disciples. Many Jews expected the Christ to come and lead them to victory over the Romans. Jesus was not included in the pronoun we, because they were asking Jesus if he was the Christ.
look for someone else: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as look for means “expect” or “wait for.” The Jews were waiting for the person whom God had promised to send to them. This person was called “the Christ.” But many Jews were expecting the Christ to come and win earthly victory over their enemies. Jesus was not fulfilling those popular expectations.
Here are some other ways to translate this verb:
wait for another (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
expect someone else
-or-
continue looking for him
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