Section 20:17–19

Jesus said again that he will die

In this section, Jesus predicted his death a third time. Each time Jesus said that he would die (16:21, 17:23 and here), he also said that he would become alive again. This time, he further predicted that the Romans would crucify him.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

Jesus again predicted his death and resurrection
-or-
Jesus spoke a third time about others killing him

There are parallel passages for this section in Mark 10:32–34 and Luke 18:31–34.

Paragraph 20:17–19

20:17a

As: This is the beginning of a new section. In Greek, this section begins with a conjunction. Here, this conjunction probably simply indicates that the story continues, which the Berean Standard Bible translates as As. There is no obvious connection between this section and what comes before it. Perhaps for that reason, many English versions do not translate this conjunction.

You should use a natural way in your language to begin this new section. For example:

When
-or-
While

Jesus was going up to Jerusalem: When the writers of the Bible said that people were going to Jerusalem, they usually said that they were going up to Jerusalem. This is because the city of Jerusalem was higher than most parts of the land of Israel. It was located in the mountains at an altitude of about 800 meters above sea level.

In some languages, it is natural to speak of going up or down when traveling on a road. In other languages, this may not be natural, or it may not be understood. If that is true in your language, you may use a more general expression. For example:

as Jesus was going to Jerusalem

The disciples were with Jesus on this journey, as 20:17b indicates. In some languages, it may be natural to make this explicit. For example:

as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem ⌊with his disciples⌋
-or-
as Jesus ⌊and his twelve disciples⌋ were going up to Jerusalem

20:17b

He took the twelve disciples aside: There is a textual issue in this verse. The word disciples does not occur in all manuscripts.

Many Greek manuscripts, including early important ones, include the word disciples. Most English versions, including the Berean Standard Bible, follow these manuscripts.

(Berean Standard Bible, English Standard Version, New International Version (1984), New American Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, King James Version, New Living Translation (2004), Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

Some early Greek manuscripts do not include the word. A few English versions follow these manuscripts. For example:

he took the Twelve aside (NET Bible)

(NIV2011, NET Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible)

It is recommended that you follow option (1) along with most English versions. Even if the word disciples were not part of the Greek text, it would be natural to add it in some languages to make the meaning clear.

He took…aside: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as took…aside means that Jesus went with his disciples apart from the larger group of people. He did this to speak to them in private. They were probably with a much larger group of pilgrims going up to Jerusalem for the Passover feast. But Jesus wanted to speak to his disciples alone.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

he called/asked the twelve disciples to gather by themselves
-or-
he asked his twelve disciples to separate themselves

and said: There are two ways to interpret the Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible leaves untranslated after and said:

It should be translated as a separate phrase. For example:

he took the twelve aside privately and said to them on the way (NET Bible)

(English Standard Version, NET Bible, New American Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Good News Translation, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

The idea is included in the verb “going up” (in 20:17a). It is not translated separately. For example:

he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them (New International Version)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, King James Version, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, God’s Word)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Jesus probably spoke to the disciples as they walked along the road. They did not stop for a meeting.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

along the way

-or-

while they were walking

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