20:18a

Look: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Look draws attention to the words that follow. If it is natural in your language to use such a word or phrase, you may want to include it here. Here are some examples:

See (English Standard Version)
-or-
Listen (Good News Translation)
-or-
Pay attention to this

Some English versions do not translate this word. For example:

We are going up to Jerusalem (New International Version)

In some languages, it may not be natural to translate this word either.

we are going up to Jerusalem: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as going up is the same verb as in 20:17a. You should use the same verb here.

20:18b

the Son of Man: Jesus used the phrase the Son of Man to refer to himself. In some languages, it may be necessary to add the pronoun “I” to show that Jesus was referring to himself. For example:

⌊I,⌋ the Son of Man

In Matthew, this phrase first occurs in 8:20b. See the Note there for more information on translating it. This phrase last occurred in 19:28c.

will be delivered over: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as delivered over means “handed over to the power of someone else.” It often refers to a person being betrayed and delivered to his enemies.

Here are some other ways to translate this verb:

will be betrayed (New International Version)
-or-
will be handed over (Good News Translation)

This is a passive verb. Here the text does not specify who would betray Jesus. From later in Matthew, it is clear that Judas would betray Jesus. This would fulfill God’s plan. However, you should not make Judas explicit here. If you need to use an active verb, translate in a general way. For example:

⌊someone⌋ is going to betray

This same verb occurs in 17:22b.

20:18c

chief priests: A priest was a religious leader who offered sacrifices to God for the people. Jewish priests led the people in worship at the temple in Jerusalem. The phrase chief priests refers to the leaders among these priests.

Here are some other ways to translate chief priests:

• Use a descriptive term that focuses on the duty of priests. For example:

the leaders of the sacrificers
-or-
the elders among the men who offer sacrifices to God
-or-
the leaders of those who represent people to God

• Use a local word for priest. This option may be acceptable if the duties of a local priest are similar to those of a Jewish priest. You may need to indicate that the word refers to a Jewish priest. For example:

Jewish people’s leading priests/sacrificers

The term chief priests also occurs in 16:21c. You should translate it here as you did there.

scribes: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as scribes refers to men who studied, interpreted, and taught the law of Moses. These men were called scribes because their original work was to copy the laws of Moses by hand. (A scribe is someone who copies manuscripts.) In New Testament times, this was no longer their main task.

Here are some other ways to translate this term:

teachers of the Law of Moses (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
teachers of religious law (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
teachers of the law (New International Version)
-or-
experts in the law

Translate this term in the same way as you did in 12:38a, 15:1a, and 16:21c.

20:18d

They will condemn Him to death: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as condemn Him means “will judge him guilty.” The addition of the phrase to death means that the punishment that they would give Jesus would be that he should die.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

They will sentence him to die (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
they will say that he must die (New Century Version)

-or-

they will judge him as guilty ⌊of breaking the law⌋ and give a punishment of death

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