23:37

“If You are the King of the Jews,” they said, “save Yourself!”: The Berean Standard Bible places the words they said in the middle of what the soldiers said to Jesus. This is good English style. However, in some languages, it may be necessary to put these words where they are in Greek, in the beginning of 23:37. For example:

and they said, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”

If You are the King of the Jews,…save Yourself!: Here the soldiers mocked Jesus. They challenged him to prove that he was the king of the Jews by saving himself from dying on the cross. They did not believe that he was the king of the Jews, and they felt sure that he could not save himself from death. They challenged him like that to ridicule him. Some other ways to translate it are:

If you are really the king of the Jews, then save yourself
-or-
Since ⌊you say⌋ you are the king of the Jews, ⌊prove it by⌋ saving yourself

In some languages it may be more natural to reverse the order of the phrases in this verse. For example:

Save yourself then if it is true that you are the king of the Jews.

Consider how you would give a challenge like this in your language.

the King of the Jews: The phrase the King of the Jews also occurred in 23:3. You should translate it in the same way here.

save Yourself!: Here the word save refers to saving from physical death. Some other ways to translate it here are:

deliver yourself
-or-
help yourself
-or-
rescue yourself ⌊from dying on this cross⌋

For more information, see save, Meaning 1, in the Glossary.

they said: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as they said is more literally “and saying.” It probably indicates that the soldiers said the words in this verse as they offered Jesus the wine vinegar (23:36b). What the soldiers said and did was all done to mock Jesus. Connect the actions in a natural way in your language.

© 2009, 2010, 2013 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

Section 24:13–35

Jesus came to two disciples on the road to Emmaus

The author told how two of Jesus’ disciples saw Jesus on the road to the village of Emmaus, but they did not know that he was Jesus. He talked with them and reminded them that God’s prophets had said that the Messiah would die and rise again. They invited him into their home. As he sat at the table with them, God caused them to realize that this man himself was Jesus, who had become alive again. Jesus disappeared, and the two disciples went quickly back to Jerusalem and told the other disciples that they had seen the Lord.

The account in this section does not occur elsewhere in Scripture. Some other examples of headings for this section are:

Jesus Appears to Two Disciples (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
The Walk to Emmaus (New Living Translation (2004))

Paragraph 24:13–18

24:13a

The Greek text of 24:13a begins with a common conjunction and that is often translated as “and.” Versions such as the CSB, NET Bible, and New International Version translate this word as “Now.” It introduces a new event and two people in the event. These people are two of the “others” (24:9) who heard the women tell about seeing angels at Jesus’ tomb.

This conjunction is followed by a Greek word that means “look!” or “behold!” Versions such as the New American Standard Bible translate these two Greek words as “And behold.” This way of introducing the event probably indicates that it is important in the longer story of Jesus’ resurrection.

The Berean Standard Bible and some other English versions do not translate this introductory phrase explicitly. You should introduce the new event/story and the disciples in a way that is natural in your language. Some other ways to do this are:

And it happened
-or-
And then
-or-
After that, listen!

That same day: The phrase That same day refers to the same day that the women told the disciples what they saw and heard at Jesus’ tomb. That day was Sunday, the same day that Jesus became alive again. Refer to it here in a clear way in your language.

two of them: The phrase two of them refers to two of Jesus’ followers. These were two of the “others” who were mentioned in 24:9. They were not among the eleven apostles. The name of one of them was Cleopas (24:18), who was a man. The second disciple could have been either another man or Cleopas’ wife. Some other ways to translate the phrase two of them are:

two of Jesus’ followers (Good News Translation)
-or-
two of the others ⌊who heard what the women said⌋

24:13b

were going to a village called Emmaus: Jesus’ two followers were walking from the city of Jerusalem to Emmaus. Emmaus was a village (small town). Other ways to translate this phrase are:

were walking to the village of Emmaus (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
were on their way to a village called Emmaus (NET Bible)
-or-
were going to a town named Emmaus (New Century Version)

24:13c

about seven miles from Jerusalem: seven miles is about the same distance as eleven kilometers. Jesus’ followers would probably take about two hours to walk this distance. Use the method for measuring distance that is natural in your language. For example:

a two-hour walk from Jerusalem

© 2009, 2010, 2013 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

24:45

Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as He opened their minds is an idiom. It means that Jesus caused the disciples to be able to understand. Jesus did that by explaining the OT Scriptures to them. The context indicates that he helped them understand the prophecies about himself in the Scriptures. His explanation here was probably similar to what he said to the two disciples from Emmaus in 24:27. Some other ways to translate the statement are:

Then he explained the meaning of the Scriptures to them.
-or-
Then he helped them understand the Scriptures. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
And then he showed them the meaning of all those things written in the Word of God.

In some languages there may be a different idiom to express this meaning. Translate it in a natural way in your language.

the Scriptures: Here the phrase the Scriptures refers especially to prophecies that were written about the Messiah/Christ long before Christ was born. In some languages it is helpful to indicate that these things were written long ago as prophecies. For example:

what ⌊people⌋ wrote ⌊long ago⌋ in God’s Word

© 2009, 2010, 2013 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

2:27a

Led by the Spirit, he went: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Led by the Spirit, he went is literally “He went in the Spirit.” This means that the Spirit of God caused Simeon to want to go to the temple area.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

The Spirit led Simeon (New Century Version)
-or-
the Spirit told Simeon to go (Contemporary English Version)

Spirit: The term Spirit here refers to the Holy Spirit. This is the same Spirit as in 2:25d.

the temple courts: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as temple courts is literally “temple” (as in most English versions). The temple was in Jerusalem and was the most important place where Jews worshiped God. It consisted of the main building and the walls and courtyards that surrounded it. Here “temple” refers specifically to one of the courtyards.

Some English versions (Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, NET Bible) have made this clear by translating “temple” as temple courts. You may want to do this also if your word or phrase for “temple” would make readers think they met inside the temple building.

Some ways to translate the term temple courts are:

• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:

courtyard of God’s house
-or-
courtyard of the house of sacrifice
-or-
courtyard of the holy/sacred house

• If your language has a word for “temple,” consider using it. But you may need to modify it by saying:

courtyard of the temple of the Lord

Be sure to use a different term from the one you have chosen for “synagogue.” There was only one temple, but there were many synagogues where the Jews met regularly for worship.

See temple, Meaning 1, in the Glossary for more information about the temple and how to translate it.

2:27b

the parents: The phrase the parents refers to Mary and Joseph. Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus, but he was his legal father.

brought in the child Jesus: In your translation, it may already be clear here that Jesus was a child. If so, then it may be more natural in your language to make “the child” implicit. For example:

brought in Jesus

the child: At this time, Jesus was between one and two months old. If you translate “child,” you should use a word or phrase that fits his age. For example:

the baby

2:27c

to do for Him what was customary under the Law: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to do for Him what was customary under the Law is more literally “for them to do according to the custom of the Law about him.” The Law that God gave the Israelites required them to do certain things for firstborn males. The Israelites later started doing other things that were based on this Law but that were not stated in it. These things became customs.

When Jesus’ parents brought him to the temple to present him to God, they were following such a custom. This entire clause refers back to what was already mentioned in 2:22b–23.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

to perform for him the custom ⌊derived⌋ from the Law concerning him ⌊as a firstborn son⌋
-or-
to do the customary thing for him based on ⌊Moses’⌋ law

© 2009, 2010, 2013 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

Paragraph 3:7–9

These verses are similar to the text in Matthew 3:7–10.

3:7a

Then John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him: In some languages, it may be helpful to change the order of information in this part of the verse. For example:

Crowds of people were coming out to be baptized by John. So John said to them….

Then At the end of 3:6, Luke ended his quote from the book of Isaiah. In 3:7, Luke began to tell how John fulfilled this prophecy by his preaching. In Greek, there is a conjunction at the beginning of 3:7 that indicates this connection. The Berean Standard Bible and some other versions (CSB, New King James Version) translate this conjunction as “then,” introducing the next event that happened. Other versions (New American Standard Bible, NET Bible) translate this conjunction as “so,” indicating that what John did fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy. Some other ways to express this connection are:

John ⌊did as the words from Isaiah’s book said⌋
-or-
In keeping with ⌊the words of Isaiah’s book⌋

Connect these verses in a natural way in your language. In some languages a connector may not be needed.

crowds: The word crowds is a plural form. In this context it has the same meaning as the singular form “crowd.” It refers to many people. It does not focus on different groups that may have been included in the crowd.

coming out: The crowds were coming out of the towns and villages to where John was, in the desert.

to be baptized by him: The phrase to be baptized by him is passive. It also indicates the purpose for which the people came to John in the desert. They came out to John in order to be baptized by him.

In some languages it may be more natural to use an active phrase here. For example:

in order for John to baptize them

be baptized: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as be baptized means to be ceremonially washed/purified with a special ritual that uses water. In this context people were purified from their sins. They were not washed to remove dirt from their bodies. A person was baptized as an initiation into a new spiritual condition.

The verb be baptized is another form of the word that was translated as “baptism” in 3:3c. You should translate the verb baptize in a similar way as you translate the noun “baptism.” See the note on “baptism” in 3:3c. Here are some ways to translate baptize in this context:

• Use a descriptive term. For example:

⌊ritually⌋ wash
-or-
initiate ⌊people⌋ in/with water
-or-
enter water

• Use a term for a similar ritual that is already part of your culture. You may need to indicate that in this context it has a special connection with God. For example:

purify people with God’s ceremonial bath
-or-
wash people in initiation water for God

• Use a term that is already accepted by the local churches. In some areas this term may have been borrowed from the national language or transliterated from Greek or English.

See baptize, Meaning 1, in the Glossary.

3:7b

You brood of vipers: Many English versions punctuate the phrase You brood of vipers as a separate sentence, as an exclamation. They begin a new sentence, a question, in 3:7c. Other versions, including the Berean Standard Bible, punctuate it as part of the same sentence as 3:7c. Connect 3:7b and 3:7c in the most natural way in your language.

brood of vipers: The word vipers refers to poisonous snakes. Another name for this type of snakes is “adders.” The phrase brood of vipers means “children/offspring of poisonous snakes.”

John used a metaphor here to criticize the people in the crowds. He called them a group of poisonous snakes. This phrase was an insult to the people. It meant that they were treacherous and evil, like deadly snakes.

In some cultures people may not understand the meaning of this metaphor. In some languages it may not be considered an insult. If that is true in your language, some other ways to translate it are:

• Use a simile and make the point of comparison explicit. For example:

You are ⌊as treacherous/dangerous as⌋ a group of vipers!
-or-
You are ⌊dangerous, like⌋ a bunch of poisonous snakes!

• Use an idiom that has the same meaning in your culture. If you do this, you may want to include a footnote that gives the biblical metaphor. For example:

The Greek text literally says, “you brood of vipers.”

• Translate the meaning without the metaphor. For example:

You treacherous deceivers!
-or-
You deceitful people!
-or-
You evil frauds!

brood: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as brood means offspring. However, John was not saying that the people were young or childlike. Some English translations do not translate the word brood. For example:

You snakes! (Good News Translation)
-or-
You poisonous snakes! (God’s Word)

3:7c

who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?: This is a rhetorical question. John asked the question to rebuke the people. He implied that the people were coming to be baptized so that God would not punish them in the future. John also implied that the people did not really intend to repent of their sins.

Some ways to translate this rhetorical question include:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

Who warned you to run away from God’s coming punishment? (New Century Version)

• As a statement. For example:

⌊So,⌋ someone has told you to try to escape God’s wrath!

If you translate this rebuke as a question, it may be necessary to have a transition to the next verse. For example:

Who warned you to run away from God’s coming punishment? Now that you have been warned….

See the note on the connection in 3:8a. Translate this rhetorical question in a natural way in your language.

flee: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as flee means “to run away from (something)” or “avoid/escape danger.”

the coming wrath: The word wrath means “anger” or “the punishment that comes as a consequence of someone’s anger.” In this context the phrase the coming wrath refers to the fact that God will judge and punish people because of their rebellious attitudes and their sins. Some other ways to translate the coming wrath are:

the punishment God is about to send (Good News Translation)
-or-
the coming judgment (Contemporary English Version)

© 2009, 2010, 2013 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.