13:19a–c

The Berean Standard Bible and most other English versions translate the parable in this verse using past-tense verbs such as “tossed,” “grew,” and “became.” A few versions, such as the Contemporary English Version and Good News Translation, use present-tense verbs such as “takes,” “plants,” and “grows.” Use whatever verb forms are natural in your language for this kind of parable.

13:19a

It is like a mustard seed: The clause It is like a mustard seed is a simile. It compares the kingdom of God to what happens when a mustard seed is planted. The Jewish people considered the mustard seed to be a symbol of smallness. However, the mustard plant grew to be a tree as large as three meters (ten feet) high.

The point of similarity in this comparison is the growth from something small to something large. Like the mustard plant, the kingdom of God is very small at its beginning, but it becomes very large.

The following may be a good model because it makes clear that the comparison describes the whole growth process, not just what the seed is like:

It is like what happens when someone plants a mustard seed in a garden. (Contemporary English Version)

mustard seed: If people in your language group do not know about mustard seeds or plants, here are some ways to translate mustard seed:

• Use a loan-word along with a general term if necessary. For example:

a seed of ⌊the plant/tree called⌋ mustard

• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:

a tiny seed

• Use the name of a local seed that is known to be very small, but which grows into a tree. If you use this option, you may want to indicate the literal name in a footnote. For example, you could say in the footnote:

The Greek text is literally “a mustard seed.”

Regardless of the way you translate mustard seed, you may want to add a footnote that explains the significance of mustard seed in the Jewish culture. For example:

For the Jews, the mustard seed was a symbol of something that was very small. But the mustard seed that was planted in the country of the Jews grew into a tree that was three meters high.

a man tossed into his garden: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a man tossed is literally “taking, a man threw.” The word “taking” means that the man picked up the seed with his hand. In some languages it may be more natural to leave this action implicit. The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as tossed here means to sow or scatter seed on the ground. The method of planting is not in focus here. You may use whatever term is natural in your language for planting this kind of seed in a vegetable garden or field.

13:19b

It grew and became a tree: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as tree may refer to either a tree or bush. Most English versions have tree. However, another way to translate this is:

When it was fully grown, it became a large bush (New American Bible)

In some languages it may not be possible to refer to a mustard plant as a “tree” and there may not be a term such as “bush” or “shrub.” If that is true in your language, you may describe the growth of the mustard using other terms. For example:

grows as big as a tree (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
grew until it was a very large plant

13:19c

the birds of the air: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the birds of the air was a common way to refer to wild birds that can fly. In some languages it may be more natural to simply use a general word. For example:

birds (Good News Translation)

The same phrase occurs in 8:5.

nested in its branches: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as nested usually means “made a home.” In this context it may also refer to roosting or finding temporary shelter. Some ways to translate this verb are:

make their nests (Good News Translation)
-or-
sheltered (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
came to roost (Revised English Bible)
-or-
perched (New International Version)

Use a natural term in your language that describes what birds might do in a plant of this size.

© 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.

14:16a

But Jesus replied: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But Jesus replied is more literally “But/and he said to him.” Notice that Jesus was responding to a comment, not a question. Use a quote introduction that is appropriate in your language for this kind of situation.

A certain man prepared a great banquet: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as A certain man was a natural way to begin a story. It introduced the main character by telling what he was doing. Consider how to naturally introduce a short story like this in your language. Another way to do this in English is:

There was once a man who began to prepare a great banquet.

prepared: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as prepared literally means “made.” In this context it means “was planning.” The man himself would have been a rich man who had slaves to do the actual work of purchasing the food and cooking.

a great banquet: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as banquet is the same word that it translated as “banquet” in 14:12b. In this context it clearly refers to a large meal or feast.

14:16b

and invited many guests: According to Jewish custom, a person who was planning a banquet first sent out a servant with an invitation that gave general information. He probably did not go personally to invite the guests. Invited guests normally indicated whether they planned to attend. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

and had sent out many invitations (Revised English Bible)
-or-
He sent a servant to invite many people to attend

© 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.

15:13a

After a few days: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as After a few days is more literally “Not many days later.” For example:

After a few days (Good News Translation)

the younger son got everything together: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as got everything together indicates that he gathered all his possessions that could be moved. The context probably implies that the younger son sold all his share of the property as soon as he could. Then he packed up his money and everything else that he wanted to take with him. Other ways to translate this clause are:

the younger son sold his part of the property and left home with the money (Good News Translation)
-or-
the younger son sold his share and took his money and possessions

15:13b

journeyed to a distant country: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as journeyed to a distant country means here that the younger son left home and traveled to a foreign land that was far from his home.

15:13c

In some languages it may be necessary to make explicit that the younger son not only set off for this distant country but actually reached it. For example:

⌊When he arrived⌋…

squandered his wealth in wild living: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as squandered his wealth means “wasted his money.” The younger son was extravagant and wasteful. He did not try to use his money wisely. Other ways to translate this are:

he wasted his money by behaving in ways that were not appropriate
-or-
he did all sorts of useless things and wasted his wealth

wild living: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as wild living refers to a way of life that is reckless and immoral. It would have included activities like gambling, getting drunk, holding big parties, and spending time with immoral women.

© 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.

16:13

This verse is almost exactly the same as Matthew 6:24. Jesus compared those who wanted to be his disciples to servants or slaves. He warned them that if they love money so that it controls what they do and say and think, then they do not truly love God. The opposite is also true: if they love God so that he controls them, then they do not also love money. They must choose between the two.

16:13a

No servant can serve two masters: The phrase No servant can serve two masters implies that no one can serve as a slave to two masters or owners at the same time with the same degree of loyalty. Consider whether it is necessary to make some of this information explicit in the text. For example:

It is not possible for a slave ⌊properly⌋ to serve two masters ⌊at the same time⌋.

In some languages it may be redundant to have words such as servant, serve, and masters in the same sentence. If your language has a natural way to express this idea with less redundancy, you may use it here. For example:

A slave cannot have two masters
-or-
A person cannot make himself the slave of two men

servant: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as servant refers here to a household or personal servant. In Jesus’ time these household servants were usually slaves rather than free, employed workers. The word servant that is used in this verse is a different Greek word than the word translated as “servants” in 12:37a. It is also different from the words translated as “menservants” and “maidservants” in 12:45c. But in this context the meaning is almost the same.

16:13b–c

Either…or: These two verse parts contain parallel ideas with similar meanings. The word Either in 16:13b introduces the contrasting attitudes (“hate” and “love”) of a servant who was trying to serve two masters. The word or in 16:13c introduces a parallel set of contrasting attitudes (“be devoted” and “despise”). These two pairs of attitudes are parallel ideas that function together to produce emphasis and poetic effect.

If an “either…or” construction wrongly implies that a servant must choose either one set of attitudes or the other, you will need to translate these lines differently. Some other translation options are:

• Use a word like “also,” rather than “either/or.” For example:

He may hate one master and love the other. He may also be devoted to one master and despise the other.

• Put “hate” and “despise” in one statement, and “love” and “be devoted to” in the other statement. For example:

He will hate and despise one master, and he will love and be devoted to the other master.

• Use a comparison. For example:

He will be more loving and devoted to one master than to the other.

See the note in 16:13b on “hate…love.”

16:13b

In Greek, this verse part begins with a conjunction that most English versions translate as “for.” This conjunction introduces the reason why a slave cannot serve two masters. The Berean Standard Bible makes this conjunction implicit. Use a natural way in your language to introduce a reason.

he will hate the one and love the other: This clause implies a situation in which a slave tries to serve two masters at the same time. In some languages, this information may need to be made explicit. For example:

if he tries to do that… (Translator’s Reference Translation)
-or-
if he did have two masters… (Translator’s Reference Translation)

hate…love: Jesus probably used these strong opposites here in a comparative sense. By comparison with a slave’s feeling of love for one master, his feeling for the second master would seem like hatred. One way to translate this as a comparative is:

he will love one master more than the other

Consider whether it will be more effective to use the absolute terms hate and love or a comparative statement.

the one…the other: In this context, the phrases the one and the other refer to “one master” and “the other master.” The God’s Word shows another way to refer to these two masters:

the first master…the second (God’s Word)

16:13c

he will be devoted to the one and despise the other: This verse part is parallel to 16:13b. It expresses a similar idea using other words. The verbs be devoted to and despise express ideas that are similar to “love” and “hate” in 16:13b. However, here in 16:13c the ideas are reversed for poetic effect. If in your language it is not natural to reverse the order of the ideas in this way, you may keep the same order as in the previous verse part. For example:

he will despise one and be devoted to the other

If it is more natural to state a positive action or attitude before a negative one, you may reorder the 16:13b instead. For example:

he will love the one and hate the other

devoted to: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as devoted to in this context means to be loyal to.

despise: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as despise means to look down on a person and treat him with scorn and contempt.

16:13d

You cannot serve both God and money: This clause is a specific conclusion to the more general statements in 16:13a–c. The pronoun You indicates that Jesus was applying this conclusion directly to the disciples. In some languages it may be necessary to introduce a conclusion like this with a specific word or phrase. For example:

⌊Therefore/So⌋ you cannot serve…
-or-

⌊In the same way,⌋ you cannot serve…

A slave could not give his undivided loyalty to two masters at the same time. In the same way, it was impossible for the disciples to serve God and money at the same time. In some languages a person cannot serve money, so it will be necessary to use different expressions for “serve God” and “serve money.” For example:

You cannot be faithful to God and also do everything possible to become wealthy.
-or-
If money is the most valuable thing to you, you cannot also work for God.
-or-
It is not possible for you to truly serve God if gaining money/riches is important in your mind.

money: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as money is literally “mammon.” The Revised Standard Version and several other English versions translate it that way. See the note on “worldly wealth” in 16:9b.

© 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.

17:14a

When Jesus saw them, He said: Jesus realized that the men were lepers when he saw the way they looked and acted. He did not need to ask what kind of help they needed. Another way to translate 17:14a is:

Jesus saw them and said (Good News Translation)

17:14b

Go, show yourselves to the priests: The commands Go and show contain implied information that Luke’s readers understood. The phrase the priests referred to the priests who were on duty at the temple in Jerusalem at that time. The command show implied that the men would go to Jerusalem and let the priests look at their skin to see if they were well.

In some languages you may need to make some or all of the implied information explicit. For example:

Go ⌊to Jerusalem⌋, ask the priests ⌊who are performing their duties in the temple⌋ to examine you ⌊and see if you are well⌋

Jesus gave a similar command to the leper in 5:14.

show yourselves to the priests: Only a priest could examine the men and confirm that they no longer had leprosy. If the priests saw that the men were well, they would declare the men to be ritually clean. This process is described in Leviticus 14:1–32. Some other ways to translate this are:

Go and let the priests examine you (Good News Translation)
-or-
Go(plur) to the priests so they can see/examine you
-or-

⌊Jesus⌋ told them to go show ⌊their skin⌋ to the priests

priests: Jewish priests were men who offered sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. They also performed other rituals for the people.

Some ways to translate priests are:

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

sacrificers
-or-
men/people who offer sacrifices to God
-or-
men who represent people to God

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

Jewish people’s priests/sacrificers

If possible, you should choose a term that can be used in both Old Testament and New Testament contexts. Remember that in the book of Hebrews believers are called priests and Christ is called our high priest.

See priest in the Glossary for more information.

17:14c

And as they were on their way, they were cleansed: In Greek this part of the verse begins with a phrase that is literally “and it happened.” It introduces the situation in which the next event happened. The lepers had started to obey Jesus and begun to walk to the priests when they became well. Other ways to translate this are:

and it happened that while they were going, they were healed
-or-
then it came about that as they were on their way ⌊to the priests⌋, they became well

Most English versions, including the Berean Standard Bible, do not translate the phrase “and it happened.” Consider whether it is natural in your language to translate it here.

they were cleansed: In this context the phrase they were cleansed indicates that they were healed of their leprosy and so became ritually pure. It does not refer to being cleansed from physical dirt. In some languages it may be possible to translate both the idea of being healed and the idea of becoming ritually clean. For example:

they were healed and ⌊ritually⌋ cleansed
-or-
they were cleansed of their leprosy (New Living Translation (2004))

In other languages it may be more natural to translate only the idea of healing here. For example:

they were healed (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
they became well

The verb were cleansed is passive. In some languages it may be more natural to translate the action without using a passive verb. For example:

They became well/clean
-or-

⌊God/Jesus⌋ healed them from the leprosy

Translate the action 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 18:9–14

Jesus told a parable about praying in a humble way

In this section Jesus told a parable about how to pray with an attitude that God will approve. Jesus told this parable especially for people who thought that they were already righteous and better than other people. The parable shows that God wants people to come before him humbly and ask for his forgiveness.

Some examples of headings for this section are:

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Good News Translation)
-or-
Jesus told a story about two men who prayed

This parable is only found in Luke.

Paragraph 18:9–14

18:9

The Berean Standard Bible has arranged the phrases in this verse in a different order from the Greek text. Other versions follow the Greek order more closely. For example:

9cJesus also told this parable 9ato some who were confident that they were righteous 9band looked down on everyone else. (NET Bible)

Use a natural order in your language.

18:9a

Scholars are not sure exactly when Jesus told the parable in this section. He probably told it within the same time period as the preceding one in 18:1–8, but maybe not immediately afterwards. Some ways to introduce the parable are:

Jesus also told another parable
-or-
Here is another parable that he told (Revised English Bible)

Introduce the parable in a natural way in your language.

To some who trusted in their own righteousness: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as To some who trusted in their own righteousness refers to some of the people listening to Jesus. In some languages it may be more natural to introduce the people before saying what they thought. For example:

Some people were in the crowd listening to Jesus. These people were sure that they were righteous.

trusted in their own righteousness: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as righteousness refers to living according to God’s standards. Righteous people consistently do what is right. They also have right attitudes toward God and other people. The people in this context thought that they were righteous. Some ways to translate this phrase are:

sure that they obeyed God’s law
-or-
had great confidence that they lived in the way that is right
-or-
were sure that God approved of them (God’s Word)

In some languages people use an idiom to express this meaning. For example:

sure that they followed a straight path
-or-
prided themselves on being upright (New Jerusalem Bible)

See the General Comment on 18:9a–b for a suggestion about using direct speech here.

18:9b

and viewed others with contempt: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates with the English idiom viewed others with contempt means “despised others.” These proud people thought that they were more righteous than other people. They disapproved of other people, and they thought of them with contempt. Some other ways to translate this are:

regarded others with contempt (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
despised/scorned everyone else

In some languages there is an idiom to express this. For example:

looked down on everybody else (New International Version)

Another example in English is:

had a low opinion of others

General Comment on 18:9a–b

In some languages it may be more natural to translate this verse as more than one sentence. For example:

There were some people who were confident of their own righteousness. They looked down on everybody else. To them…

In some languages it may be more natural to use direct speech here. For example:

Some people were thinking, “I know that I am righteous and much better than other people.”

Use a natural way in your language to express the attitude of these people.

18:9c

He also told this parable: The phrase this parable refers to the parable that Jesus was about to tell in 18:10–14. In some languages you may need to include another verb of speech here. For example:

Jesus told this parable. He said…

parable: For help in translating the term parable see the note at 18:1b–c.

© 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.

18:41b

“Lord,” he said, “let me see again”: Here the blind man was making a polite request to Jesus. He was asking Jesus to heal his eyes so that he could see. Express this request in a polite way in your language. For example:

Lord ⌊please⌋ ⌊heal my eyes⌋ so I can see.
-or-
Lord, I would like to see again.

Lord: See Lord, Context 3, in the Glossary.

he said: In the Greek text, the phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as he said introduces the blind man’s response to Jesus. The Berean Standard Bible has placed it after his response. Place the phrase where it is natural in your language.

see again: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as see again refers here to being able to see again after being blind. One way to translate this is:

please restore my sight

There are two ways to translate the verb here:

• Use a specific term that means “see again.” For example:

to regain my sight (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
to see again (God’s Word)

• Use a more general expression that means “see.” For example:

to see (New International Version)
-or-
to be able to see

Translate the verb in a natural way for this context.

© 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.

19:30a

saying The word saying introduces the details of what Jesus told these disciples to do. Use an appropriate way in your language to express this.

Go into the village ahead of you: The phrase the village ahead of you refers to a village that was near the disciples or across from them. The phrase may imply that the disciples could see it from where they were standing. Other ways to translate it are:

the next village (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
that village over there (New Living Translation (2004))

you: The word you refers to the two disciples whom Jesus sent in 19:29. If your language uses a dual form, you could use it here.

19:30b

and as you enter it, you will find a colt: The clause and as you enter it refers to the two disciples coming into the village. In this context the verb find indicates that they would see a colt. It does not imply that they would have to search for it. Here is another way to translate this:

As you enter it, you will see a young donkey (New Living Translation (2004))

a colt: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a colt refers to a young horse or donkey. Here it refers to one that would be big enough for a man to ride on. The parallel passages in Matthew and John (Matthew 21:2, John 12:14–15) make it clear that this was a young donkey. The Jewish people used donkeys to ride on and for carrying loads. The Greek text of Matthew 21:5 indicates that it was a male donkey.

If donkeys are not known in your area, you may use a more general term. For example:

a young riding animal ⌊called a donkey⌋
-or-
a young animal upon which people ride

You should not use a term that refers to an animal that was recently born or that is less than a year old.

tied: People tied their animals to a tree or post so they would not walk away when no one was using them. It was probably tied with the rope around its neck. You should not imply that its legs were bound so that it could not move.

Luke does not say where the colt was tied, but Mark 11:4 says that it was tied to a door. It was probably either tied to the doorpost or to a post near the door. In some languages it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

tied ⌊by a cord⌋ ⌊to a post⌋

there: The Berean Standard Bible has supplied the word there to make it clear that the disciples would see the colt as soon as they entered the village. You may not need to supply this word. Here is another way to translate this:

you will find a colt tied up (Good News Translation)

19:30c

on which no one has ever sat: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as on which no one has ever sat is more literally “on which no one among people has ever sat.” It describes the colt in 19:30b. In some languages it may be more natural to express the clause as a complete sentence. For example:

No one has ever ridden it.

General Comment on 19:30b–c

In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of some phrases in 19:30b–c. For example:

30bAs you enter the village, you will find a colt 30cthat no one has ever ridden. 30bIt will be tied ⌊to a post⌋.

19:30d

Untie it and bring it here: Here Jesus told the two disciples to untie the colt and bring it to him. The context implies that the disciples did not ride the colt. They led it to Jesus. Another way to translate this is:

Untie that colt, and lead it here ⌊to me⌋.

© 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.