2:16a

Get these out of here!: Jesus commanded the sellers of birds to carry them out of the temple. The doves were kept in cages, and the sellers could pick up the cages and take them out of the temple. Here are other ways to translate this command:

Take them out of here! (Good News Translation)
-or-
Get those doves out of here! (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Pick up this stuff, and get it out of here! (God’s Word)

2:16b

How dare you turn My Father’s house into a marketplace!: Jesus used this command as a strong rebuke. Jesus did not want people to make money buying and selling things in God’s holy temple. They were doing that, and he told them to stop. There are at least two ways to translate this clause:

• Use a command. For example:

Don’t make my Father’s house a place for buying and selling! (New Century Version)
-or-
Stop treating my Father’s house like a bazaar/market!

• Use a rebuke. For example:

How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market! (New International Version)

Translate this command in a way that is natural in your language. If you translate it as a command, make sure that it is clear that Jesus did not approve of what the businessmen/traders were doing. If you translate it as a rebuke, make sure that it is clear that the traders must stop their activities. In some languages it may be natural to translate this as two clauses or sentences. For example:

You are doing wrong to make my Father’s house into a market! Stop it!

My Father’s house: This phrase refers to the temple. The temple was a place where God was present in a special way. It was holy, and Jesus required God’s people to act in a way that respected it as holy.

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