11:13

In the Greek, as in the Berean Standard Bible, this verse is one long and complicated sentence. It includes several steps in a logical argument with one main conclusion:

(a) People are evil.

(b) However, people know how to give good gifts to their children.

(c) (Implied) God is good.

(d) Therefore, God most certainly knows how to give good gifts to his children.

Consider how people make this type of argument in your culture.

11:13a

So: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as So is a logical connector. It introduces the conclusion to this paragraph. Some other ways to introduce this conclusion are:

then (New International Version)
-or-
Therefore

If you make 11:13a a separate sentence (see General Comment on 11:13a below), it is possible to place this conjunction in 11:13b. For example:

13aEven though you’re evil, you know how to give good things to your children. 13bSo how much more… (God’s Word)

In other languages, a specific conjunction may not be necessary to introduce this verse as a conclusion. For example:

As bad as you are, you still know how to give good gifts to your children… (Contemporary English Version)

if you…know how to give good gifts to your children: This phrase is literally “If you…know to give good gifts to your children.” The Berean Standard Bible has added the word how to make it natural English.

This conditional (“if”) clause implies that the people knew how to give good gifts to their children, and, in fact, gave them good gifts regularly. There is no doubt about this. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

• Translate the “If” as “Because.” For example:

Because you know to give good gifts to your children

• Translate the clause without a word like “if.” For example:

you know how to give good things to your children (Good News Translation)

Translate this clause in a way that is most natural in your language.

who are evil: The clause who are evil means “in spite of the fact that you are evil.” Jesus was not condemning his disciples here. He was simply stating that all people are sinful. Another way to translate this is:

Even though you are bad… (New Century Version)

evil: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as evil also means “bad,” “sinful,” or “wicked.”

General Comment on 11:13a

In some languages it may be helpful to make this into a separate sentence. For example:

As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. (Good News Translation)

Some other ways to translate this are:

If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children… (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
You are sinful, but you know how to give good things to your children.

11:13b

how much more will your Father in heaven: Here a contrast is made between the nature of man and the nature of God: man is sinful and (it is implied that) God is good. The first part of the contrast (that man is sinful) was stated explicitly in 11:13a. If it is necessary to make the second half of the contrast explicit in your language, you may say:

how much more will your Father in heaven ⌊who is good⌋…
-or-

⌊But⌋ your heavenly father ⌊is good⌋. It is even more certain that…

how much more: The phrase how much more compares two things. It compares God’s willingness/readiness and man’s willingness to give good gifts. (The comparison is not between the sizes of the gifts.) If man gives good gifts, God will even more certainly give good gifts.

Some other ways to translate this are:

But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give the Holy Spirit to anyone who asks. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
What about your heavenly Father? He is even more willing to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.
-or-
It is absolutely certain that your heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.

your Father in heaven: The phrase your Father in heaven refers to God. Here heaven refers to the place where God lives.

See heaven, Meaning 2, in the Glossary.

11:13c

give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him: This means that God will give the best of all gifts to those who ask him. He will give them his own Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the best gift because God gives everything that is good through his Spirit.

give the Holy Spirit: Since the Holy Spirit is a being and not a thing, in some languages it may be better to use a verb such as “send” instead of give.

Holy Spirit: The term Holy Spirit also occurs in 10:21a. See the note there for information about translating this term.

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