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OET (OET-LV) And Yōannaʸs testified saying, that I_have_seen the spirit coming_down as a_dove out_of heaven, and it_remained on him.
This section is the most important part of what John the Baptist said about Jesus. Here John identified Jesus as God’s sacrifice for sin. John declared that Jesus was the one on whom the Spirit came down, and that Jesus was the Son of God.
Here are other possible section headings:
John the Baptist saw Jesus and told people that he was the Lamb of God
John the Baptist told about who Jesus was
Jesus was the Lamb of God
Then John testified,
Then John told what he had witnessed.
Then John told how he knew who Jesus was. He said:
Then John testified: The Greek word that the BSB translates as testified indicates that John honestly reported what he had seen and heard. In some languages it is more natural to use a phrase or clause to make this clear. For example:
John told the people what he had seen and heard
“I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and resting on Him.
“I saw the Spirit come down from heaven like a dove,” he said. “The Spirit remained on Jesus.
“I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and stay/rest on Jesus.
I saw the Spirit descending from heaven: The pronoun I refers to John the Baptist. He saw God’s Spirit come from God to earth.
the Spirit: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Spirit here refers to God’s Holy Spirit. See KBT 2(b).
like a dove: The Spirit came in the shape and manner of a dove. He was not a dove, and he did not become a dove. But he was like a dove in some way. See also Matthew 3:16, Mark 1:10, and Luke 3:22. This is not a metaphor, because there was really something that looked like a dove. Therefore, your translation should refer to an actual bird.
dove: A dove is a small white or gray colored bird similar to a pigeon. It has a gentle voice and was a symbol of being gentle and morally pure. It is also mentioned in Genesis 8:8–12. A dove or pigeon may not be known in your area or these birds may imply something bad. If either is true, you may translate this word like this:
Use a general word for bird. For example:
like a small bird
Use a bird that is known in your culture and that is similar to a dove/pigeon. It should be a bird that people consider good and harmless.
You may want to add a footnote that explains how Jews thought about doves. For example:
To the Jews, a dove was a symbol of someone who was pure and gentle.
and resting on Him: This clause indicates that the Holy Spirit stayed with Jesus. As the dove came to stay on Jesus, so the Spirit remained with Jesus.
Note 1 topic: writing-quotations
ἐμαρτύρησεν Ἰωάννης λέγων
testified John saying
Consider natural ways of introducing direct quotations in your language. Alternate translation: [John testified, and he said]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / simile
ὡς περιστερὰν
as (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἐμαρτύρησεν Ἰωάννης λέγων ὅτι Τεθέαμαι τό Πνεῦμα καταβαῖνον ὡς περιστεράν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καί ἔμεινεν ἐπʼ αὐτόν)
This phrase is a simile. As [Luke 3:22](../../luk/03/22.md) indicates, the Holy Spirit came down with an appearance that resembled a dove. Alternate translation: [resembling a dove]
Note 3 topic: writing-pronouns
ἐπ’ αὐτόν
on him
Here, him refers to Jesus. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [upon Jesus]
1:32 John the Baptist’s second testimony (see 1:19-23) told what happened when Jesus was baptized.
• In the Old Testament, kings and prophets were anointed with the Holy Spirit, but these anointings were temporary and tied to a particular office or occasion. By contrast, with the Spirit’s resting on him, Jesus’ anointing was permanent (see 3:34).
OET (OET-LV) And Yōannaʸs testified saying, that I_have_seen the spirit coming_down as a_dove out_of heaven, and it_remained on him.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
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