InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEUT JOB YEHO (JOS) HERO (JDG) RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG YOEL (JOEL) MIC ISA ZEP HAB YIR (JER) LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBAD DAN EZEK EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL 2 PS WIS TOB MAN BAR G DAN G ESD L ESD ESG JDT 3 MAC SIR 1 MAC 2 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL LAOD PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
InterlinearVerse Yhn C1 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21
Yhn 2 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25
◄ ← YHN (JHN) 2:18 ↓ → ► ║ ≡ ©
People tagged in the matching LV passage: Jesus Christ
Dictionary: Jesus
OET-LV Therefore the Youdaiōns answered and said to_him:
What sign you_are_showing to_us, that you_are_doing these things?
OET (OET-RV) Then the Jewish leaders responded, “Do a miracle to show that you have the authority to do these things.”
In this section Jesus drove out (threw out) people who were selling animals and exchanging money in the temple courtyard. He was angry that they were using the temple to make money for themselves. The Jewish religious leaders were very upset at this. They did not think that Jesus had the authority to drive out these traders and money changers.
It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Here are some other possible titles for this section:
Jesus drove/threw out traders/sellers from the temple
Jesus cleansed the temple
Jesus stopped people from selling animals in the temple
There are similar passages to this section in Matthew 21:12–13, Mark 11:15–17, and Luke 19:45–46.
The Jewish religious leaders were upset that Jesus had sent the money changers away from the temple. They demanded that he show them a miracle to prove that he had authority from God to do this. Jesus told them that if they destroyed this temple, he would raise it in three days. The Jews did not understand that he was talking about his body.
On account of this, the Jews demanded,
¶ Then the Jewish leaders asked him,
¶ So then the rulers of the Jewish people said to Jesus:
On account of this: The Greek word that the BSB translates as On account of this can also be translated as “therefore” or “so.” John used it here to introduce what happened next in the story. Some English translations, such as the NCV, do not translate it. You should translate this word in a way that is natural for your language.
the Jews: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as the Jews here refers to the Jewish religious leaders. In some languages it is more natural to supply the implied information that these Jews are religious leaders. See how you translated this term in 1:19. Here is an example of a translation that supplies implied information:
The Jewish leaders (CEV)
“What sign can You show us to prove Your authority to do these things?”
“What miracle can you(sing) do that will prove to us(excl) that you have the right to do what you did?”
“Do(sing) a miracle for us(excl) as a sign so we can know you have the right to act like that!”
“If God gave you authority to send the temple merchants away, show us(excl) a miracle to prove it!”
What sign can You show us to prove Your authority to do these things?: This is a real question. We know that because Jesus answered it. However, the Jewish leaders also used it as a challenge or command. They meant, “You(sing) must do a miracle to prove that God has given you authority to throw the traders out of the temple.” It is implied that the Jewish leaders did not believe that Jesus had the right to force the traders to leave.
There are two ways to translate this question:
Use a question. For example:
What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this? (NIV)
Use a statement or command. For example:
Show us a miracle to prove you have the right to do these things. (NCV)
Translate this question in the way that is most natural in your language that also expresses a challenge.
sign: This word here refers to a miracle, a wonderful event that indicates some truth beyond itself. See the note on “signs” at 2:11a.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ταῦτα
these_‹things›
Here, these things refers to Jesus’ actions against the animal sellers and money changers in the temple. (See the discussion of this event in the introduction to this chapter.) If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [these disruptive activities in the temple]
OET-LV Therefore the Youdaiōns answered and said to_him:
What sign you_are_showing to_us, that you_are_doing these things?
OET (OET-RV) Then the Jewish leaders responded, “Do a miracle to show that you have the authority to do these things.”
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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