OET interlinear LUKE 20:4

20:4

John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or from men?: This question means, “Who gave John the authority to baptize people? Did God give it to him or did men give it to him?” The question or from men expresses a general meaning like “was it a human idea (in contrast to an idea from God)?”Nolland (p. 944) says, “Did John’s baptism come from God or was it merely a human matter? If it was from God, then questions of authorization rather lose their point; if it was only a human matter, then authorization through even the best channels of religious authorization could not legitimate what presented itself falsely as a decisive prophetic act.” The answer could be that John himself decided to baptize or that other people sent him to do it. Here is another way to translate this:

Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? (NRSV)

The BSB, like the Greek text, has placed the phrase John’s baptism at the beginning of the question. This emphasizes it as the new topic.

Some other ways to translate this question are:

…did John’s right to baptize come from God or from human beings? (GNT)

Who gave John the right to baptize? Was it God in heaven or merely some human being? (CEV)

Notice that the CEV example uses two questions. Translate this verse in a natural way in your language.

John’s baptism: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as John’s baptism refers to John’s practice of baptizing people. In this context baptism refers to a ceremonial washing to purify people from sin. It was an initiation that marked the beginning of the baptized person’s life as one of God’s purified people.

Some ways to translate the phrase John’s baptism are:

• As a descriptive term. For example:

  ritual washing that John gave people

  John purified/initiated people

• Use a term for a similar ritual that is already used in your culture. You may need to indicate that in this context it has a special connection with God. For example:

  When John purified people with God’s ceremonial bath

  John’s washing people in God’s initiation water

• Use a term that is already accepted by the local churches. In some areas this term may have been borrowed from the national language or transliterated from Greek or English. For example:

  John baptized people

See how you translated baptism in 3:3. See also baptize, Meaning 1, in the Glossary.

from heaven: In this context the phrase from heaven means “from God.” The Jews often referred indirectly to God in order to show their great respect for his name.

See heaven, Meaning 3, in the Glossary.

from men: The phrase from men means “from people” or “from a human source.” In this context it is in contrast to “from heaven/God.”