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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL 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
Luke C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24
Luke 20 V1 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V13 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47
OET (OET-LV) But if we_may_say:
From humans, all the people will_be_stoning us, because/for having_been_persuaded Yōannaʸs he_is to_be a_prophet.
OET (OET-RV) But if we say ‘from people’, then all the people will kill us with rocks, because they believe that Yohan was a prophet.”
In this paragraph the Jewish leaders asked Jesus what authority he had to do the things that he had been doing. They implied by their question in 20:2 that God had not authorized Jesus to do and say what he did.
Jesus replied by asking the leaders who gave John the Baptizer his authority. His question implied that both he and John got their authority from God. The leaders did not want to admit that God had given John his authority, because they did not believe John’s teaching. But they did not want to say that his authority was only from human beings, because they were afraid that the people would stone them. So they said that they did not know where John’s authority came from.
Because the leaders refused to say what they believed about John, Jesus also said that he would not tell them about his own authority. He knew that they would not accept his answer, because they were questioning him with evil motives. However, in Section 20:9–19, he revealed the answer in a parable.
Examples of headings for this section are:
The Authority of Jesus Questioned (NIV)
The Jewish leaders did not believe that Jesus came with God’s authority
Jewish Leaders Question Jesus (NCV)
There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 21:23–27 and Mark 11:27–33.
But if we say, ‘From men,’
But if we(incl) say, ‘It was merely from people,’
But suppose we(incl) answer Jesus, ‘John got his authority from human beings.’
Another/Others said, “We(incl) could say to Jesus that it was a human idea, God did not send him/John to baptize people,
But: The word But introduces another possible answer to Jesus’ question. This answer contrasts with the one in 20:5b. In some languages it may be more natural to use a different conjunction. For example:
And
Or
In some languages a conjunction may not be needed. Translate the connection in a natural way in your language.
if we say, ‘From men’: Here the phrase From men has the same meaning as in 20:4. See how you translated it there. In this context the Jewish leaders were considering another possible answer to Jesus’ question. This was the answer that they really thought was true.
The phrase From men is another quote within a quote. Translate it in a natural way in your language. Other ways to do this in English are:
if we say it was merely human (NLT)
Suppose we say that the baptizing that John did was merely a human idea
if we say, “Of human origin” (NRSV)
all the people will stone us,
then everyone else will kill us(incl) by throwing stones at us,
Then all our(incl) fellow Jews will be so angry that they will stone us to death.
but if we(incl) say that, the people of our nation will kill us by throwing stones at us.
all the people will stone us: The Law of Moses said that if people spoke against a prophet of God, they must be put to death. The other people must throw stones at them until they died. See also 13:34b. The Jewish leaders were afraid to say that John’s baptism was only a human ritual and not from God. They were afraid that the other Jews would stone them to death. Some other ways to translate this are:
The other people will throw stones at us until we die.
the people…will throw stones at us and kill usWestern Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation on TW.
all the people: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as the people was the way that the Jewish people referred to themselves. Here it indicates that the Jewish leaders were referring to their fellow Jewish people. In some languages it may be helpful to make this explicit. For example:
all our fellow Jews
for they are convinced that John was a prophet.”
because they are convinced that John was a prophet.”
They firmly believe that John spoke as a prophet with God’s authority.”
For they are certain/sure that John was a spokesman/message-speaker for God.”
for: The word for introduces the reason why the Jewish leaders believed that the crowd would stone them. In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of this reason and put it before the result in 20:8b. See the General Comment on 20:6a–c below for an example.
they are convinced that John was a prophet: The phrase they are convinced indicates here that the people were sure that John was a prophet. They firmly believed that he was speaking words from God. In this context the Jewish leaders implied that the people believed that John’s authority came from God. God had sent him to preach and to baptize people. Some other ways to translate this are:
they totally believe that John was a prophet
they believe that John was really a prophet from God
In some languages it may be more natural to use direct speech to express what the people believed. For example:
they all say, “John was a prophet.”
a prophet: A prophet is a man who speaks on behalf of God. He tells people what God reveals to him. Some other ways to translate prophet in this context are:
a spokesman for God
God’s message-speaker
a person who speaks with God’s authority
In 1:76 John’s father spoke about John saying that he would be a prophet of God. See how you translated prophet there. See also prophet in the Glossary.
In some languages it may be helpful to reorder the clauses in this verse. For example:
6cAll the people regard John as a prophet, 6bso they will stone us 6aif we say that John got his authority to baptize from human beings alone.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / hypo
ἐὰν δὲ εἴπωμεν, ἐξ ἀνθρώπων, ὁ λαὸς ἅπας καταλιθάσει ἡμᾶς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐάν Δέ εἴπωμεν Ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ὁ λαός ἅπας καταλιθάσει ἡμάς πεπεισμένος γάρ ἐστίν Ἰωάννην προφήτην εἶναι)
The Jewish leaders are describing another hypothetical situation. Alternate translation: [But suppose we say, ‘From men.’ Then all the people will stone us]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes
ἐὰν δὲ εἴπωμεν, ἐξ ἀνθρώπων, ὁ λαὸς ἅπας καταλιθάσει ἡμᾶς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐάν Δέ εἴπωμεν Ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ὁ λαός ἅπας καταλιθάσει ἡμάς πεπεισμένος γάρ ἐστίν Ἰωάννην προφήτην εἶναι)
If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: [But if we say that John’s authority came from people, then all the people will stone us]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations
ἀνθρώπων
humans
See how you translated men in [20:4](../20/04.md). Alternate translation: [people]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / hyperbole
ὁ λαὸς ἅπας
the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐάν Δέ εἴπωμεν Ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ὁ λαός ἅπας καταλιθάσει ἡμάς πεπεισμένος γάρ ἐστίν Ἰωάννην προφήτην εἶναι)
For emphasis, the Jewish leaders speak as if every single person in the Jewish nation believed that John was God’s prophet and would stone them if they said otherwise. Alternate translation: [many of the Jewish people]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
ὁ λαὸς ἅπας
the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐάν Δέ εἴπωμεν Ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ὁ λαός ἅπας καταλιθάσει ἡμάς πεπεισμένος γάρ ἐστίν Ἰωάννην προφήτην εἶναι)
This was a customary way of speaking of the Jewish nation. Alternate translation: [all the Jewish people]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
καταλιθάσει ἡμᾶς
˓will_be˒_stoning (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐάν Δέ εἴπωμεν Ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ὁ λαός ἅπας καταλιθάσει ἡμάς πεπεισμένος γάρ ἐστίν Ἰωάννην προφήτην εἶναι)
The implication is that the people would do this as a punishment for blasphemy, for saying that one of God’s prophets had only human authority. Alternate translation: [will kill us by throwing stones at us, as punishment for blasphemy]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
πεπεισμένος & ἐστιν
˓having_been˒_persuaded & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐάν Δέ εἴπωμεν Ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ὁ λαός ἅπας καταλιθάσει ἡμάς πεπεισμένος γάρ ἐστίν Ἰωάννην προφήτην εἶναι)
If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this with an active form. If you translated the … people as “the Jewish people,” this would be plural. Alternate translation: [they firmly believe]
OET (OET-LV) But if we_may_say:
From humans, all the people will_be_stoning us, because/for having_been_persuaded Yōannaʸs he_is to_be a_prophet.
OET (OET-RV) But if we say ‘from people’, then all the people will kill us with rocks, because they believe that Yohan was a prophet.”
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.