OET interlinear LUKE 3:8

3:8a

In this verse John told the people what they should do in response to his warning in 3:7c. They should repent and show their repentance by thinking and acting in the way that God wanted them to.

Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance: In Greek this verse is connected to 3:7 with a conjunction that is sometimes translated as “Therefore” (as in the NET). The BSB translates this conjunction as then. In this context many English versions do not translate it. Some other ways to translate the connection are:

In order to escape judgment, you should…

If you want to avoid God’s punishment, you must…

Connect these two verses in a way that is natural in your language.

Produce fruit: In this context the phrase Produce fruit is a metaphor. It refers to the good things that people do to show that they have truly repented. This metaphor is also used in 3:9.

In some languages, a literal translation may have a different meaning.For example, in some languages producing fruit refers to bearing children. If that is true in your language, some other ways to translate the metaphor are:

• Make the comparison of people to fruit trees explicit. For example:

  Just as trees bear fruit, so you must do the things that show that you have really repented.

• Translate the meaning without the metaphor. For example:

  Do those things that prove that you have turned to God and have changed the way you think and act. (GW)

  Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. (NLT)

fruit: The Greek word that the BSB translates here as fruit is a plural form. Use the form that is most natural in your language for this context. In English either form is natural. For example:

bear fruits (NASB)

Do those things (GNT)

Prove your repentance by the fruit you bear (REB)

in keeping with: The Greek word that the BSB translates as in keeping with is literally “worthy of.” Other ways to translate this include:

that goes together with

that shows/proves

that accompanies

that corresponds to

repentance: The Greek word that the BSB translates as repentance means “a change of a person’s mind, heart, or will.” In the Bible it refers specifically to a change of mind and heart about sin and about God. The person who repents is sorry for his past sins. He decides to stop sinning and to obey God.

This same word occurs in 3:3c. See the note there for more details and translation advice.

3:8b

3:8b–c

And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’: The people to whom John was speaking were descendants of Abraham. John did not want the people to think that because they were descendants of Abraham, God would not judge them for their sins. God would judge them for their sins if they did not repent and obey him.

say to yourselves: There are two ways to interpret the Greek phrase that the BSB translates as say to yourselves:

1. It means say in your own minds; that is, think. For example:

   say within yourselves (KJV) (BSB, KJV, NASB, NCV NET, NIV, NJB, REB, RSV)

2. It means tell one another. For example:

   saying among yourselves (GNT) (NLT, GNT)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). John was saying that the people should not think the statement in 3:8c.

In some languages you may have an idiom to express this. For example, one way to express this in English is:

do not let this thought enter your minds

See the General Comment on 3:8b–c at the end of the note for 3:8c for examples of using indirect speech.

3:8c

We have Abraham as our father: The Jews believed that God favored them and their nation more than he favored the Gentile nations. Abraham was the Jews’ greatest ancestor.God chose Abraham to begin the nation and people through whom he would send the Messiah to save human beings. Abraham was the grandfather of Jacob, whom God named Israel. Another name for the Jewish people was “the children of Israel.” Some of them may have wrongly thought that just being a Jew gave them special status. They may have thought that because they were Jews, God would not judge and punish them on the day when he will judge all people.

In some languages it may be necessary to make some of this information explicit. For example:

Because Abraham is our father, God will not punish us.

We are Abraham’s children, God’s special people

In other languages, it may be better to put this information in a footnote.

father: The Greek word that the BSB translates as father can also refer to an ancestor. Abraham lived many generations before the Jews to whom John was speaking. In some languages, you may need to indicate specifically that Abraham was their ancestor. For example:

Abraham is our ancestor

We are descendants of Abraham

3:8d

For: The conjunction For introduces the reason why the Jews should not depend on Abraham being their ancestor to save them. They should not expect the fact that they are descendants of Abraham to save them, because God can create other children for Abraham. In some languages it may be helpful to make this connection more explicit. For example:

You should not depend on that, because …

I tell you: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as I tell you emphasizes the following statement. Here John used it to introduce a fact that was amazing but true. He implied that people should listen carefully to his statement and think about it. Some other ways to translate this are:

• Use a phrase before John’s statement. For example:

  I am telling you that

  Listen

  I assure you

• Use an emphatic word within John’s statement. For example:

  For out of these stones God can certainly raise up children for Abraham.

If you have another way in your language to emphasize a fact that is amazing but true, consider using it here.

out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham: The clause out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham means “God can turn/makeThis word egeirai may have been used here to mean “to bring life out of something lifeless” or “to bring into existence.” these stones into Abraham’s descendants.” John was saying that the Jewish people should not expect that God would not punish or destroy them just because Abraham was their ancestor. God could replace them. If he desired, he could create descendants of Abraham even from useless, lifeless stones.Some scholars understand the word “stones” to be a metaphor for spiritually insensitive people. Some think that “stones” may refer also to Gentiles, whom the Jews considered inferior. For example, see Lenski, p. 190. Some other ways to translate out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham are:

God can turn these stones into children for Abraham (CEV)

God can make children for Abraham out of these stones (REB)

God can create children of Abraham from these very stones (NLT)

God can give life to these stones and transform them into descendants of Abraham to replace you