OET interlinear MAT 11:14

11:14a

And if you are willing to accept it: In Greek, the verb that the BSB translates as accept does not have an object. Something must be accepted/believed, and there are two ways to interpret what that something might be:

1. It is the second half of the verse: he is the Elijah who was to come. For example:

   if you will believe me (NJB) (BSB, NIV, RSV, ESV, NET, NASB, REB, KJV, NJB, NLT, JBP)

2. It is the prophets in 11:13. For example:

   if you believe them (CEV) (GNT, GW, CEV, NCV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This fits the context best and is the interpretation that most English versions follow.

if you are willing to accept it: This is an if clause, but it is not a normal if clause. The second part of this verse (he is the Elijah who was to come) is true even if people were not willing to accept it.

Many people in the time of Jesus mistakenly believed that Elijah would literally come back to earth. Jesus probably used this if clause to draw attention to their mistaken belief and to emphasize the truth of what he was about to say.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

if you are willing to accept/believe what I say, you will understand that

whether you are willing to accept/believe this or not

Even though you may find it hard to accept/believe, I tell you the truth.

This clause does not imply that if the people are not willing to accept it, then John is not the Elijah who is to come.

11:14b

he is the Elijah who was to come: This clause indicates that John was the fulfillment of Malachi 4:5. In that verse, God said that he would send the prophet Elijah. This prophecy took place after Elijah had already gone to heaven. Because of this verse, the Jews were expecting Elijah to come back down among them.

In Luke 1:17, God told John’s father that John would go before the Lord “in the spirit and power of Elijah.” John was not the actual Elijah reborn, rather God gave him power just like he had given power to Elijah. So when the prophet Malachi said that Elijah would come, he was actually talking about a man who would be like Elijah. That man was John.

If you translate this clause literally and people think that John and Elijah are the same person, you may want to:

• Add some implied information about the prophecy. For example:

  John fulfilled the prophecy about Elijah coming

  John is the man whom the prophet was talking about when he said that Elijah would return

• Use “like” or “as” to show that John was not Elijah reborn. For example:

  John is the one who came as Elijah whom the Scriptures said was to come

who was to come: The Greek expression that the BSB translates as who was to come indicates that Elijah’s coming was prophesied. The prophet Malachi foretold that Elijah would come.

Here are some other ways to translate this expression:

whose coming was predicted (GNT)

the one the prophets said would come (NLT)

whom the prophet foretold would come