Open Bible Data Home About News OET Key
OET OET-RV OET-LV ULT UST BSB MSB BLB AICNT OEB WEBBE WMBB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE Moff JPS Wymth ASV DRA YLT Drby RV SLT Wbstr KJB-1769 KJB-1611 Bshps Gnva Cvdl TNT Wycl SR-GNT UHB BrLXX BrTr Related Topics Parallel Interlinear Reference Dictionary Search
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
Mat C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28
Mat 11 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28 V30
OET (OET-LV) Take_up the yoke of_me on you_all, and learn from me, because I_am gentle and humble the in_heart:
and you_all_will_be_finding rest for_the souls of_you_all.
OET (OET-RV) You all can take on my workload and learn from me, because I’m gentle and humble and your souls will be able to relax
In this section, Jesus prayed to God. He also invited people who were tired from following the law to come to him for rest.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
Jesus Offers Rest to People (NCV)
Come to Me and Rest (GNT)
Jesus offers rest to weary people
Take My yoke upon you
Put my yoke on your shoulders/neck
Obey me like an animal with a yoke obeys his owner,
Submit to me and serve me,
Take My yoke upon you: A yoke is a piece of wood carved to fit over the neck or shoulders of an animal. A yoke is put on an animal for pulling a cart or plow. The picture below is a double yoke for two animals.
The clause Take My yoke upon you is a metaphor. In this metaphor, Jesus compared being his disciple to carrying a light yoke. They are similar in that both an animal and a disciple must submit to his owner and work for him.
Here are some other ways to translate this metaphor:
Keep the metaphor. For example:
Place my yoke over your shoulders (GW)
Wear my harness If you follow this option, you may want to include a footnote. Here is a sample footnote:
A yoke is a symbol of submitting to an owner and working for him.
Change the metaphor to a simile and make the point of comparison explicit. For example:
submit to me like an animal/ox that wears a yoke submits to his owner
Translate the meaning without using a figure of speech. For example:
Accept my teachings (NCV)
Follow/obey my commands/laws
Submit yourself to me and serve me You may then want to include a footnote to explain the literal clause. Here is a sample footnote:
Literally “Take my yoke upon you.” A yoke is a symbol of submitting to an owner and working for him.
and learn from Me;
and learn from me,
and let me teach you,
and learn from Me: Here are some other ways to translate this:
Let me teach you (NLT)
Let me guide/instruct you in how you should live
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
because I am gentle and humble.
because I am not harsh or proud.
for: The Greek word that the BSB translates as for introduces the basis for the commands in 11:29a–b. A disciple of Jesus should submit to him and learn from him because he is gentle.
I am gentle: The Greek word that the BSB translates as gentle means “considerate” or “not rough/violent.” Jesus is a gentle master.
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
considerate/patient
not forceful
not harsh
humble: The Greek word that the BSB translates as humble means “of low position,” or “not proud.”
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
lowly (ESV)
not proud
in heart: This indicates that Jesus is humble in attitude or manner. It does not refer to his status.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
in spirit (GNT)
in attitude
In some languages, the expressions for “gentle” and “humble” already indicate a humble attitude or manner. If that is the case in your language, you can leave the phrase in heart untranslated.
and you will find rest for your souls.
With me, your souls will be/become rested/refreshed.
As a result, you will find rest in your inner being.
and you will find rest for your souls: This clause indicates that, with Jesus, a disciple’s inner being (and therefore his whole being) will be rested and not troubled.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
and your whole being will become rested
and with me your inner being will become peaceful
This clause is a result of 11:29a–c. You may want to make that clear in your translation. Here are some examples:
so you will find rest
as a result you will find rest
souls: This word refers to the inner being of a person.
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
hearts/livers/stomachs
yourselves (GW)
In some languages, it may be more natural to change the order of some of the clauses in 11:29. For example:
29cI am gentle and humble in heart, 29aso take my yoke upon you 29band learn from me, 29dand you will find rest for your souls.
29aTake my yoke upon you 29band learn from me, 29dand as a result you will find rest for your souls. 29cbecause I am gentle and humble in heart.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result
ἄρατε τὸν ζυγόν μου ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς, καὶ μάθετε ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ, ὅτι πραΰς εἰμι καὶ ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ; καὶ εὑρήσετε ἀνάπαυσιν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἄρατε τόν ζυγόν μού ἐφʼ ὑμᾶς καί μάθετε ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ ὅτι πραΰς εἰμί καί ταπεινός τῇ καρδίᾳ Καί εὑρήσετε ἀνάπαυσιν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν)
If it would be more natural in your language, you could reverse the order of these clauses, since the last two clauses give the reason for the result that the first clause describes. Alternate translation: [I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Therefore, take my yoke on you and learn from me]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / exmetaphor
ἄρατε τὸν ζυγόν μου ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἄρατε τόν ζυγόν μού ἐφʼ ὑμᾶς καί μάθετε ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ ὅτι πραΰς εἰμί καί ταπεινός τῇ καρδίᾳ Καί εὑρήσετε ἀνάπαυσιν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν)
Jesus speaks of people who obey his commands and teaching as if they were farm animals that accepted a yoke. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use simile form or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [Obey me as if you were a farm animal wearing a yoke] or [Obey me]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet
πραΰς εἰμι καὶ ταπεινὸς
gentle (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἄρατε τόν ζυγόν μού ἐφʼ ὑμᾶς καί μάθετε ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ ὅτι πραΰς εἰμί καί ταπεινός τῇ καρδίᾳ Καί εὑρήσετε ἀνάπαυσιν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν)
The terms gentle and humble mean similar things. Jesus is using the two terms together for emphasis. If it would be clearer for your readers, you could express the emphasis with a single phrase. Alternate translation: [I am very gentle] or [I am very humble]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
πραΰς εἰμι καὶ ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ
gentle (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἄρατε τόν ζυγόν μού ἐφʼ ὑμᾶς καί μάθετε ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ ὅτι πραΰς εἰμί καί ταπεινός τῇ καρδίᾳ Καί εὑρήσετε ἀνάπαυσιν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν)
The phrase gentle and humble in heart means that Jesus has a gentle and humble attitude. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [I have a gentle and humble attitude] or [I am gentle and humble]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
εὑρήσετε ἀνάπαυσιν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν
˱you_all˲_˓will_be˒_finding rest ˱for˲_the souls ˱of˲_you_all
Jesus speaks as if rest were an object that his audience could find. He means that they will be able to experience rest. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [your souls will be able to rest]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
ἀνάπαυσιν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν
rest ˱for˲_the souls ˱of˲_you_all
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of rest, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [that your souls can rest]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche
ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν
˱for˲_the souls ˱of˲_you_all
The word souls refers to the people who find rest. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [for yourselves]
OET (OET-LV) Take_up the yoke of_me on you_all, and learn from me, because I_am gentle and humble the in_heart:
and you_all_will_be_finding rest for_the souls of_you_all.
OET (OET-RV) You all can take on my workload and learn from me, because I’m gentle and humble and your souls will be able to relax
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.
Open Bible Data site copyright © 2023–2026 Freely-Given.org.
Python source code for creating these static pages is available on GitHub under an open licence.
For Bible data copyrights, see the details for each displayed Bible version.
The Open English Translation (OET) main site is at OpenEnglishTranslation.Bible or OET.Bible.