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OET (OET-LV) But he answering said to_the one speaking to_him:
Who is the mother of_me and who_all are the brothers of_me?
In this section, Jesus showed that all who obey God are members of his/Jesus’ spiritual family.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
The True Family of Jesus (NLT)
The people whom Jesus considered to be his true family
People who do the will of God are like the true family of Jesus
There are parallel passages for this section in Mark 3:31–35 and Luke 8:19–21.
But Jesus replied,
Jesus asked this person,
Jesus said,
But: The Greek word that the BSB translates as But simply indicates a change from one speaker to another. In this context, it does not indicate a contrast. Many English versions do not translate this word. In many languages, it will not be necessary to translate this word either.
Jesus replied: This clause introduces Jesus’ rhetorical question. In some languages, it may be natural to shorten this clause. For example:
Jesus said to this person
Jesus asked (NLT)
Translate this clause in a way that indicates that Jesus spoke to the man who told him about his mother and brothers.
“Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?”
“Who is my mother? Who are my younger brothers?”
“Let me tell you who is my mother and who are my younger brothers.”
Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?: This is a rhetorical question. Jesus used it to introduce a new idea. The new idea is that people who do the will of God are Jesus’ true family. Since Jesus and the crowd knew that the people waiting outside were his biological mother and brothers, Jesus said this to make them think. He wanted them to think about what kinds of people should be treated as brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers. His answer in 12:49–50 shows that we should treat our fellow Christians as brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers.
Here are some other ways to introduce this new idea:
As a rhetorical question. For example:
Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? (RSV)
Who is my mother? Who are my brothers? (NCV)
As a statement. For example:
Let me tell you who my mother and my brothers are.
I will tell you who my mother and my brothers are.
Use a natural way in your language to introduce this new idea. Be careful to translate this in a way that does not imply that Jesus did not know who his family was. Also, be careful to translate this in a way that does not imply that Jesus was saying that the people waiting for him were not his mother and brothers.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases
δὲ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ ἀποκριθείς εἶπεν τῷ λέγοντι αὐτῷ Τίς ἐστίν ἡ μήτηρ μού καί τίνες εἰσίν οἱ ἀδελφοί μού)
Here, the word But introduces the next thing that happened. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces the next event, or you could leave But untranslated. Alternate translation: [Then,]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / hendiadys
ὁ & ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν
he & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ ἀποκριθείς εἶπεν τῷ λέγοντι αὐτῷ Τίς ἐστίν ἡ μήτηρ μού καί τίνες εἰσίν οἱ ἀδελφοί μού)
Together the two words answering and said mean that Jesus responded to the information that the person gave him. If it would be more natural in your language, you could express this meaning in a different way. Alternate translation: [he responded]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion
τίς ἐστιν ἡ μήτηρ μου καὶ τίνες εἰσὶν οἱ ἀδελφοί μου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ ἀποκριθείς εἶπεν τῷ λέγοντι αὐτῷ Τίς ἐστίν ἡ μήτηρ μού καί τίνες εἰσίν οἱ ἀδελφοί μού)
Jesus is using the question form to teach his audience about whom he considers to be part of his family. If you would not use the question form for this purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or an exclamation. Since Jesus answers the question in [12:49](../12/49.md), you should not include an implied answer here. Alternate translation: [I will inform you about whom I call my mother and my brothers.] or [Let me tell you whom I love as if they were my mother or my brothers.]
Note 4 topic: translate-kinship
οἱ ἀδελφοί μου
the brothers (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ ἀποκριθείς εἶπεν τῷ λέγοντι αὐτῷ Τίς ἐστίν ἡ μήτηρ μού καί τίνες εἰσίν οἱ ἀδελφοί μού)
Translate brothers as you did in [12:46](../12/46.md).
OET (OET-LV) But he answering said to_the one speaking to_him:
Who is the mother of_me and who_all are the brothers of_me?
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.
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