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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
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 13 V1 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V13 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47 V49 V51 V53 V57
OET (OET-LV) Is this not the son of_the carpenter?
Not the mother of_him is_being_called Maria/(Miryām), and the brothers of_him, Yakōbos/(Yaˊₐqoⱱ), and Yōsaʸf/(Yōşēf), and Simōn, and Youdas/(Yəhūdāh)?
OET (OET-RV) Isn’t he the son of Yosef, the carpenter? Don’t we know his mother Maria and his brothers Yacob and Yosef and Simon and Yudas?
Jesus grew up in the town of Nazareth. The people there knew him and his family. They were ordinary people. So when the people of Nazareth heard that Jesus was teaching and doing miracles, they had difficulty believing that he had so quickly become a great prophet.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
Rejection at Nazareth (NET)
Nazareth does not honor Jesus
There are parallel passages for this section in Mark 6:1–6 and Luke 4:16–30. See also John 4:44, 6:42.
All the questions about Jesus’ family (in 13:55–56a) are rhetorical questions. The people of Nazareth knew Jesus’ father, mother, brothers, and sisters. Using rhetorical questions implies that they believed that Jesus was an ordinary person like them and his family. Therefore, they doubted that Jesus could become someone important. The way you translate these rhetorical questions should not indicate that the people were unsure who Jesus’ family was.
“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?
Is not this guy only/merely the carpenter’s son?
He is just the son of a carpenter. (NCV)
Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?: This is a rhetorical question. It expresses surprise and emphasizes that the people of Nazareth knew that Jesus was the son of a carpenter. The people doubted that Jesus could become someone important, because he was only the son of a carpenter.
Here are some other ways to translate this surprise, doubt, and emphasis:
As a rhetorical question. For example:
Isn’t this person only the carpenter’s son?
This man is only the carpenter’s son, isn’t he?
As a statement. For example:
He is just the son of a carpenter. (NCV)
Translate this surprise, emphasis, and doubt in a way that is natural in your language.
carpenter’s son: The Greek word that the BSB translates as carpenter’s also can mean “builder’s.” Jesus’ father probably worked with wood, but he may have also made things with stone.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
the son of a woodworker
the son of a builder
Isn’t His mother’s name Mary,
And is not his mother named Mary?
His mother is Mary. (NCV)
Isn’t His mother’s name Mary…?: This is a rhetorical question. It expresses surprise and emphasizes that the people of Nazareth knew that Jesus was the son of Mary. The people doubted that Jesus could become someone important, because he was only the son of Mary. They did not see Mary as someone important, so they thought that her son could not be important either.
Here are some other ways to translate this surprise, doubt, and emphasis:
As a rhetorical question. For example:
Isn’t his mother’s name Mary (NIV)
His mother is only Mary, isn’t she?
As a statement. For example:
His mother is only/just Mary!
His mother is Mary (NCV)
Translate this surprise, emphasis, and doubt in a way that is natural in your language.
Isn’t His mother’s name Mary: This clause means that Jesus’ mother is the woman whose name is Mary. For example:
Isn’t his mother named Mary? (NET)
Is not his mother called Mary? (ESV)
and aren’t His brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
Isn’t he only/just the older brother of James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?
His younger brothers are only James, Joseph, Simon and Judas.
and aren’t His brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?: This is a rhetorical question. It expresses surprise and emphasizes that the people of Nazareth knew that Jesus was a brother to James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. The people doubted that Jesus could become someone important, because his brothers were not important people. So they thought that their brother Jesus could not become an important person either.
Here are some ways to translate this surprise, doubt, and emphasis:
As a rhetorical question. For example:
Isn’t he only/just the older brother of James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
As a statement. For example:
his brothers are James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas (NCV)
Translate this surprise, emphasis and doubt in a way that is natural in your language.
His brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas: Jesus was the first-born and so he was the older brother of these four men. If your language has separate words for older brother and younger brother, you should use the word for younger brothers to refer to James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion
οὐχ οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τοῦ τέκτονος υἱός? οὐχ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ λέγεται Μαριὰμ, καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ, Ἰάκωβος, καὶ Ἰωσὴφ, καὶ Σίμων, καὶ Ἰούδας?
not (Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὐχ οὗτος Ἐστίν ὁ τοῦ τέκτονος υἱός Οὐχ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ λέγεται Μαριάμ καί οἱ ἀδελφοί αὐτοῦ Ἰάκωβος καί Ἰωσήφ καί Σίμων καί Ἰούδας)
The people are using the question form to show that they know Jesus’ family. They mean that Jesus is just an ordinary person. If you would not use the question form for this purpose in your language, you could translate these questions as statements or exclamations. Alternate translation: [He is just the son of a carpenter. We know his mother Mary, and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas.] or [He is only the son of the carpenter! His mother is called Mary, and his brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas!]
Note 2 topic: translate-unknown
τοῦ τέκτονος
˱of˲_the carpenter
The word carpenter refers to someone who builds things with wood. If your readers would not be familiar with this type of worker, you could use the name of something similar in your area or you could use a more general term. Alternate translation: [of the man who builds with wood] or [of the construction worker]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
οὐχ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ λέγεται
not (Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὐχ οὗτος Ἐστίν ὁ τοῦ τέκτονος υἱός Οὐχ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ λέγεται Μαριάμ καί οἱ ἀδελφοί αὐτοῦ Ἰάκωβος καί Ἰωσήφ καί Σίμων καί Ἰούδας)
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who did the action, you could use an indefinite subject. Alternate translation: [Do they not call his mother] or [Is not the name of his mother]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ, Ἰάκωβος
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὐχ οὗτος Ἐστίν ὁ τοῦ τέκτονος υἱός Οὐχ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ λέγεται Μαριάμ καί οἱ ἀδελφοί αὐτοῦ Ἰάκωβος καί Ἰωσήφ καί Σίμων καί Ἰούδας)
The people are leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You could supply these words from earlier in the sentence if it would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: [and are not his brothers called James]
Note 5 topic: translate-kinship
οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ
the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὐχ οὗτος Ἐστίν ὁ τοῦ τέκτονος υἱός Οὐχ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ λέγεται Μαριάμ καί οἱ ἀδελφοί αὐτοῦ Ἰάκωβος καί Ἰωσήφ καί Σίμων καί Ἰούδας)
These were Jesus' younger brothers. They were sons of Mary and Joseph. Since the Father of Jesus was God, and their father was Joseph, they were actually his half-brothers. That detail is not normally translated, but if your language has a specific word for “younger brother,” you could use it here.
Note 6 topic: translate-names
Ἰωσὴφ & Σίμων & Ἰούδας
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὐχ οὗτος Ἐστίν ὁ τοῦ τέκτονος υἱός Οὐχ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ λέγεται Μαριάμ καί οἱ ἀδελφοί αὐτοῦ Ἰάκωβος καί Ἰωσήφ καί Σίμων καί Ἰούδας)
The words Joseph, Simon, and Judas are the names of men.
OET (OET-LV) Is this not the son of_the carpenter?
Not the mother of_him is_being_called Maria/(Miryām), and the brothers of_him, Yakōbos/(Yaˊₐqoⱱ), and Yōsaʸf/(Yōşēf), and Simōn, and Youdas/(Yəhūdāh)?
OET (OET-RV) Isn’t he the son of Yosef, the carpenter? Don’t we know his mother Maria and his brothers Yacob and Yosef and Simon and Yudas?
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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