OET interlinear MAT 3:9

3:9a–b

And do not presume 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 them to think that because they were descendants of Abraham, God would not punish or destroy them for their sins. God would judge them if they did not repent and obey him.

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

do not think, ‘We have Abraham as our father and so God will never punish us.’

do not say to yourselves that nothing can happen to you because you are Abraham’s children.

Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing… (NLT)

Do not think that having Abraham as your father/ancestor will help you.

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

God chose Abraham to begin a people who would be his chosen ones. Therefore, many of the Jewish people in the time of John felt that since they were God’s chosen ones, they were sure of being considered righteous before God. They thought that God would never punish them at the final judgment.

3:9a

do not presume: The word presume means to “believe something to be true without proof,” or to “assume.” Here is another way to translate this word:

think (GNT)

to 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. For example:

   say within yourselves (KJV) (BSB, NIV, RSV, NJB, NASB, NCV NET, KJV, ESV, JBP, CEV)

2. It means tell one another. For example:

   say to each other (NLT) (NLT; perhaps GW, REB, GNT)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). John was saying that the people should not think in this way.

Here are some other ways to translate 3:9a:

do not let this thought enter your minds

do not think that

do not trust/rely on the fact that

3:9b

We have Abraham as our father: This clause is a quote within a quote. John quoted what the people might say or think. In some languages, it will be more natural to translate this clause using “You” instead of We. For example:

^9aDo not think that you^(plur) can say to yourselves ^9bthat you^(plur) have Abraham as your father.

that you belong to Abraham’s family (CEV)

our 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.

3:9c

For: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as For introduces the reason that 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 phrase 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 carefully listen to what he was about to say.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

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

  I assure you that

  I can guarantee that (GW)

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

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

that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham: This clause means “God can turn/make these stones into Abraham’s descendants.” John was saying that the Jewish people should not depend on the fact that Abraham was their ancestor to protect them from being punished or destroyed. God could replace them. If he wished, he could create other people to be Abraham’s descendants. He could even create them from stones.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

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

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

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