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OET (OET-LV) And answering he_said to_it:
No_longer for the age, of you no_one might_eat fruit.
And the apprentices/followers of_him were_hearing.
OET (OET-RV) So he spoke to the tree, “No one in this age will ever eat fruit from you again.” (His followers heard him say that.)
The events in this section took place the day after Jesus entered Jerusalem on a colt (11:1–11). Later that day, Jesus and his disciples had gone from Jerusalem to the nearby village of Bethany to spend the night (11:11). The next day, they went back to Jerusalem. This story occurs that day as they were walking back to Jerusalem.
It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
Jesus condemns a fig tree
The fig tree with no fruit
There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 21:18–19 and Luke 13:6–9.
Then He said to the tree, “May no one ever eat of your fruit again.”
Then he spoke to the tree and said, “Tree, may no one eat figs from you again.”
Jesus said to the fig tree, “No one shall ever eat figs from you again!” (GNT)
He commanded that the tree never again bear any fruit.
Then He said to the tree: Jesus spoke directly to the fig tree. This is unusual, so you may need to make it clear that he was speaking to the tree. He was not speaking to the people who were with him. For example:
And he addressed the fig tree (NJB)
Then he spoke to the tree and said, “Tree…”
May no one ever eat of your fruit again: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as May no one ever eat of your fruit again means that the tree would never again produce fruit. It does not mean that the tree would produce fruit but no one would be able to eat it. One way to make this clear is to say:
May no one eat figs from you again. You shall never again produce fruit!
Jesus pronounced judgment on the fig tree. He did not ask or wish that it not bear fruit. He commanded it never to bear fruit again. He was making a very strong statement. The result was that the fig tree died (11:20). You may need to translate the command as a statement, as in the GNT:
No one shall ever eat figs from you again!
It may be clearer in your language to use an indirect quote here. For example:
So he commanded that the tree never again bear any fruit.
And His disciples heard this statement.
And his disciples heard him say that.
Jesus’ followers heard what he said to the fig tree.
And His disciples heard this statement: Jesus’ disciples were close enough to hear what Jesus said to the fig tree. Be careful not to translate this in a way that means that Jesus said it to them.
This statement is important for connecting this with the rest of the story about the fig tree in 11:20.
disciples: The Greek word that the BSB translates as disciples means “learners” who are in a special relationship with a teacher. The learners commit themselves to their teacher in order to learn from him and live according to his teaching and example. Disciples often lived with their teacher and followed him wherever he went.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
students/learners
apprentices
followers
See how you translated this term at 2:15b and 11:1c.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἀποκριθεὶς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἀποκριθείς εἶπεν αὐτῇ Μηκέτι εἰς τόν αἰῶνα ἐκ σοῦ μηδείς καρπόν φάγοι Καί ἤκουον οἱ μαθηταί αὐτοῦ)
Here, the word answering indicates that Jesus was responding to what he saw. He was not answering a question. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [in response] or [when he saw that]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / apostrophe
μηκέτι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, ἐκ σοῦ μηδεὶς καρπὸν φάγοι
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἀποκριθείς εἶπεν αὐτῇ Μηκέτι εἰς τόν αἰῶνα ἐκ σοῦ μηδείς καρπόν φάγοι Καί ἤκουον οἱ μαθηταί αὐτοῦ)
Jesus is speaking to the fig tree that he knows cannot hear him. He is doing this to communicate to the people listening to him what he is going to do the tree. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate these words as if he were speaking about the fig tree. Alternate translation: [May no one any longer eat fruit from this tree to eternity] or [As for this tree, may no one any longer eat fruit from it to eternity]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
μηκέτι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, ἐκ σοῦ μηδεὶς καρπὸν φάγοι
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἀποκριθείς εἶπεν αὐτῇ Μηκέτι εἰς τόν αἰῶνα ἐκ σοῦ μηδείς καρπόν φάγοι Καί ἤκουον οἱ μαθηταί αὐτοῦ)
Here Jesus implies that the fig tree will stop producing fruit, and that is why no one will eat fruit from the tree ever again. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [May you no longer produce fruit that people will eat to eternity]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / doublenegatives
μηκέτι & μηδεὶς & φάγοι
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἀποκριθείς εἶπεν αὐτῇ Μηκέτι εἰς τόν αἰῶνα ἐκ σοῦ μηδείς καρπόν φάγοι Καί ἤκουον οἱ μαθηταί αὐτοῦ)
The words translated No one and any longer are two negative words. In this construction, the second negative does not cancel the first to create a positive meaning. Instead, it gives greater emphasis to the negative. If your language can use two negatives that do not cancel one another to create a positive meaning, you could use a double negative here. If your language does not use two negatives in that way, you could translate with one strong negative, as the ULT does. Alternate translation: [May people no longer eat] or [No longer may there be anyone who will eat]
Note 5 topic: grammar-collectivenouns
καρπὸν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἀποκριθείς εἶπεν αὐτῇ Μηκέτι εἰς τόν αἰῶνα ἐκ σοῦ μηδείς καρπόν φάγοι Καί ἤκουον οἱ μαθηταί αὐτοῦ)
In this verse, the word fruit is singular in form, but it refers to any fruits that the tree might produce as a group. If it would be helpful in your language, you could say this plainly. Alternate translation: [fruits]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / yousingular
σοῦ
you
Because Jesus is speaking to the fig tree, the word you here is singular.
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα
for (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἀποκριθείς εἶπεν αὐτῇ Μηκέτι εἰς τόν αἰῶνα ἐκ σοῦ μηδείς καρπόν φάγοι Καί ἤκουον οἱ μαθηταί αὐτοῦ)
Here, the phrase to eternity means that something lasts forever. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [forever] or [again]
OET (OET-LV) And answering he_said to_it:
No_longer for the age, of you no_one might_eat fruit.
And the apprentices/followers of_him were_hearing.
OET (OET-RV) So he spoke to the tree, “No one in this age will ever eat fruit from you again.” (His followers heard him say that.)
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.