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
Mark C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16
Mark 12 V1 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V13 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43
OET (OET-LV) But concerning the dead, that they_are_being_raised, not you_all_read in the scroll of_Mōsaʸs concerning the thorn_bush, how the god spoke to_him saying:
I am the god of_Abraʼam/(ʼAⱱrāhām), and god of_Isaʼak/(Yiʦḩāq), and the god of_Yakōb/(Yaˊₐqoⱱ)?
OET (OET-RV) And as for the state of those who’ve died, didn’t you read in the scriptures about Mosheh when God spoke to him in front of the burning thorn bush and said, ‘I am the god of Abraham and the god of Isaac and the god of Yacob’?
The Jewish leaders continued to challenge Jesus. In this section some Sadducees asked Jesus a question to try to show that the things he taught were wrong. Like the Pharisees, the Sadducees were a group of Jewish leaders with certain religious beliefs. Many of the Sadducees were priests. They did not believe that God would cause anyone who had died to live again.
Jesus believed and taught that God does cause people who have died to live again. The Sadducees tried to use this belief to trick Jesus in 12:18–27. They told a story to ridicule these beliefs that Jesus taught. The story was not true, but they used it to ask a question. They thought that if a person believed that people who died could live again, there was no sensible answer to the question.
The Sadducees based their story on the Jewish custom that is described in Deuteronomy 25:5–6. This Scripture teaches that if a woman did not have any children by her husband before he died, his brother was required to marry her. Their first child would have the name of his dead brother and would be his heir.This custom was called the levirate. Jewish people considered the first son that the widow bore after marrying the brother of her dead husband to be the son of her dead husband, not the son of the man who was now her husband. This meant that this son and his descendants would carry on the dead man’s family and family name through future generations. Any sons born after this to the woman and her living husband would carry on the name of the living husband for future generations. In that way, the dead man’s family and family name could continue through future generations. Since the Scripture taught this custom, the Sadducees believed that they could prove from Scripture that Jesus was wrong.
It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
The question about the resurrection
The Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection (ESV)
Do people rise from the dead?
There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 22:23–33 and Luke 20:27–40.
In this paragraph Jesus answered the Sadducees’ question. There are two parts to Jesus’ answer. He explained that:
When people live again after they have died, they will be like the angels, who do not marry. (12:25)
In one of the books of Moses, God indicated that the great ancestors of the Jewish people were still alive with him. This showed that he does cause people to live again after they die. (12:26–27)
Then Jesus told the Sadducees that they were wrong not to believe that dead people can live again (12:27).
But concerning the dead rising,
Now concerning those who are dead rising to life,
Now I want to speak to you(plur) about dead people living again.
See the General Comment on 12:26a–d in 12:26d for a suggestion about how to reorder these parts of the verse.
But concerning the dead rising: The phrase But concerning the dead rising introduces the second part of what Jesus said to the Sadducees. The BSB indicates this by using the word But and a comma after the word rising. Here Jesus began to prove from the Scriptures that God causes dead people to live again.
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
As for the resurrection of the dead (REB)
Now I will talk about whether dead people will live again
the dead rising: The phrase the dead rising refers to dead people living again after they die. In some languages it may be necessary to say who will cause the dead to live again. If that is true in your language, you should say “God.” For example:
God raising people who have died
God causing people who have died to live again
have you not read about the burning bush in the Book of Moses,
surely you(plur) have read in the book of Moses, in the story about the burning bush,
Don’t you remember reading about this in the book that Moses wrote? In the story about what happened at the burning bush,
Think again about what Moses wrote in his book. In the passage where God speaks from the burning bush,
have you not read about the burning bush in the Book of Moses…?: This clause is the beginning of a rhetorical question. Jesus used this clause in two ways:
to rebuke the Sadducees because they should have understood that God raises dead people to life. Jesus knew that the Sadducees had read this story, but their actions showed that they did not understand what it implied.
to remind them about what God said to Moses at the burning bush.
There are at least two ways to translate this clause:
As a rhetorical question, as in the BSB.
As a statement. For example:
You speak as if you have never read in the book of Moses…
Use whichever form is most natural to express this passage in your language.
about the burning bush: The phrase the burning bush refers to the story in Exodus 3:6 about the bush that was on fire but did not burn up. Here are some other ways to translate this:
in the passage about the bush (GW)
what is written about the burning bush
bush: The word bush here refers to a shrub, a plant smaller than a tree. The word refers here to only one plant. It does not refer a large area of uninhabited land.
the Book of Moses: The Book of Moses refers to the writings of Moses in the Old Testament. Jesus was referring specifically to the story in Exodus chapter 3.
how God told him,
that God said to him,
God spoke to him and said,
God says that
how God told him: The Greek words that the BSB translates as how God said to him introduce what God told Moses in the Scripture passage concerning the burning bush. The word how does not indicate the way God spoke to Moses.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
where God said… (GW)
it says that God told Moses… (NCV)
There it is written that God said to Moses… (GNT)
‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?
‘I am God for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’
‘I am the God who cares for your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’
he is the God whom Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob worship.
I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob: In this verse God identified himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These three men had died long before Moses was born. But when God spoke to Moses, he indicated that he was still their God. This implied that he still related to them and that they still existed.In Hebrew thinking, God was the God of the whole person, both body and spirit. (Hendriksen pages 487–488). A person’s spirit belongs to God even after the person’s body has died. That implies a promise that God would some day raise that person’s body and cause it to live again.
In some languages it may be necessary to make some of this information explicit. For example:
Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died on earth, God told Moses, I am the God of your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (based on the TRT)
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob: In some languages it may be necessary to make explicit in what sense God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is one who cares for them as their God, the God whom they worship and serve. God is faithful to them as his people. For example:
I am the God whom Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob worship.
I am the God who cares for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
I am the God who is acknowledged by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Notice that the verbs in the examples above use present tense. This rightly implies that God was still caring for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and that they were still worshiping him. Use an appropriate form in your language to indicate this. If you have translated the books of Exodus and Acts, consider how you translated this phrase in Exodus 3:6 and Acts 3:13.
In some languages it may be natural to translate God’s words to Moses as indirect speech. For example:
In the passage where God speaks to Moses from the burning bush, God says that he is still the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
In some languages it may be helpful to change the order of some information in this verse. For example, the verse below begins with a general statement. It says that what Moses wrote showed that dead people rise again. Then the verse gives the details of how what Moses wrote showed this. For example:
26bBut in the book that Moses wrote, he spoke of 26a dead people living again. 26cIn the passage about the burning bush, he quoted God. God said, 26d“I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases
περὶ δὲ τῶν νεκρῶν, ὅτι ἐγείρονται, οὐκ ἀνέγνωτε
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: περί Δέ τῶν νεκρῶν ὅτι ἐγείρονται οὐκ ἀνέγνωτε ἐν τῇ βίβλῳ Μωϋσέως ἐπί τοῦ βάτου πῶς εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός λέγων Ἐγώ ὁ Θεός Ἀβραάμ καί Θεός Ἰσαάκ καί ὁ Θεός Ἰακώβ)
Here, the phrase But concerning introduces the next topic that Jesus wants to talk about. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces the next topic. Alternate translation: [Next, I will talk about the dead, that they are raised. Did you not read]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / nominaladj
τῶν νεκρῶν
the dead
Jesus is using the adjective dead as a noun in order to refer to all people who are dead. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you could translate this with a noun phrase. See how you expressed the idea in [12:25](../12/25.md). Alternate translation: [the dead people] or [the corpses]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
ἐγείρονται
˱they˲_˓are_being˒_raised
Here, the word raised refers to someone who died coming back to life. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable idiom or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [they are restored to life]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ἐγείρονται
˱they˲_˓are_being˒_raised
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 does the action, it is clear from the context that it is God. Alternate translation: [God raises them]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion
οὐκ ἀνέγνωτε ἐν τῇ βίβλῳ Μωϋσέως ἐπὶ τοῦ βάτου, πῶς εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεὸς λέγων, ἐγὼ ὁ Θεὸς Ἀβραὰμ, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς Ἰσαὰκ, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς Ἰακώβ?
not ˱you_all˲_read in the scroll ˱of˲_Moses (Some words not found in SR-GNT: περί Δέ τῶν νεκρῶν ὅτι ἐγείρονται οὐκ ἀνέγνωτε ἐν τῇ βίβλῳ Μωϋσέως ἐπί τοῦ βάτου πῶς εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός λέγων Ἐγώ ὁ Θεός Ἀβραάμ καί Θεός Ἰσαάκ καί ὁ Θεός Ἰακώβ)
Jesus is using the question form to rebuke and teach the Sadducees. If you would not use the question form for this purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or an exclamation. Alternate translation: [I know that you have read in the book of Moses, at the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’] or [surely you have read in the book of Moses, at the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’!]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / yousingular
οὐκ ἀνέγνωτε
not ˱you_all˲_read
Because Jesus is speaking to the Sadducees, the word you here is plural.
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / possession
τῇ βίβλῳ Μωϋσέως
the scroll ˱of˲_Moses
Here, Jesus is using the possessive form to describe the book that Moses wrote and authorized, the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament). Jesus is not using the possessive form to indicate a book that Moses owned. If this is not clear in your language, you could express the idea in another. Alternate translation: [the book that Moses authorized] or [the books that come from Moses]
Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἐπὶ τοῦ βάτου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: περί Δέ τῶν νεκρῶν ὅτι ἐγείρονται οὐκ ἀνέγνωτε ἐν τῇ βίβλῳ Μωϋσέως ἐπί τοῦ βάτου πῶς εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός λέγων Ἐγώ ὁ Θεός Ἀβραάμ καί Θεός Ἰσαάκ καί ὁ Θεός Ἰακώβ)
Here Jesus is referring to the passage in the book of Moses where God appears to Moses in a bush that is on fire but that does not burn up. This passage can be found in [Exodus 3:2–6](../exo/03/02.md), and the quotation that follows is more specifically from [Exodus 3:6](../exo/03/06.md). If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [in the passage about the bush] or [in the place in the book of Exodus where Moses encountered God in a bush]
Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes
λέγων, ἐγὼ ὁ Θεὸς Ἀβραὰμ, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς Ἰσαὰκ, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς Ἰακώβ
saying (Some words not found in SR-GNT: περί Δέ τῶν νεκρῶν ὅτι ἐγείρονται οὐκ ἀνέγνωτε ἐν τῇ βίβλῳ Μωϋσέως ἐπί τοῦ βάτου πῶς εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός λέγων Ἐγώ ὁ Θεός Ἀβραάμ καί Θεός Ἰσαάκ καί ὁ Θεός Ἰακώβ)
If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: [saying that he is the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?]
Note 10 topic: writing-quotations
λέγων
saying
If you keep the direct quotation, consider natural ways of introducing it in your language. Alternate translation: [and he said]
Note 11 topic: figures-of-speech / possession
ὁ Θεὸς Ἀβραὰμ, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς Ἰσαὰκ, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς Ἰακώβ
¬the the the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: περί Δέ τῶν νεκρῶν ὅτι ἐγείρονται οὐκ ἀνέγνωτε ἐν τῇ βίβλῳ Μωϋσέως ἐπί τοῦ βάτου πῶς εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός λέγων Ἐγώ ὁ Θεός Ἀβραάμ καί Θεός Ἰσαάκ καί ὁ Θεός Ἰακώβ)
Here, the author of the quotation is using the possessive form to describe the God whom Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob worship. If this is not clear in your language, you could express the idea in another way. Alternate translation: [the God that Abraham honors, and the God that Isaac honors, and the God that Jacob honors]
OET (OET-LV) But concerning the dead, that they_are_being_raised, not you_all_read in the scroll of_Mōsaʸs concerning the thorn_bush, how the god spoke to_him saying:
I am the god of_Abraʼam/(ʼAⱱrāhām), and god of_Isaʼak/(Yiʦḩāq), and the god of_Yakōb/(Yaˊₐqoⱱ)?
OET (OET-RV) And as for the state of those who’ve died, didn’t you read in the scriptures about Mosheh when God spoke to him in front of the burning thorn bush and said, ‘I am the god of Abraham and the god of Isaac and the god of Yacob’?
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.