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OET (OET-LV) And having_known it, the Yaʸsous/(Yəhōshūˊa) is_saying to_them:
Why are_you_all_reasoning because you_all_are_ not _having loaves?
You_all_are_ not_yet _understanding, nor you_all_are_understanding?
Are_you_all_having the heart of_you_all having_been_hardened?
OET (OET-RV) But Yeshua knew what they were saying and asked, “Why are you all discussing about not having food? Can’t you figure it out? Or are your minds completely closed?
In the previous story, the Pharisees again showed that they did not believe in Jesus. In this story, Jesus warned his disciples about them and about King Herod. He told the disciples to be careful about their “leaven,” or “yeast.” Yeast is a substance that spreads throughout bread dough and causes it to rise.
In this story Jesus used yeast as a metaphor, but the disciples thought he referred to literal yeast. The Jews often spoke of yeast as a figure of speech to refer to any influence that spread rapidly. In this context it is clear that the ways that the Pharisees and King Herod influenced people were harmful. Other Gospels make two of these ways explicit:
In Luke 12:1, the yeast of the Pharisees was hypocrisy.
In Matthew 16:12 the yeast of the Pharisees was their teaching.
In this context the “yeast” of the Pharisees may have been their stubborn refusal to believe in him. The Pharisees had asked Jesus for a sign from God in order to discredit him. Herod also had refused to believe John the Baptist and had ordered his soldiers to kill him. Jesus warned his disciples that they should not be like the Pharisees and King Herod, who did not understand who he was, or believe in him.
It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
Beware of the attitudes of the Pharisees and Herod that spread like yeast
The yeast of the Pharisees and Herod
The disciples did not yet understand what Jesus’ miracles showed about him
There is a parallel passage for this section in Matthew 16:5–11. Luke 12:1 also contains a reference to the yeast of the Pharisees.
Aware of their conversation, Jesus asked them,
¶ Knowing what they were talking about, Jesus asked them, (NCV)
¶ Jesus knew what they were saying among themselves, so he said to them,
Aware of their conversation, Jesus asked them: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as Aware of their conversation is literally “and knowing.” It refers back to the disciples’ conversation in 8:16. Jesus knew that they were talking about the fact that they had not brought any more bread with them in the boat. Refer to that conversation in a natural way in your language. The text does not say how Jesus knew, so your translation should also not say specifically how he knew.
“Why are you debating about having no bread?
“Why are you talking about not having bread? (NCV)
“Surely, you(plur) are not saying/thinking that I warned you(plur) because you(plur) have no bread.
Why are you debating about having no bread?: This is a rhetorical question. It expresses rebuke. In some languages it may be necessary to include implied information as you translate this rhetorical question.
Jesus scolded his disciples for thinking that the reason he was warning them in 8:15 was because they did not bring bread. In 8:19–20 he reminded them that he had multiplied small amounts of bread to feed large crowds of people. When he spoke about the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod, he was warning against their dangerous influence or attitude. Clearly, Jesus expected his disciples to think about the danger of the Pharisees and Herod, not about bread.
There are at least two ways to translate this rebuke.
As a rhetorical question. For example:
Why should you think that I was warning you about not having any bread?
Should you be arguing about having no bread after my warning?
As a statement. For example:
It is not your lack of bread that you should be discussing now!
My warning should not cause you to talk about having no bread!
Whether you have bread with you has nothing to do with what I just told you!
Use whichever form is most natural to express this rebuke in your language.
Do you still not see or understand?
Won’t you ever learn or understand? (NLT96)
By now you(plur) should be able to understand who I am!
Do you still not see or understand?: This is a rhetorical question that is asking two things:
Do you still not see…? (“perceive” in the RSV)
Do you still not…understand?
Jesus asked this to rebuke his disciples because they did not understand him. The question does not imply that the disciples were not intelligent or that they were unable to understand ordinary things. There are at least two ways to translate this rebuke.
As a rhetorical question. For example, the GNT says:
Don’t you know or understand yet?
As a statement. For example:
You should have perceived and understood by now!
Use whichever form is most natural to express this rebuke in your language.
see or understand: The Greek verbs that the BSB translates as see and understand are literally “perceive” and “understand,” as in the RSV. The text uses two verbs with almost the same meaning to emphasize this meaning. In this context the verbs emphasize that the disciples did not understand. Jesus’ question implies that they should have understood.
It may not be natural in your language to repeat verbs with the same meaning here. If that is true, you may indicate the emphasis here in a different way. For example:
Do you(plur) still not yet understand?
Do you(plur) still not understand at all?
By now you(plur) should be able to understand!
understand: Throughout this story, Jesus did not specifically state what his disciples did not understand. The text implies that by that time they should have been able to understand that he was God’s Son, the Messiah. It is recommended that you leave this information unstated. However, in some languages a verb like “understand” requires an object. If that is true in your language, you may need to express the idea in a general way. For example:
understand who I am
perceive the truth
Do you have such hard hearts?
How can your(plur) minds be so closed?
Do you(plur) not want to understand?
Surely your(plur) minds are not so dull!
Do you have such hard hearts?: Here Jesus used another rhetorical question to rebuke his disciples. This question has the same meaning as the question in 8:17c. There are at least two ways to translate this rebuke.
As a rhetorical question. For example, the NCV says:
Are your minds closed?
As a statement. For example:
Your hearts/minds must be hardened/closed.
Use whichever form is most natural to express this rebuke in your language. See the General Comment on 8:17c–d for a suggestion about how to combine these verse parts.
such hard hearts: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates literally as such hard hearts is an idiom. It is used when people are too stubborn to understand spiritual truth. It does not refer to a lack of intelligence. Jesus rebuked his disciples because they saw him do many miracles but still did not understand what his miracles showed about him. You can translate this idiom in two ways:
Use a figure of speech from your language that refers to a refusal to understand. For example, here are some other English idioms:
Are your minds so dull? (GNT)
Are your minds still closed? (CEV)
Why do you refuse to open your hearts?
Translate the meaning of the figure of speech. For example:
Do you not want to comprehend this?
Why do you refuse to understand like that?
The phrase such hard hearts is very similar to the phrase “their hearts had been hardened” in 6:52. See how you translated it there.
The rhetorical questions in 8:17c and 8:17d have almost the same meaning. In some languages it may be more natural to combine these questions. For example:
Have you made your hearts so hard that you still cannot understand?
Have you closed your minds so that you still cannot perceive the truth about me?
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion
τί διαλογίζεσθε ὅτι ἄρτους οὐκ ἔχετε? οὔπω νοεῖτε, οὐδὲ συνίετε? πεπωρωμένην ἔχετε τὴν καρδίαν ὑμῶν?
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί γνούς ὁ Ἰησοῦς λέγει αὐτοῖς Τί διαλογίζεσθε ὅτι ἄρτους οὐκ ἔχετε Οὔπω νοεῖτε οὐδέ συνίετε πεπωρωμένην Ἔχετε τήν καρδίαν ὑμῶν)
Jesus is using the question form to rebuke the disciples. 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: [It is wrong for you to be reasoning that you do not have loaves. You do not yet perceive nor understand. Your hearts have become hardened.] or [Do not reason that you do not have loaves! I am disappointed that you do not yet perceive nor understand! Your hearts have become hardened!]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet
οὔπω νοεῖτε, οὐδὲ συνίετε
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί γνούς ὁ Ἰησοῦς λέγει αὐτοῖς Τί διαλογίζεσθε ὅτι ἄρτους οὐκ ἔχετε Οὔπω νοεῖτε οὐδέ συνίετε πεπωρωμένην Ἔχετε τήν καρδίαν ὑμῶν)
The terms perceive and understand mean similar things. Jesus is using the two terms together for emphasis. If it would be clearer for your readers, you could express the emphasis with a single phrase. Alternate translation: [Do you not yet know] or [Do you not yet perceive]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
οὔπω νοεῖτε, οὐδὲ συνίετε?
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί γνούς ὁ Ἰησοῦς λέγει αὐτοῖς Τί διαλογίζεσθε ὅτι ἄρτους οὐκ ἔχετε Οὔπω νοεῖτε οὐδέ συνίετε πεπωρωμένην Ἔχετε τήν καρδίαν ὑμῶν)
Here Jesus is implying that the disciples do not perceive or understand who Jesus is and what he can do. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [Do you not yet perceive who I am, nor understand what I can do]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
πεπωρωμένην ἔχετε τὴν καρδίαν ὑμῶν?
˓having_been˒_hardened (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί γνούς ὁ Ἰησοῦς λέγει αὐτοῖς Τί διαλογίζεσθε ὅτι ἄρτους οὐκ ἔχετε Οὔπω νοεῖτε οὐδέ συνίετε πεπωρωμένην Ἔχετε τήν καρδίαν ὑμῶν)
Here, Jesus is speaking of the disciples’ heart as if it had become hardened. He means that the disciples are stubborn and refuse to listen and learn. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [Have you become stubborn] or [Have you become unwilling to pay attention]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
πεπωρωμένην ἔχετε τὴν καρδίαν ὑμῶν
˓having_been˒_hardened (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί γνούς ὁ Ἰησοῦς λέγει αὐτοῖς Τί διαλογίζεσθε ὅτι ἄρτους οὐκ ἔχετε Οὔπω νοεῖτε οὐδέ συνίετε πεπωρωμένην Ἔχετε τήν καρδίαν ὑμῶν)
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 indicate that it was the disciples themselves. Alternate translation: [Has your heart become hard] or [Have you hardened your heart]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun
ἔχετε τὴν καρδίαν ὑμῶν
˱you_all˲_˓are˒_having (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί γνούς ὁ Ἰησοῦς λέγει αὐτοῖς Τί διαλογίζεσθε ὅτι ἄρτους οὐκ ἔχετε Οὔπω νοεῖτε οὐδέ συνίετε πεπωρωμένην Ἔχετε τήν καρδίαν ὑμῶν)
If it would not be natural in your language to speak as if a group of people had only one heart, you could use the plural form of that word in your translation. Alternate translation: [Have your hearts]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
τὴν καρδίαν ὑμῶν?
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί γνούς ὁ Ἰησοῦς λέγει αὐτοῖς Τί διαλογίζεσθε ὅτι ἄρτους οὐκ ἔχετε Οὔπω νοεῖτε οὐδέ συνίετε πεπωρωμένην Ἔχετε τήν καρδίαν ὑμῶν)
In Jesus’ culture, the heart is the place where humans think and feel. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate heart by referring to the place where humans think and feel in your culture or by expressing the idea plainly. Alternate translation: [your head] or [your mind]
8:14-21 This account of the journey across the Sea of Galilee reflects on Jesus’ greatness, as manifested in the two feeding miracles, and emphasizes the dullness of the disciples, who do not see, hear, or understand because of their hardened hearts (see 4:9-20; 6:52).
OET (OET-LV) And having_known it, the Yaʸsous/(Yəhōshūˊa) is_saying to_them:
Why are_you_all_reasoning because you_all_are_ not _having loaves?
You_all_are_ not_yet _understanding, nor you_all_are_understanding?
Are_you_all_having the heart of_you_all having_been_hardened?
OET (OET-RV) But Yeshua knew what they were saying and asked, “Why are you all discussing about not having food? Can’t you figure it out? Or are your minds completely closed?
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.