YHN 20:12 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT And she sees two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet of where the body of Jesus had lain.

UST She saw two angels wearing white clothing. They were sitting on the place where people had laid Jesus’ body. One angel was sitting on the place where Jesus’ head had been. The other angel was sitting on the place where Jesus’ feet had been.

BSB and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and [the other] at the feet.

BLB and she sees two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

AICNT and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

OEB and perceived two angels clothed in white sitting there, where the body of Jesus had been lying, one where the head and the other where the feet had been.

WEBBE and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

WMBB and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Yeshua had lain.

NET And she saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus’ body had been lying, one at the head and one at the feet.

LSV one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been laid.

FBV She saw two angels in white, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of where Jesus' body had been lying.

TCNT and saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus' body had been laid, one at the head and one at the feet.

T4T She saw two angels in very white clothing, sitting at the place where Jesus’ body had been laid. One was where his head had been, and the other was where his feet had been.

LEB and she saw two angels in white, seated one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had been lying.

BBE She saw two angels in white seated where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head and the other at the feet.

Moff and noticed two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.

Wymth and saw two angels clothed in white raiment, sitting one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had been.

ASV and she beholdeth two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

DRA And she saw two angels in white, sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been laid.

YLT one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been laid.

Drby and beholds two angels sitting in white [garments], one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

RV and she beholdeth two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
(and she beholdeth/beholds two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. )

SLT And sees two messengers in white, sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus was laid.

Wbstr And seeth two angels in white, sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

KJB-1769 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
(And seeth/sees two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. )

KJB-1611 And seeth two Angels in white, sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feete, where the body of Iesus had layen:
(And seeth/sees two Angels in white, sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Yesus/Yeshua had layen:)

Bshps And seeth two angels clothed in white, sittyng, the one at the head, & the other at the feete, where the body of Iesus was layde.
(And seeth/sees two angels clothed in white, sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Yesus/Yeshua was layde.)

Gnva And sawe two Angels in white, sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feete, where the body of Iesus had laien.
(And saw two Angels in white, sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Yesus/Yeshua had laien. )

Cvdl and sawe two angels in whyte garmentes syttinge, ye one at the heade, & the other at ye fete, where they had layed the body of Iesus.
(and saw two angels in white garments sitting, ye/you_all one at the head, and the other at ye/you_all feet, where they had laid the body of Yesus/Yeshua.)

TNT and sawe two angels in whyte sittyng the one at the heed and the other at the fete where they had layde the body of Iesus.
(and saw two angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the feet where they had laid the body of Yesus/Yeshua. )

Wycl And sche sai twei aungels sittinge in white, oon at the heed and oon at the feet, where the bodi of Jhesu was leid.
(And she saw twain/two_or_both angels sitting in white, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Yhesu was leid.)

Luth und siehet zwei Engel in weißen Kleidern sitzen, einen zu den Häupten und den andern zu den Füßen, da sie den Leichnam JEsu hingelegt hatten.
(and see/look two angel in whiten clothes sit, a to/for the Häupten and the change to/for the feet, there they/she/them the Leichnam Yesu laid_down had.)

ClVg et vidit duos angelos in albis sedentes, unum ad caput, et unum ad pedes, ubi positum fuerat corpus Jesu.[fn]
(and he_saw two messenger/angels in/into/on albis sittings, one to the_head, and one to feet, where placed had_been body Yesu. )

20.12 Vidit duos. Angeli, id est nuntii, significant Evangelium Christi a capite usque ad pedes, id est ab initio usque ad finem esse nuntiandum. Et ille ex passione sua erat nuntiandus, quia Deus est ante sæcula, et homo in fine sæculi. Sedet ergo angelus ad caput, cum dicit: In principio erat Verbum. Ad pedes, cum dicit: Verbum caro factum est. Vel duo angeli duo Testamenta, unum prius, aliud sequens. Conjuncta dum pari sensu incarnatum, mortuum, resuscitatum nuntiant.

20.12 He_saw two. Angeli, that it_is news, significant the_Gospel of_Christ from head until to feet, that it_is away at_first/in_the_beginning until to the_end to_be nuntiandum. And he/that_one from passionately his_own was nuntiandus, because God it_is before forever, and human in/into/on fine of_the_world/of_the_ages. Sedet therefore messenger/angel to the_head, when/with he_says: In at_the_beginning was The_word/saying. To feet, when/with he_says: The_word/saying flesh/meat done it_is. Or two messengers/angels two Testamenta, one first/before, something_else following. Conyuncta while pari sense incarnatum, dead, resuscitatum nuntiant.

UGNT καὶ θεωρεῖ δύο ἀγγέλους ἐν λευκοῖς καθεζομένους, ἕνα πρὸς τῇ κεφαλῇ, καὶ ἕνα πρὸς τοῖς ποσίν, ὅπου ἔκειτο τὸ σῶμα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ.
(kai theōrei duo angelous en leukois kathezomenous, hena pros taʸ kefalaʸ, kai hena pros tois posin, hopou ekeito to sōma tou Yaʸsou.)

SBL-GNT καὶ θεωρεῖ δύο ἀγγέλους ἐν λευκοῖς καθεζομένους, ἕνα πρὸς τῇ κεφαλῇ καὶ ἕνα πρὸς τοῖς ποσίν, ὅπου ἔκειτο τὸ σῶμα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ.
(kai theōrei duo angelous en leukois kathezomenous, hena pros taʸ kefalaʸ kai hena pros tois posin, hopou ekeito to sōma tou Yaʸsou.)

RP-GNT καὶ θεωρεῖ δύο ἀγγέλους ἐν λευκοῖς καθεζομένους, ἕνα πρὸς τῇ κεφαλῇ, καὶ ἕνα πρὸς τοῖς ποσίν, ὅπου ἔκειτο τὸ σῶμα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ.
(kai theōrei duo angelous en leukois kathezomenous, hena pros taʸ kefalaʸ, kai hena pros tois posin, hopou ekeito to sōma tou Yaʸsou.)

TC-GNT καὶ θεωρεῖ δύο ἀγγέλους ἐν λευκοῖς καθεζομένους, ἕνα πρὸς τῇ κεφαλῇ, καὶ ἕνα πρὸς τοῖς ποσίν, ὅπου ἔκειτο τὸ σῶμα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ.
(kai theōrei duo angelous en leukois kathezomenous, hena pros taʸ kefalaʸ, kai hena pros tois posin, hopou ekeito to sōma tou Yaʸsou. )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 20:11–18: Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene

This section tells how Mary Magdalene remained at the tomb after the two disciples left. She was crying and saw two angels inside the tomb. They asked her why she was crying and she said that someone had taken Jesus’ body. Then she turned around and saw Jesus, but she did not recognize him until he said her name. He told her not to hold him, but to go tell his disciples what she had seen, which she did.

Here are other possible section headings:

Mary Magdalene saw Jesus at the tomb

Jesus’ first resurrection appearance

Mary from Magdala was the first to see Jesus

Paragraph 20:11–13

Mary apparently followed the two disciples to the tomb and was crying there. When she looked into the tomb, she saw two angels who asked her why she was crying. She told them it was because someone had removed Jesus’ body and she did not know where it was.

20:12a

and she saw two angels in white

There she saw two angels dressed in white clothes.
Two messengers from God were there. Their clothes were white,

and she saw two angels in white: The two angels that Mary saw were inside the tomb. In some languages it may be natural to make this explicit. For example:

and saw two angels there dressed in white (GNT)

In some languages it may be natural to begin a new sentence. For example:

And she saw two angels in white (NET)

angels in white: The Greek expression that the BSB translates as angels in white indicates that the angels were wearing white clothes. See also Matthew 28:3 and Mark 16:5. Translate this phrase in a way that is natural in your language. It may be natural to make some information explicit. For example:

angels in white clothes (GW)

angels dressed in white (NCV)

angels: The Greek word that the BSB translates as angels means “messengers.” It refers here to spirit beings who serve God. Sometimes, as here, God sends angels to bring a message to human beings. Here are some ways to translate this word:

Use a descriptive word or phrase. For example:
messengers from God/heaven
good/holy spirit-beings
Use a local term that fits the biblical meaning.
In some areas the churches may already be using a borrowed term or a transliterated word for “angel.” Be sure that this term fits the biblical meaning. If people do not understand the right meaning from this term, you may need to make the meaning more explicit. For example:
an angelos messenger from God
a good angelos spirit

See angel sense 1 in KBT.

in white: This phrase indicates that the angels were wearing white clothes. White clothes indicate that the angels were from heaven. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

in white clothes (GW)

dressed in white (GNT)

In some languages it may be more natural to put this information in a separate clause. For example:

They were dressed in white (CEV)

whose clothes were white

The text does not say what kind of white clothes the angels were wearing. Perhaps they wore long clothes like robes similar to what the Jewish people then normally wore. For example:

white robes

General Comment on 20:11b–12a

In some languages it may be natural to combine the ideas of looking and seeing. See how you translated 20:5. For example:

She was still weeping, when she stooped down and saw two angels inside (CEV)

20:12b

sitting where the body of Jesus had lain,

They were sitting where Jesus’ body was lying before.
and they were sitting on the bench where Jesus’ body had been earlier.

sitting where the body of Jesus had lain: The phrase where the body of Jesus had lain refers to a shelf at the side of the tomb. In a burial cave there was a shelf made of rock where people placed the dead body. The angels were sitting at the two ends of this shelf. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

seated where Jesus’ body had been (NIV)

sitting there, on the place where they had put Jesus’ body

20:12c

one at the head and the other at the feet.

One was where his head had been/rested and the other was where his feet had been/rested.
One angel sat where Jesus’ head had lain and the other sat where his feet had lain.

one at the head and the other at the feet: The words head and feet refer to the places where the head and feet of Jesus’ body had earlier rested. The body itself was no longer there. It is important that your readers understand this. In some languages it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

one where Jesus’ head had been, the other where Jesus’ feet had been

General Comment on 20:11–12

In some languages it may be natural to translate these verses using shorter sentences. For example:

Mary Magdalene stood crying outside the tomb. She was still weeping, when she stooped down and saw two angels inside. They were dressed in white and were sitting where Jesus’ body had been. One was at the head and the other was at the foot. (CEV)

General Comment on 20:12

In some languages it may be natural to rearrange the information in 20:12. For example:

^12a–cand saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain (REB)

^12a–cShe saw two angels where the body of Jesus had been. They wore white clothes, and one was sitting where his head had been, and one where his feet had been.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / pastforfuture

θεωρεῖ

˓is˒_observing

Here John uses the present tense in past narration in order to call attention to a development in the story.

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

δύο ἀγγέλους ἐν λευκοῖς

two angels in white

Here, white refers to the color of the clothing that the angels were wearing. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [two angels in white clothing]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἕνα πρὸς τῇ κεφαλῇ, καὶ ἕνα πρὸς τοῖς ποσίν, ὅπου ἔκειτο τὸ σῶμα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ

one one (Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί θεωρεῖ δύο ἀγγέλους ἐν λευκοῖς καθεζομένους ἕνα πρός τῇ κεφαλῇ καί ἕνα πρός τοῖς ποσίν ὅπου ἔκειτο τό σῶμα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ)

Here, at the head and at the feet refer to the locations in the tomb where Jesus’ head and feet used to be. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [one at the place of his head and one at the place of his feet where the body of Jesus had been]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

ἔκειτο

˓was˒_lying

If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you can state this in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [someone had laid]

Parallel YHN 20:12