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Luke 20 V1 V3 V7 V9 V11 V13 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47
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.)
OET (OET-RV) They discussed this among themselves, reasoning, “If we say ‘from heaven’, then he’ll ask us why we didn’t believe that God sent him.![]()
OET-LV And they reasoned_together to themselves saying, that If we_may_say:
From heaven, he_will_be_saying:
for_ Why _reason you_all_ not _believed in_him?
![]()
SR-GNT Οἱ δὲ συνελογίσαντο πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς λέγοντες, ὅτι “Ἐὰν εἴπωμεν, ‘Ἐξ οὐρανοῦ’, ἐρεῖ, ‘Διὰ τί οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε αὐτῷ;’ ‡
(Hoi de sunelogisanto pros heautous legontes, hoti “Ean eipōmen, ‘Ex ouranou’, erei, ‘Dia ti ouk episteusate autōi;’)
Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object, red:negative.
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 Then they reasoned with each other, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘For what reason did you not believe him?’
UST They discussed this among themselves. They said, “If we answer, ‘God commanded him,’ then he will say, ‘So why did you not believe him?’
BSB They deliberated among themselves [and] said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why did you not believe him?’
MSB They deliberated among themselves [and] said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why[fn] did you not believe him?’
20:5 TR and GOC Why then
BLB And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we should say 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why did you not believe him?'
AICNT And they reasoned among themselves, saying [that],[fn] “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say [[to us]],[fn] ‘Why [[therefore]][fn] did you not believe him?’
20:5, that: Absent from some manuscripts. C(04) Latin(e ff2 i)
20:5, to us: Some manuscripts include. C(04) Latin(a)
20:5, therefore: Some manuscripts include. A(02) C(04) D(05) TR
OEB But they began arguing together, ‘If we say “divine,” he will say “Why didn’t you believe him?”
WEBBE They reasoned with themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’
WMBB (Same as above)
NET So they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’
LSV And they reasoned with themselves, saying, “If we may say, From Heaven, He will say, Why, then, did you not believe him?
FBV They talked about it among themselves: “If we say it was from heaven, he'll ask, ‘Then why didn't you believe him?’
TCNT So they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘[fn]Why did you not believe him?’
20:5 Why ¦ Why then ANT TR
T4T They discussed this among themselves. They said, “If we(inc) say, ‘It was from God [MTY/EUP],’ he will say to us, ‘Then ◄you should have believed John’s message!/why did you not believe what John preached?► [RHQ]’
LEB And they discussed this[fn] with one another, saying, “If we say ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’
20:5 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
BBE And they said among themselves, If we say, From heaven; he will say, Why did you not have faith in him?
Moff Now they reasoned to themselves, "If we say, "From heaven," he will ask, "Why did you not believe him?"
Wymth So they debated the matter with one another. "If we say `Heavenly,'" they argued, "he will say, `Why did you not believe him?'
ASV And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why did ye not believe him?
DRA But they thought within themselves, saying: If we shall say, From heaven: he will say: Why then did you not believe him?
YLT And they reasoned with themselves, saying — 'If we may say, From heaven, he will say, Wherefore, then, did ye not believe him?
Drby And they reasoned among themselves, saying, If we should say, Of heaven, he will say, Why have ye not believed him?
RV And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why did ye not believe him?
(And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why did ye/you_all not believe him? )
SLT And they reckoned up together to themselves, saying, That if we say, of heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?
Wbstr And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye him not?
KJB-1769 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye him not?
(And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye/you_all him not? )
KJB-1611 And they reasoned with themselues, saying, If wee shall say, From heauen, he will say, Why then beleeued yee him not?
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)
Bshps And they reasoned within the selues, saying, Yf we say from heauen, he wyll say, why then beleued ye hym not?
(And they reasoned within the selves, saying, If we say from heaven, he will say, why then believed ye/you_all him not?)
Gnva And they reasoned within themselues, saying, If we shall say, From heauen, he will say, Why then beleeued ye him not?
(And they reasoned within themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven, he will say, Why then believed ye/you_all him not? )
Cvdl But they thought in them selues, and sayde: Yf we saye, from heauen, then shal he saye: Why dyd ye not the beleue him?
(But they thought in themselves, and said: If we say, from heaven, then shall he say: Why did ye/you_all not the believe him?)
TNT And they thought with in them selves sayinge: yf we shall saye from heaven: he will saye: why then beleved ye him not?
(And they thought with in themselves saying: if we shall say from heaven: he will say: why then believed ye/you_all him not? )
Wycl And thei thouyten with ynne hem silf, seiynge, For if we seien, Of heuene, he schal seie, Whi thanne bileuen ye not to hym?
(And they thought within himself, saying, For if we said, Of heaven, he shall say, Why then believen ye/you_all not to him?)
Luth Sie aber gedachten bei sich selbst und sprachen: Sagen wir, vom Himmel, so wird er sagen: Warum habt ihr ihm denn nicht geglaubt?
(They/She but thought at/in itself/yourself/themselves himself/itself and said: Sagen we/us, from_the heaven, so becomes he say: Why have you(pl)/their/her him because/than not believed?)
ClVg At illi cogitabant intra se, dicentes: Quia si dixerimus: De cælo, dicet: Quare ergo non credidistis illi?
(But them forcesabant inside himself, saying: Because when/but_if we_said: From/About the_sky, he_will_say: Why therefore not/no you_believe them? )
UGNT οἱ δὲ συνελογίσαντο πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς λέγοντες, ὅτι ἐὰν εἴπωμεν, ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, ἐρεῖ, διὰ τί οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε αὐτῷ?
(hoi de sunelogisanto pros heautous legontes, hoti ean eipōmen, ex ouranou, erei, dia ti ouk episteusate autōi?)
SBL-GNT οἱ δὲ συνελογίσαντο πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς λέγοντες ὅτι Ἐὰν εἴπωμεν· Ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, ἐρεῖ· Διὰ τί οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε αὐτῷ;
(hoi de sunelogisanto pros heautous legontes hoti Ean eipōmen; Ex ouranou, erei; Dia ti ouk episteusate autōi;)
RP-GNT Οἱ δὲ συνελογίσαντο πρὸς ἑαυτούς, λέγοντες ὅτι Ἐὰν εἴπωμεν, Ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, ἐρεῖ, Διὰ τί οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε αὐτῷ;
(Hoi de sunelogisanto pros heautous, legontes hoti Ean eipōmen, Ex ouranou, erei, Dia ti ouk episteusate autōi;)
TC-GNT Οἱ δὲ συνελογίσαντο πρὸς ἑαυτούς, λέγοντες ὅτι Ἐὰν εἴπωμεν, Ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, ἐρεῖ, Διὰ [fn]τί οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε αὐτῷ;
(Hoi de sunelogisanto pros heautous, legontes hoti Ean eipōmen, Ex ouranou, erei, Dia ti ouk episteusate autōi; )
20:5 τι ¦ τι ουν ANT TR
Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, orange:accents differ (from our SR-GNT base).
20:1-47 In this series of controversies between Jesus and the religious leaders of Jerusalem, they repeatedly questioned and challenged him, and he repeatedly outmatched them with his spiritual wisdom, insight, and authority.
In this paragraph the Jewish leaders asked Jesus what authority he had to do the things that he had been doing. They implied by their question in 20:2 that God had not authorized Jesus to do and say what he did.
Jesus replied by asking the leaders who gave John the Baptizer his authority. His question implied that both he and John got their authority from God. The leaders did not want to admit that God had given John his authority, because they did not believe John’s teaching. But they did not want to say that his authority was only from human beings, because they were afraid that the people would stone them. So they said that they did not know where John’s authority came from.
Because the leaders refused to say what they believed about John, Jesus also said that he would not tell them about his own authority. He knew that they would not accept his answer, because they were questioning him with evil motives. However, in Section 20:9–19, he revealed the answer in a parable.
Examples of headings for this section are:
The Authority of Jesus Questioned (NIV)
The Jewish leaders did not believe that Jesus came with God’s authority
Jewish Leaders Question Jesus (NCV)
There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 21:23–27 and Mark 11:27–33.
They deliberated among themselves and said,
They began to talk about this among themselves, saying,
Then the leaders discussed the question. They said to each other,
They reasoned/argued about Jesus’ question among themselves. Some/Someone said,
They deliberated among themselves and said: This clause introduces the leaders’ words in 20:5b. The Greek verbs that the BSB translates as deliberated among themselves and said refer to the same action. The leaders talked to each other about how they should answer the question that Jesus asked them. The following verses tell what the leaders said in their discussion. Other ways to introduce the discussion are:
They discussed it with one another, saying (NRSV)
They started to argue among themselves (GNT)
“If we say, ‘From heaven,’
“If we(incl) say, ‘John’s right to baptize had its origins in heaven,’
“We(incl) could answer that John’s right/authority came from God in heaven,
“Suppose we(incl) say that God was the one who sent/told John to baptize people,
If we say, ‘From heaven’: The pronoun we refers to the Jewish leaders who spoke to each other. They did not include Jesus in their conversation. They were considering one possible answer that they could give Jesus.
The phrase From heaven is a quote within a quote. Translate it in a natural way in your language. Some ways to do this in English are:
If we say that John’s baptism came from heaven/God
If we say that God sent John to baptize people
If we say, “God sent John to baptize people.”
If you need to make the reply From heaven into a complete sentence, use wording that agrees with what you used in 20:4.
If we say: The Jewish leaders were not certain how they should answer Jesus. Here they introduced one possible answer. Other ways to introduce it are:
Suppose we say
We could answer
Should we reply…?
We can’t say… (CEV)
Introduce the possible answer in a way that is natural in your language.
He will ask, ‘Why did you not believe him?’
he/Jesus will ask us(incl) this question: ‘Then why did you(plur) not believe John’s message?’
but then Jesus will ask us(incl) why we(incl) did not believe what John was saying.
then Jesus will say that we(incl) should not have rejected/refused his/John’s message.”
He will ask, ‘Why did you not believe him?’: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as ask is a general verb that means “say.” Here the Jewish leaders guessed how Jesus would reply to them if they said “From heaven.” Some versions translate this as indirect speech. For example:
he will ask why we didn’t believe John (NLT)
Translate it in a natural way in your language.
Why did you not believe him?: This is a rhetorical question. It expresses a rebuke. The Jewish leaders thought that if they admitted that John’s authority was from God, Jesus would rebuke them. He would tell them that they should have believed what John told them.
Some ways to translate this rebuke are:
As a rhetorical question. For example:
Why did you not believe him? (NRSV)
As a statement or exclamation. For example:
Then you should have believed him!
You should not have rejected his message.
…he will say that we should have believed him.
Translate this rebuke in a way that is natural in your language. In some languages it may be natural to introduce the rebuke with a word or phrase. For example:
Then why did you not believe him? (NCV)
If you knew that God gave him the authority, you should have believed him.
believe him: The phrase believe him refers here to believing that what John said was true. The chief priests and the scribes did not believe what John preached. They rejected his teaching. They did not repent of their sins and allow John to baptize them, and they did not believe what John said about Jesus. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
accept his message
agree that what he said was true
See believe, Meaning 1, in the Glossary.
οἱ & συνελογίσαντο πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς
they & reasoned_together (Some words not found in SR-GNT: οἱ Δέ συνελογίσαντο πρός ἑαυτούς λέγοντες ὅτι Ἐάν εἴπωμεν Ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἐρεῖ διά Τί οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε αὐτῷ)
Alternate translation: [they discussed with each other what they should say]
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / hypo
ἐὰν εἴπωμεν, ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, ἐρεῖ, διὰ τί οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε αὐτῷ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οἱ Δέ συνελογίσαντο πρός ἑαυτούς λέγοντες ὅτι Ἐάν εἴπωμεν Ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἐρεῖ διά Τί οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε αὐτῷ)
The Jewish leaders are describing a hypothetical situation. Alternate translation: [Suppose we say, ‘From heaven.’ Then he will ask, ‘Then why did you not believe him]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes
ἐὰν εἴπωμεν, ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, ἐρεῖ, διὰ τί οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε αὐτῷ?
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οἱ Δέ συνελογίσαντο πρός ἑαυτούς λέγοντες ὅτι Ἐάν εἴπωμεν Ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἐρεῖ διά Τί οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε αὐτῷ)
If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: [If we say that John’s authority came from God, Jesus will ask us why we did not believe him.]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / euphemism
ἐξ οὐρανοῦ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οἱ Δέ συνελογίσαντο πρός ἑαυτούς λέγοντες ὅτι Ἐάν εἴπωμεν Ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἐρεῖ διά Τί οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε αὐτῷ)
See how you translated this expression in [20:4](../20/04.md). Alternate translation: [From God]