MARK 11:30 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.)

OET (OET-RV) When Yohan preached and immersed people, did the authority for that come from heaven or from people here?”

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, 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).

UST Did God authorize John the Baptizer from heaven to baptize people, or did people authorize him to do that? Answer that question!”

AICNT Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men? Answer me.”

OEB It is about John’s baptism. Was it of divine or human origin? Answer me that.’

WEBBE The baptism of John—was it from heaven, or from men? Answer me.”

WMBB The immersion of Yochanan—was it from heaven, or from men? Answer me.”

NET John’s baptism – was it from heaven or from people? Answer me.”

LSV the immersion of John—was it from Heaven or from men? Answer Me.”

FBV John's baptism—did that come from heaven, or from people?”

TCNT Did John's authority to baptize come from heaven or from men? [fn]Answer me.”

11:30 Answer me. ¦ — PCK

T4T Did God [MTY] or people authorize John to baptize those who came to him?”

LEB The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men? Answer me!”

BBE The baptism of John, was it from heaven or from men? give me an answer.

Moff What about the baptism of John? Was it from heaven or from men?'

Wymth John's Baptism—was it of Heavenly or of human origin? Answer me."

ASV The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men? answer me.

DRA The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men? Answer me.

YLT the baptism of John — from heaven was it? or from men? answer me.'

Drby The baptism of John, was it of heaven, or of men? answer me.

RV The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men? answer me.

SLT Was the immersion of John from heaven, or from men? answer me.

Wbstr The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men? answer me.

KJB-1769 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me.

KJB-1611 The baptisme of Iohn, was it from heauen, or of men? Answere me.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation)

Bshps The baptisme of Iohn, whether was it from heauen, or of men? Aunswere me.
(The baptism of Yohn, whether was it from heaven, or of men? Answer me.)

Gnva The baptisme of Iohn, was it from heauen, or of men? answere me.
(The baptism of Yohn, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me. )

Cvdl The baptyme of Ihon, was it from heauen, or of men? Answere me.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from marking of added words (and possibly capitalisation and punctuation))

TNT The baptyme of Iohn was it from heven or of men? Answer me.
(The baptism of Yohn was it from heaven or of men? Answer me. )

Wycl Whether was the baptym of Joon of heuene, or of men? answere ye to me.
(Whether was the baptism of Yohn of heaven, or of men? answer ye/you_all to me.)

Luth Die Taufe Johannes, war sie vom Himmel oder von Menschen? Antwortet mir!
(The Taufe Yohannes, what/which they/she/them from_the heaven or from people? Answer(v) to_me!)

ClVg Baptismus Joannis, de cælo erat, an ex hominibus? Respondete mihi.
(Baptismus Yoannis, from/about the_sky was, an from to_humans? Respondete to_me. )

UGNT τὸ βάπτισμα τὸ Ἰωάννου, ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἦν ἢ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων? ἀποκρίθητέ μοι.
(to baptisma to Yōannou, ex ouranou aʸn aʸ ex anthrōpōn? apokrithaʸte moi.)

SBL-GNT τὸ βάπτισμα ⸀τὸ Ἰωάννου ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἦν ἢ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων; ἀποκρίθητέ μοι.
(to baptisma ⸀to Yōannou ex ouranou aʸn aʸ ex anthrōpōn; apokrithaʸte moi.)

RP-GNT Τὸ βάπτισμα Ἰωάννου ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἦν, ἢ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων; Ἀποκρίθητέ μοι.
(To baptisma Yōannou ex ouranou aʸn, aʸ ex anthrōpōn; Apokrithaʸte moi.)

TC-GNT Τὸ βάπτισμα [fn]Ἰωάννου ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἦν, ἢ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων; [fn]Ἀποκρίθητέ μοι.
(To baptisma Yōannou ex ouranou aʸn, aʸ ex anthrōpōn; Apokrithaʸte moi. )

11:30 ιωαννου ¦ το ιωαννου ECM NA SBL TH ¦ το ιωανου WH

11:30 αποκριθητε μοι ¦ — PCK

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 11:27–33: The Jewish leaders challenged Jesus’ authority

Jesus and his disciples arrived in Jerusalem for the third time in three days. This time the Jewish leaders confronted him directly. They questioned Jesus about his right to do the things he had been doing. They did not believe that God had authorized Jesus to do and say what he did.

Jesus responded by asking the Jewish leaders a question. He asked them who gave John the Baptist his authority. The Jewish leaders did not want to answer Jesus’ question. If they answered, they would either appear to agree that God had sent John the Baptist or show that they did not believe that God sent him. So they refused to answer. Jesus then refused to answer their question, because he knew that they would not accept his answer.

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 Authority of Jesus (NET)

A Question about Jesus’ Authority (CEV)

Leaders Doubt Jesus’ Authority (NCV)

The Jewish leaders did not believe that Jesus came with God’s authority

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 21:23–27 and Luke 20:1–8.

11:30a

John’s baptism—was it from heaven or from men?

When John baptized people, did his authority come from God in heaven or from people?
Who sent John to baptize people? Was it God or human beings?
Did John baptize people because God sent him to do it, or because human beings sent him?

John’s baptism—was it from heaven or from men?: This question means, “Who gave John the authority to baptize people? Did God give it to him or did men give it to him?” This question has a similar meaning to the one that the Jewish leaders asked Jesus.

The BSB, like the Greek text, has placed the phrase John’s baptism at the beginning of the question. This gives it emphasis as the new topic. Your language may have a different way to do this. Translate the question in a natural way in your language.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

Did John’s right to baptize come from heaven or from humans? (GW)

Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men? (RSV)

John’s baptism: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as John’s baptism indicates that John baptized people. It does not indicate that someone else baptized John. You may need to express this phrase in a different way. For example:

When John baptized

The verb “baptize” means to purify people with a special ritual that uses water.In some verses, the verbs “wash” and “clean” are used to translate the Greek verb “baptize.” Luke 11:38 says, “But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash (baptize) before the meal, was surprised.” (The Greek verb here is baptizo, but English versions translate it as “wash.” The context refers to a ritual washing, not merely a removal of dirt.). Mark 7:4 and Matthew 23:25 both speak of washing/cleaning cups and other utensils. The verb in Mark is baptizo while the verb in Matthew is katharizo (clean). Again, a ritual cleansing is involved. Mark 7:4 says, “And there are many other traditions for them to observe, including the washing (baptizing) of cups, pitchers, kettles, and couches for dining.” Matthew 23:25 says, “You clean (katharizo) the outside of the cup and dish.” However, the above references do not indicate that “wash/cleanse” is the only meaning of the rite of baptism as practiced by John and by the early Christians. And certainly Jesus’ baptism of people with the Holy Spirit signified more than purification.

Here are some other ways to translate the word baptism or “baptized” in this context:

Use a descriptive term. For example:
When John washed people ritually
John’s purifying initiation
Use a term for a similar ritual that is already used in your culture. You may need to indicate that in this context it has a special connection with God. For example:
When John purified people with God’s ceremonial bath
John’s washing people in initiation water
Use a term that is already accepted by the local churches. This term may have been borrowed from the national language or transliterated from Greek or English.

See the notes on “baptizer” and “baptism” in 1:4a. See also baptize, Meaning 1, in the Glossary. Also see how you translated this term in 1:4c.

from heaven: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as from heaven implies “from God.” The Jews often referred indirectly to God in order to show their great respect for his name. You may need to make it explicit in your translation that the phrase from heaven refers to God. For example:

from God (GNT)

See heaven, Meaning 3, in the Glossary.

from men: The phrase from men is used here as the opposite of the phrase “from heaven.” It means “from human beings” (as in the GNT). In other words, it refers to people in general, not just to males. If John’s authority to baptize came from men, it meant that he was only following a human ritual or practice. It meant that he had not been sent by God to baptize.

11:30b

Answer Me!”

Tell/Answer me!”
Answer my question!”

Answer Me!: The phrase Answer me indicates that Jesus expected a response from the Jewish leaders.

In some languages, a command like this may sound rude or harsh. If this is true in your language, use a form that is not rude. For example:

^30bTell me, ^30aJohn’s baptism—was it from heaven, or from men?

^30bThis is my question. ^30a Who gave John his authority to baptize people? Was it God or people?

In some languages it may not be necessary to explicitly state the phrase Answer Me. This expectation may be implied by the context. For example, the CEV says:

Who gave John the right to baptize? Was it God in heaven or merely some human being?

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

τὸ βάπτισμα τὸ Ἰωάννου & ἦν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τό βάπτισμα τό Ἰωάννου ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἦν ἤ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων Ἀποκρίθητε μοί)

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of baptism, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [When John baptized people, was it]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

τὸ βάπτισμα τὸ Ἰωάννου

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τό βάπτισμα τό Ἰωάννου ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἦν ἤ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων Ἀποκρίθητε μοί)

Here, Jesus is using the possessive form to describe a kind of baptism that was performed by John. If this is not clear in your language, you could express the idea in another way. Alternate translation: [the baptism that John performed]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

ἐξ οὐρανοῦ

from heaven

Here, heaven represents God because it is where he dwells. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression from your language or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [from God]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

ἀνθρώπων

humans

Although the term men is masculine, Jesus is using the word in a generic sense that includes both men and women. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a phrase that makes this clear. Alternate translation: [humans]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἐξ οὐρανοῦ & ἢ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων

from heaven & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τό βάπτισμα τό Ἰωάννου ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἦν ἤ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων Ἀποκρίθητε μοί)

Here Jesus is asking about where John’s authority came from. He indicates that it could be from God in heaven or from men on earth. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [authorized by God from heaven or by men on earth]

Parallel MARK 11:30

Section 11:27–33: The Jewish leaders challenged Jesus’ authority

11:30a

11:30b