MARK 11:31 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, 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 And they were reasoning with each other, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘For what reason then did you not believe him?’

UST Then the ruling priests, the teachers of the Jewish law, and the other Jewish leaders told each other, “Suppose that we answer that God authorized John from heaven. Then, he will tell us that we should have listened to John.

BSB They deliberated among themselves what they should answer: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’

MSB They deliberated among themselves:[fn] “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’

11:31 CT They deliberated among themselves what they should answer:

BLB And they began reasoning with themselves, saying, "What should we say? If we should say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'

AICNT And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’

OEB They began arguing together. ‘If we say “divine,” he will say “Why then didn’t you believe him?”

WEBBE They reasoned with themselves, saying, “If we should say, ‘From heaven;’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’

WMBB (Same as above)

NET They discussed with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’

LSV And they were reasoning with themselves, saying, “If we may say, From Heaven, He will say, Why then did you not believe him?

FBV They discussed it among themselves. They said, “If we say it's from heaven, he'll reply, ‘So why didn't you believe him?’

TCNT So they [fn]considered it among themselves, saying, “[fn]If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’

11:31 considered ¦ discussed CT

11:31 If ¦ What should we say? If SBL

T4T They debated among themselves as to what they should answer. They said to each other, “If we say that it was God who authorized him, he will say to us, ‘Therefore, ◄you should have believed what John said!/why did you not believe what John said?► [RHQ]’

LEB And they began to discuss[fn] this[fn] with one another, saying, “What should we say?[fn] If we say ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’

11:31 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to discuss”)

11:31 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation

11:31 Some manuscripts omit “What should we say?”

BBE And they gave thought to it among themselves, saying, If we say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did you not have faith in him?

Moff Now they argued to themselves, ""[What are we to say?] If we say, "From heaven, he will ask, 'Then why did you not believe him.

Wymth So they debated the matter with one another. "Suppose we say, `Heavenly,'" they argued, "he will ask, `Why then did you not believe him?'

ASV And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?

DRA But they thought with themselves, saying: If we say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did you not believe him?

YLT And they were reasoning with themselves, saying, 'If we may say, From heaven, he will say, Wherefore, then, did ye not believe him?

Drby And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we should say, Of heaven, he will say, Why [then] have ye not believed him?

RV And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?
(And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye/you_all not believe him? )

SLT And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we say, From heaven; he will say, Wherefore did ye not believe him.

Wbstr And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?

KJB-1769 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?
(And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye/you_all not believe him? )

KJB-1611 And they reasoned with themselues, saying, If we shall say, From heauen, he will say, Why then did ye not beleeue him?
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps And they reasoned with them selues, saying, yf we shall say from heauen: he wyll say, why then dyd ye not beleue hym?
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Gnva And they thought with themselues, saying, If we shall say, From heauen, he will say, Why then did ye not beleeue him?
(And they thought with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven, he will say, Why then did ye/you_all not believe him? )

Cvdl And they thought in them selues: yf we saye, it was from heauen, then shal he saye: Why dyd ye not then beleue him?
(And they thought in themselves: if we say, it was from heaven, then shall he say: Why did ye/you_all not then believe him?)

TNT And they thought in them selves sayinge: yf we shall saye from heven: he will saye why then dyd ye not beleve him?
(And they thought in themselves saying: if we shall say from heaven: he will say why then did ye/you_all not believe him? )

Wycl And thei thouyten with ynne hem silf, seiynge, If we seien of heuene, he schal seie to vs, Whi thanne bileuen ye not to him;
(And they thought within himself, saying, If we said of heaven, he shall say to us, Why then believen ye/you_all not to him;)

Luth Und sie gedachten bei sich selbst und sprachen: Sagen wir, sie war vom Himmel, so wird er sagen: Warum habt ihr denn ihm nicht geglaubet?
(And they/she/them thought at/in itself/yourself/themselves himself/itself and said: Sagen we/us, they/she/them what/which from_the heaven, so becomes he say: Why have you(pl)/their/her because/than him not believed?)

ClVg At illi cogitabant secum, dicentes: Si dixerimus: De cælo, dicet: Quare ergo non credidistis ei?[fn]
(But them forcesabant with_him, saying: When/But_if we_said: From/About the_sky, he_will_say: Why therefore not/no you_believe to_him? )

11.31 Si dixerimus. HIER. De lucerna mundi obscurantur, unde dicit: Paravi lucernam Christo meo: inimicos ejus induam confusione Psal. 131.. Quare ergo, etc. Quasi dicat: Quem confitemini de cœlo habuisse prophetiam, mihi testimonium perhibuit et ab illo audistis in qua potestate hæc facio.

11.31 When/But_if we_said. HIER. From/About lamp world darkntur, from_where/who he_says: Paravi lampm to_Christ/Messiah mine: enemies his induam confusion Psal. 131.. Why therefore, etc. As_if let_him_say: Which confess from/about sky to_have_had prophecy, to_me testimony perhibuit and away that/there you_heard in/into/on which power these_things I_do.

UGNT καὶ διελογίζοντο πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς λέγοντες, ἐὰν εἴπωμεν, ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, ἐρεῖ, διὰ τί οὖν οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε αὐτῷ?
(kai dielogizonto pros heautous legontes, ean eipōmen, ex ouranou, erei, dia ti oun ouk episteusate autōi?)

SBL-GNT καὶ ⸀διελογίζοντο πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς λέγοντες· ⸂Τί εἴπωμεν;⸃ ἐὰν εἴπωμεν· Ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, ἐρεῖ· Διὰ τί ⸀οὖν οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε αὐτῷ;
(kai ⸀dielogizonto pros heautous legontes; ⸂Ti eipōmen;⸃ ean eipōmen; Ex ouranou, erei; Dia ti ⸀oun ouk episteusate autōi;)

RP-GNT Καὶ ἐλογίζοντο πρὸς ἑαυτούς, λέγοντες, Ἐὰν εἴπωμεν, Ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, ἐρεῖ, Διὰ τί οὖν οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε αὐτῷ;
(Kai elogizonto pros heautous, legontes, Ean eipōmen, Ex ouranou, erei, Dia ti oun ouk episteusate autōi;)

TC-GNT Καὶ [fn]ἐλογίζοντο πρὸς ἑαυτούς, λέγοντες, [fn]Ἐὰν εἴπωμεν, Ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, ἐρεῖ, Διὰ τί οὖν οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε αὐτῷ;
(Kai elogizonto pros heautous, legontes, Ean eipōmen, Ex ouranou, erei, Dia ti oun ouk episteusate autōi; )

11:31 ελογιζοντο ¦ διελογιζοντο CT

11:31 εαν ¦ τι ειπωμεν εαν SBL

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.

11:31a

They deliberated among themselves what they should answer:

They deliberated this matter among themselves and said,
The leaders deliberated with each other how to answer him. They said to each other,
The chief priests, the teachers of the Law of Moses, and the elders asked one another, “How shall we answer his question?

They deliberated among themselves what they should answer: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as They deliberated among themselves what they should answer is more literally “And they were reasoning with each other, saying.” The verb “reasoning” and “saying” refer to the same action. The following verses tell what the leaders said to each other in their discussion. In some languages, it is not necessary to have both “reasoning” and “saying” here. Here are some other ways to translate this:

They started to argue among themselves (GNT)

They talked to each other about it. They said (NIRV)

They deliberated among themselves: The Greek word that the BSB translates as They deliberated is literally “they were discussing.” If you need to make explicit what they were discussing, you could say:

They deliberated among themselves how they should answer him

They were deliberating the matter among themselves

You could also use direct speech here. For example:

They asked one another, “How shall we answer his question?”

They: The pronoun They refers to “the chief priests, the scribes and the elders” in 11:27c. You may need to refer to them specifically rather than use a pronoun here.

11:31b–32a

The Jewish leaders discussed how they should answer Jesus. They imagined what would happen if they gave each possible answer. So one way to express 11:31b–32a would be to use the “if…then” form. For example:

^31b If we say…^31cthen he will ask…^32abut if we say…

The thought in 11:32a is interrupted, so there is not a “then” clause in 11:32b.

11:31b

“If we say, ‘From heaven,’

“If we^(incl) answer, ‘From God in heaven,’
“If we say it was from heaven, (NLT)
If we say that John baptized with authority from God,

The Jewish leaders considered one possible answer that they could give Jesus.

If we say, ‘From heaven’: There is a textual issue in this part of the verse. In some Greek manuscripts, this part of the verse starts with the question “What shall we say?”:

Some Greek manuscripts do not have the question “What shall we say?” For example, the NLT says:
If we say it was from heaven (BSB, NIV, RSV, NJB, NET, NASB, GW, NLT, CEV, JBP, NCV, ESV)
Some Greek manuscripts have the question “What shall we say?” For example, the GNT says:
What shall we say? If we answer, “From God,” (GNT, REB)

It is recommended that you follow option (1), as the majority of English versions do.

The phrase ‘From heaven’ is a quote within another quote. The BSB shows this with single quote marks around ‘From heaven.’

In some languages it may be necessary to express 11:31b as an indirect quotation. For example:

If we say that his authority came from heaven…

If we say that John’s baptism was from heaven…

If we say it was from heaven… (NLT)

You may need to supply words such as “his authority” or “John’s baptism” to make their reply into a complete sentence. If that is true, use wording that agrees with what you used in 11:30a.

From heaven: The phrase From heaven refers to God, as in 11:30a. In some languages, it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

If we answer, “John’s baptism was from God…” (NCV)

See heaven, Meaning 3, in the Glossary.

11:31c

He will ask, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’

then he will ask us^(incl), ‘Why then did you^(plur) not believe him?’
then he will ask us why we^(incl) did not believe John.
then he will ask us why we did not believe/trust what John said.

He will ask: The pronoun He refers to Jesus. The Jewish leaders began to imagine here what Jesus would say if they said that John’s authority was from God. The words He will ask introduce what they believed Jesus would say to them.

‘Why then did you not believe him?’: The question Why then did you not believe him? is a quote within another quote. The BSB shows this with single quotes around this question. In some languages it may be necessary to express this as an indirect quotation. For example:

…then he will ask us why we did not believe him.

believe him: Here the phrase believe him means “believe what John said.”

Here are some other ways to translate this:

accept that what he said was true

agree with what John said

See also believe, meaning 1, in the Glossary.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί διελογίζοντο πρός ἑαυτούς λέγοντες ἐάν εἴπωμεν Ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἐρεῖ Διά τί οὖν οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε αὐτῷ)

Here, the phrase with each other could mean: (1) that the Jewish leaders were reasoning with one another. Alternate translation: [with one another] (2) that the Jewish leaders were thinking this without saying it. Alternate translation: [within themselves]

Note 2 topic: writing-quotations

λέγοντες

saying

Consider natural ways of introducing direct quotations in your language. Alternate translation: [and they said]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes

ἐὰν εἴπωμεν, ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, ἐρεῖ, διὰ τί οὖν οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε αὐτῷ

If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this so that there are not quotations within a quotation. Alternate translation: [If we say that it was from heaven, then he will ask us for what reason we did not believe him.]

Note 4 topic: grammar-connect-condition-hypothetical

ἐὰν εἴπωμεν, ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, ἐρεῖ, διὰ τί οὖν οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε αὐτῷ

The Jewish leaders are using an imaginary situation to help them decide how to answer the question. Use a natural method in your language for introducing an imaginary situation. Alternate translation: [Imagine that we say, ‘From heaven.’ In that case, he will say to us, ‘For what reason then did you not believe him]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

ἐξ οὐρανοῦ

The Jewish leaders are leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You could supply these words from the context if it would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: [John’s baptism was from heaven] or [It was from heaven]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

ἐξ οὐρανοῦ

See how you translated the similar phrase in [11:30](../11/30.md). Alternate translation: [From God]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

διὰ τί οὖν οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε αὐτῷ?

The Jewish leaders expect that Jesus would use the question form to rebuke them. 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: [Then you should have believed him.] or [You certainly should have believed him, then!]

Parallel MARK 11:31

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

11:31a

11:31b–32a

11:31b

11:31c