MARK 11:32 Parallel Verse View

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

OET (OET-RV) But we can’t say that it was just from people.” (They said that because they were scared of the crowds, knowing that they believed that Yohan was a prophet.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor.
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 But should we say, ‘From men’?” (They were afraid of the crowd, for they all held that John really was a prophet.)

UST On the other hand, we cannot answer that people authorized John.” They said that because they knew that the large group of people believed that John had truly spoken for God, which made them afraid of how the large group of people would react.

BSB But if we say, ‘From men’ …” they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John truly was a prophet.

MSB But if we say, ‘From men’ …” they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John truly was a prophet.

BLB But should we say, 'From men'..." They were afraid of the people, for all were holding that John truly was a prophet.

AICNT But shall we say, ‘From men?’ ” – they feared the {crowd},[fn] for they all held that John was [truly][fn] a prophet.

11:32, crowd: Some manuscripts read “people.”

11:32, truly: Absent from some manuscripts.

OEB Yet can we say “human”?’ They were afraid of the people, for everyone regarded John as undoubtedly a prophet.

WEBBE If we should say, ‘From men’ ”—they feared the people, for all held John to really be a prophet.

WMBB If we should say, ‘From men’ ”—they feared the people, for all held Yochanan to really be a prophet.

NET But if we say, ‘From people – ’ ” (they feared the crowd, for they all considered John to be truly a prophet).

LSV But if we may say, From men…” They were fearing the people, for all were holding that John was indeed a prophet;

FBV But if we say, it's of human origin, well…” They were afraid of the crowd, because everyone believed that John was a true prophet.

TCNT But [fn]shall we say, ‘From men’?”—they were afraid of the [fn]people, for everyone thought that John was [fn]truly a prophet.

11:32 shall we say, ‘From men’?”— ¦ if we say, ‘from men’ ”— TR

11:32 people 95.1% ¦ crowd NA SBL TH WH 4.6%

11:32 truly 91.3% • CT 1% ¦ — ANT 3.2%

T4T On the other hand, if we say that it was people who authorized John, then what will happen to us?” They were afraid to say that about where John got his authority, because they knew that the people would be very angry with them. They knew that all the people truly believed that John was a prophet whom God had sent.

LEB But if we say, ‘From men’ ”—they were afraid of the crowd, because they all looked upon John _⌊as truly a prophet_⌋.[fn]

11:32 Literally “that he was truly a prophet”

BBE But if we say, From men — they were in fear of the people, because all took John to be truly a prophet.

Moff No, let us say, From men' — but they were afraid of the multitude, for the people all held John had been really a prophet.

Wymth Or should we say, `human?'" They were afraid of the people; for all agreed in holding John to have been really a Prophet.

ASV But should we say, From men—they feared the people: for all verily held John to be a prophet.

DRA If we say, From men, we fear the people. For all men counted John that he was a prophet indeed.

YLT But if we may say, From men,' — they were fearing the people, for all were holding John that he was indeed a prophet;

Drby but should we say, Of men — they feared the people; for all held of John that he was truly a prophet.

RV But should we say, From men—they feared the people: for all verily held John to be a prophet.
(But should we say, From men—they feared the people: for all verily/truly held John to be a prophet. )

SLT But if we say, of men; they feared the people: for all held John, that he was truly a prophet.

Wbstr But if we shall say, from men; they feared the people: for all men counted John that he was a prophet indeed.

KJB-1769 But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed.

KJB-1611 But if we shall say, Of men, they feared the people: for all men counted Iohn, that he was a Prophet indeed.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Bshps But yf we shal say, of men, we feare the people. For all men counted Iohn, that he was a very prophete.
(But if we shall say, of men, we fear the people. For all men counted Yohn, that he was a very prophet.)

Gnva But if we say, Of men, we feare the people: for all men counted Iohn, that he was a Prophet in deede.
(But if we say, Of men, we fear the people: for all men counted Yohn, that he was a Prophet indeed. )

Cvdl But yf we saye: It was of men, then feare we the people, for they all helde that Ihon was a true prophet.
(But if we say: It was of men, then fear we the people, for they all held that Yohn was a true prophet.)

TNT but if we shall saye of me: then feare we the people. For all men counted Iohn that he was a verie Prophete.
(but if we shall say of me: then fear we the people. For all men counted Yohn that he was a verie Prophete. )

Wycl if we seien of men, we dreden the puple; for alle men hadden Joon, that he was verili a prophete.
(if we said of men, we dreading the people; for all men had Yohn, that he was verily/truly a prophet.)

Luth Sagen wir aber, sie war von Menschen, so fürchten wir uns vor dem Volk. Denn sie hielten alle, daß Johannes ein rechter Prophet wäre.
(Sagen we/us but, they/she/them what/which from people, so fear(v) we/us us/to_us/ourselves before/in_front_of to_him people. Because they/she/them held/kept all, that Yohannes a right Prophet were.)

ClVg Si dixerimus: Ex hominibus, timemus populum: omnes enim habebant Joannem quia vere propheta esset.[fn]
(When/But_if we_said: From to_humans, we_fear the_people: everyone because they_had Yoannem because really/truly a_prophet was. )

11.32 Si dixerimus. Quodlibet horum respondeant: vident se in laqueum ruituros, timent lapidationem: sed magis confessionem veritatis.

11.32 When/But_if we_said. Quodlibet of_these respondeant: they_see himself in/into/on snare ruituros, they_are_afraid lapidationem: but more confession to_the_truths.

UGNT ἀλλὰ εἴπωμεν, ἐξ ἀνθρώπων? (ἐφοβοῦντο τὸν ὄχλον, ἅπαντες γὰρ εἶχον τὸν Ἰωάννην, ὄντως ὅτι προφήτης ἦν.)
(alla eipōmen, ex anthrōpōn? (efobounto ton oⱪlon, hapantes gar eiⱪon ton Yōannaʸn, ontōs hoti profaʸtaʸs aʸn.))

SBL-GNT ἀλλὰ εἴπωμεν· Ἐξ ἀνθρώπων;— ἐφοβοῦντο τὸν ⸀ὄχλον, ἅπαντες γὰρ εἶχον τὸν Ἰωάννην ⸂ὄντως ὅτι⸃ προφήτης ἦν.
(alla eipōmen; Ex anthrōpōn;— efobounto ton ⸀oⱪlon, hapantes gar eiⱪon ton Yōannaʸn ⸂ontōs hoti⸃ profaʸtaʸs aʸn.)

RP-GNT Ἀλλ' εἴπωμεν, Ἐξ ἀνθρώπων, ἐφοβοῦντο τὸν λαόν· ἅπαντες γὰρ εἶχον τὸν Ἰωάννην, ὅτι ὄντως προφήτης ἦν.
(All' eipōmen, Ex anthrōpōn, efobounto ton laon; hapantes gar eiⱪon ton Yōannaʸn, hoti ontōs profaʸtaʸs aʸn.)

TC-GNT [fn]Ἀλλ᾽ εἴπωμεν, Ἐξ ἀνθρώπων, ἐφοβοῦντο τὸν [fn]λαόν· ἅπαντες γὰρ εἶχον τὸν [fn]Ἰωάννην, [fn]ὅτι ὄντως προφήτης ἦν.
(All eipōmen, Ex anthrōpōn, efobounto ton laon; hapantes gar eiⱪon ton Yōannaʸn, hoti ontōs profaʸtaʸs aʸn. )

11:32 αλλ ¦ αλλ εαν TR ¦ αλλα ANT NA²⁷ SBL TH WH

11:32 λαον 95.1% ¦ οχλον NA SBL TH WH 4.6%

11:32 ιωαννην ¦ ιωανην WH

11:32 οτι οντως 91.3% ¦ οτι ANT 3.2% ¦ οντως οτι CT 1%

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.

11:32a

But if we say, ‘From men’...”

But if we^(incl) say, ‘From men,’ then what?”
But if we say that John baptized only with authority from humans, what would happen?”
But we cannot say that John’s authority came only from people.”

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

But if we say: There are two ways to interpret the Greek phrase that the BSB translates as if we say here:

It is a conditional statement. For example, the GNT says:
if we say (BSB, GNT, NIV, NCV, KJV, NET, GW, JBP)
It is a question. For example, the RSV says:
shall we say…? (RSV, NJB, NLT, REB, NASB, ESV)

The Greek can be interpreted either way. There is good support in commentaries and versions for both ways of expressing 11:32a. You should follow the choice that is most natural in your language. The Display follows interpretation (1).

‘From men’…: The phrase From men is a quote within another quote. The BSB shows this with single quotes. In some languages it may be necessary to express this as an indirect quotation. For example:

But if we say that it came from people…

But if we say that John’s authority came from people…

In the BSB, as in the Greek, 11:32a is not grammatically complete. In some languages you may be able to indicate an incomplete thought as the BSB does, with an ellipsis character (three periods). Another possibility is to supply the implicit information in what the Jewish leaders began to say. For example:

But we cannot say, “It was from men.”

From men: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as From men refers to the source of John’s right or authority to baptize people. It means that the source of his authority was only human. It came from people, not from God.

See how you translated the phrase From men in 11:30a.

11:32b–c

they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John truly was a prophet: The NIV and the GNT put this sentence in parentheses. The parentheses make it clear that Mark was explaining why the Jewish leaders did not want to answer “From men.”

The Jewish leaders did not believe that John’s authority had come from God. But they did not want to say what they really believed, because they were afraid of the people.

You may use parentheses to set this explanation apart, if that is a clear and natural way to do it in your language. But it is not always necessary to use parentheses. See also the General Comment on 11:32a–c at the end of the notes on 11:32c.

11:32b

they were afraid of the people,

They were afraid of the people,
They could not answer that way, because they were afraid of the people,
They were afraid that the people would cause trouble if they said that,

they were afraid of the people: The Jewish leaders were afraid that the people might kill them.

According to the Law of Moses, people who spoke against God or a prophet of God should be killed by stoning. The Jewish leaders were afraid to tell the truth about what they thought of John’s authority to baptize. They were afraid that when the ordinary people heard their opinion, they would be very angry at them and would kill them. See Luke 20:6. This information could be included in a footnote in your translation.

11:32c

for they all held that John truly was a prophet.

because everyone believed that John was a real prophet.
who all believed that John had been a true prophet from God.
because so many of the people were convinced that John had really been a prophet.

for: The word for introduces background information about the reason that the Jewish leaders were afraid of the people. There is implied information in the clause. The people believed that John was a prophet, so they would be angry if the leaders said that he did not get his authority from God. In some languages a word like “for” or “because” may not communicate the right meaning without the implied information. See the General Comment on 11:32a–c below for a different way to express the connection.

they all held: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as held is used in a figurative way here. It means “to hold (or have) an opinion about something.” So to hold that John was a prophet means to “consider/believe” that John was a prophet.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

everyone was convinced (GNT)

everyone thought (NLT96)

everyone believed

they all: The phrase they all is an exaggeration. Mark used this word to emphasize the fact that many people believed John was a prophet. We know that not every person believed that John was a prophet. The Jewish leaders themselves did not believe it.

John truly was a prophet: John was dead at the time the Jewish leaders had this discussion. But even after John died, the people still believed that he had been a prophet. Translate the clause John truly was a prophet in a way that is natural in your language to show that this was what people thought about John. For example:

John had really been a prophet.

prophet: A prophet is a man who speaks a message that God has told him to speak. In this context, the fact that the people believed that John was a prophet meant that they believed that his authority came from God. God had sent him to preach and to baptize people.

See how you translated this word in 1:2a. See also prophet in the Glossary.

General Comment on 11:32a–c

You may be able to express the meaning of 11:32a–c more clearly if you make the whole verse an explanation without direct quotations. For example:

But the leaders did not want to say that John’s authority was only from humans. Most/many of the people believed that John was a prophet, and the leaders were afraid of what the people might do.

Another possibility is to make 11:32a and 11:32c part of what the Jewish leaders said, as a direct quotation. For example, the CEV says:

“On the other hand, these people think that John was a prophet. So we can’t say that it was merely some human who gave John the right to baptize.”

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

ἀλλὰ εἴπωμεν, ἐξ ἀνθρώπων?

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλά εἴπωμεν Ἐξ ἀνθρώπων Ἐφοβοῦντο τόν ὄχλον ἅπαντες γάρ εἶχον τόν Ἰωάννην ὄντως ὅτι προφήτης ἦν)

The Jewish leaders could be: (1) asking themselves a rhetorical question. Alternate translation: [But can we really say, ‘From men] (2) using a conditional form that implies the result. Alternate translation: [But if we say, ‘From men.’]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

ἀλλὰ εἴπωμεν, ἐξ ἀνθρώπων

The Jewish leaders are using the question form to indicate that they think it is a bad idea to give the answer From men. 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: [But it is not possible for us to say, ‘From men.’] or [But we cannot say, ‘From men’!]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes

εἴπωμεν, ἐξ ἀνθρώπων?

˱we˲_˓may˒_say (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλά εἴπωμεν Ἐξ ἀνθρώπων Ἐφοβοῦντο τόν ὄχλον ἅπαντες γάρ εἶχον τόν Ἰωάννην ὄντως ὅτι προφήτης ἦν)

If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: [should we say that it was from men]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

ἐξ ἀνθρώπων

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 men] or [It was from men]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

ἐξ ἀνθρώπων

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

Note 6 topic: grammar-connect-time-background

ἐφοβοῦντο τὸν ὄχλον, ἅπαντες γὰρ εἶχον τὸν Ἰωάννην, ὄντως ὅτι προφήτης ἦν

Mark provides this background information to help readers understand why the Jewish leaders said what they did. Use a natural way in your language for introducing background information. Alternate translation: [They said this to each other because they were afraid of the crowd, for they all held that John really had been a prophet] or [They did not want to say that John’s baptism was from men, because all the crowd held that John really was a prophet, and they were afraid of the crowd]

Note 7 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

ἐφοβοῦντο τὸν ὄχλον, ἅπαντες γὰρ εἶχον τὸν Ἰωάννην, ὄντως ὅτι προφήτης ἦν

If it would be more natural in your language, you could reverse the order of these clauses, since the second clause gives the reason for the result that the first clause describes. Alternate translation: [The crowd held that John really was a prophet, so they were afraid of them all]

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

τὸν ὄχλον

Here Mark implies that the Jewish leaders feared what the crowd would do if they answered in this way. The crowd might have rioted or attacked them. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [of what the crowd would do] or [that the crowd might riot]

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἅπαντες & εἶχον

all & ˓were˒_having

Here, the word all refers to the people in the crowd. If it would be helpful in your language, you could say that explicitly. Alternate translation: [for everyone in the crowd held] or [for all those who were in the crowd held]

Note 10 topic: figures-of-speech / hyperbole