14:49a–b

Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest Me: In this part of the verse Jesus continued the rebuke that he began in verse 48. Jesus’ words continue to the end of 14:49c. He indicated that there was no reason for the crowd to come to arrest him armed with swords and clubs. They knew that he was not a violent criminal. They had seen him every day when he was teaching in the temple courtyard. They had made no attempt to arrest him at that time.

14:49a

Every day: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Every day means “day by day, regularly, for many days.” Jesus was probably particularly thinking of the week that had just past.

I was with you, teaching in the temple courts: Jesus often had taught publicly in the temple area. Many of his enemies had been there, too, listening to him. It is possible to translate this as:

you were there while I was teaching in the temple courts

temple courts: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as temple courts is literally “temple,” as in most English versions. The temple consisted of the temple building itself and the walls and courtyards that surrounded it. Here “temple” refers specifically to the courtyard. People did not meet inside the temple building because only the priests could go there.

Some English versions have made this clear by translating “temple” as temple courts (Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, NET Bible) or “temple courtyard” (God’s Word). You may want to do this also if your word or phrase for “temple” would make readers think that Jesus taught people inside the temple building.

Here are some other ways to translate the term temple courts:

• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:

courtyard of the house of God
-or-
the area around/belonging to the house of sacrifice
-or-
holy/sacred house courtyard/area

• If your language has a word for “temple,” consider using it. But you may need to modify it by saying:

courtyard of our temple/the temple of the Lord
-or-
big/great temple area/clearing

See how you translated this in 11:16. See also temple, Meaning 1, in the Glossary for more information about the temple and how to translate it.

14:49b

and you did not arrest Me: Jesus was implying that if he had really done anything wrong, the authorities would have arrested him openly. They did not arrest him in public, because they knew that he had not done anything wrong and they were afraid the people would riot.

In some languages it may be natural to express this as a rhetorical question. For example:

So, why did you not arrest me then?

arrest: This is the same word that is used in 14:44c. See how you translated arrest in that verse.

General Comment on 14:49a–b

In some languages it might be more natural to change the order of the clauses and ask the question first. For example:

49bWhy did you not arrest me 49a in the temple area? I was there teaching every day.

14:49c

But this has happened that the Scriptures would be fulfilled: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But indicates a contrast with 14:49b. In this context the contrast involves implied information. Jesus was in the temple every day and it would have been easy to arrest him. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled, so they arrested him as though he were a bandit (14:48). In other words, the way the crowd arrested Jesus fulfilled the Scriptures. This contrasted with what would have been the right way to treat Jesus.

the Scriptures: Here the phrase the Scriptures refers to the books of the Old Testament. See how you translated Scriptures in 12:24a–c.

Jesus may have been thinking about such OT passages as Zechariah 13:7 and Isaiah chapter 53.

would be fulfilled: God caused men to write in the Scripture about some things that would happen later. When those things actually occurred, the people who understood that connection said that Scripture was fulfilled.

Here are some other ways of translating this phrase:

must happen
-or-
must come true

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