1:16a
They profess to know God: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as They profess means to say that something is true, whether it is true or is not true. It implies that the person speaking wants his listeners to believe what he said. Here, these people did not know God but said that they knew God. They wanted their listeners to believe that they knew God.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
They told people that they knew God
-or-
They say that they know God
-or-
They declare, “We(excl) know God.”
They: This pronoun refers to the people described in 1:15b–c.
1:16b
but by their actions they deny Him: These people were doing things that showed that they did not know God or believe in him. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
but they deny that they know him by what they do
-or-
However, by the way they act they show that to be a lie.
The Greek and the Berean Standard Bible have placed the phrase by their actions in the front of the clause to emphasize it. Some languages cannot emphasize it in that way. Try to emphasize this phrase in a way that is natural in your language.
1:16c
They are detestable: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as detestable means “horrible/awful/disgusting.” God is disgusted with their deeds.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
They are disgusting
-or-
They are horrible people.
disobedient: This word here indicates that these people did not obey God. Here are some other ways to translate this word:
they always disobey
-or-
they never obey God
1:16d
and unfit for any good deed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as unfit refers to failing a test. Here the test is about doing good. These people failed that test, so they are not qualified to do good. If they tried to do good, they would fail.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
and they are not able to do anything good
-or-
and they are not competent to do any good thing
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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.