3:8a

In this verse John told the people what they should do in response to his warning in 3:7c. They should repent and show their repentance by thinking and acting in the way that God wanted them to.

Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance: In Greek this verse is connected to 3:7 with a conjunction that is sometimes translated as “Therefore” (as in the NET Bible). The Berean Standard Bible translates this conjunction as then. In this context many English versions do not translate it. Some other ways to translate the connection are:

⌊In order to escape judgment,⌋ you should…
-or-

⌊If you want to avoid God’s punishment,⌋ you must…

Connect these two verses in a way that is natural in your language.

Produce fruit: In this context the phrase Produce fruit is a metaphor. It refers to the good things that people do to show that they have truly repented. This metaphor is also used in 3:9.

In some languages, a literal translation may have a different meaning. If that is true in your language, some other ways to translate the metaphor are:

• Make the comparison of people to fruit trees explicit. For example:

Just as trees bear fruit, so you must do the things that show that you have really repented.

• Translate the meaning without the metaphor. For example:

Do those things that prove that you have turned to God and have changed the way you think and act. (God’s Word)
-or-
Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. (New Living Translation (2004))

fruit: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as fruit is a plural form. Use the form that is most natural in your language for this context. In English either form is natural. For example:

bear fruits (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
Do those things (Good News Translation)
-or-
Prove your repentance by the fruit you bear (Revised English Bible)

in keeping with: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as in keeping with is literally “worthy of.” Other ways to translate this include:

that goes together with
-or-
that shows/proves
-or-
that accompanies
-or-
that corresponds to

repentance: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as repentance means “a change of a person’s mind, heart, or will.” In the Bible it refers specifically to a change of mind and heart about sin and about God. The person who repents is sorry for his past sins. He decides to stop sinning and to obey God.

This same word occurs in 3:3c. See the note there for more details and translation advice.

3:8b–c

And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’: The people to whom John was speaking were descendants of Abraham. John did not want the people to think that because they were descendants of Abraham, God would not judge them for their sins. God would judge them for their sins if they did not repent and obey him.

say to yourselves: There are two ways to interpret the Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as say to yourselves:

(1) It means say in your own minds; that is, think. For example:

say within yourselves (King James Version)

(Berean Standard Bible, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, New Century Version NET Bible, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, Revised Standard Version)

(2) It means tell one another. For example:

saying among yourselves (Good News Translation)

(New Living Translation (2004), Good News Translation)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). John was saying that the people should not think the statement in 3:8c.

In some languages you may have an idiom to express this. For example, one way to express this in English is:

do not let this thought enter your minds

See the General Comment on 3:8b–c at the end of the note for 3:8c for examples of using indirect speech.

3:8c

We have Abraham as our father: The Jews believed that God favored them and their nation more than he favored the Gentile nations. Abraham was the Jews’ greatest ancestor. Some of them may have wrongly thought that just being a Jew gave them special status. They may have thought that because they were Jews, God would not judge and punish them on the day when he will judge all people.

In some languages it may be necessary to make some of this information explicit. For example:

⌊Because⌋ Abraham is our father, ⌊God will not punish us⌋.
-or-
We are Abraham’s children, ⌊God’s special people⌋

In other languages, it may be better to put this information in a footnote.

father: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as father can also refer to an ancestor. Abraham lived many generations before the Jews to whom John was speaking. In some languages, you may need to indicate specifically that Abraham was their ancestor. For example:

Abraham is our ancestor
-or-
We are descendants of Abraham

General Comment on 3:8b–c

In some languages it may be helpful to translate this part of the verse as indirect speech. Remember that it was true that Abraham was the ancestor of the Jews. However, this did not mean that God would not punish any Jews. Some ways to translate this include:

Do not rely on ⌊the fact⌋ that you are descendants of Abraham ⌊to protect you⌋.
-or-
Do not think that having Abraham as your ancestor ⌊will help you⌋.

3:8d

For: The conjunction For introduces the reason why the Jews should not depend on Abraham being their ancestor to save them. They should not expect the fact that they are descendants of Abraham to save them, because God can create other children for Abraham. In some languages it may be helpful to make this connection more explicit. For example:

⌊You should not depend on that, because⌋…

I tell you: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as I tell you emphasizes the following statement. Here John used it to introduce a fact that was amazing but true. He implied that people should listen carefully to his statement and think about it. Some other ways to translate this are:

• Use a phrase before John’s statement. For example:

I am telling you that
-or-
Listen
-or-
I assure you

• Use an emphatic word within John’s statement. For example:

For out of these stones God can certainly raise up children for Abraham.

If you have another way in your language to emphasize a fact that is amazing but true, consider using it here.

out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham: The clause out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham means “God can turn/make these stones into Abraham’s descendants.” John was saying that the Jewish people should not expect that God would not punish or destroy them just because Abraham was their ancestor. God could replace them. If he desired, he could create descendants of Abraham even from useless, lifeless stones. Some other ways to translate out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham are:

God can turn these stones into children for Abraham (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
God can make children for Abraham out of these stones (Revised English Bible)
-or-
God can create children of Abraham from these very stones (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
God can give life to these stones and transform them into descendants of Abraham ⌊to replace you⌋

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