20:6a

But: The word But introduces another possible answer to Jesus’ question. This answer contrasts with the one in 20:5b. In some languages it may be more natural to use a different conjunction. For example:

And
-or-
Or

In some languages a conjunction may not be needed. Translate the connection in a natural way in your language.

if we say, ‘From men’: Here the phrase From men has the same meaning as in 20:4. See how you translated it there. In this context the Jewish leaders were considering another possible answer to Jesus’ question. This was the answer that they really thought was true.

The phrase From men is another quote within a quote. Translate it in a natural way in your language. Other ways to do this in English are:

if we say it was merely human (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Suppose we say ⌊that the baptizing that John did was merely a⌋ human ⌊idea⌋
-or-
if we say, “Of human origin” (New Revised Standard Version)

20:6b

all the people will stone us: The Law of Moses said that if people spoke against a prophet of God, they must be put to death. The other people must throw stones at them until they died. See also 13:34b. The Jewish leaders were afraid to say that John’s baptism was only a human ritual and not from God. They were afraid that the other Jews would stone them to death. Some other ways to translate this are:

The ⌊other⌋ people will throw stones at us until we die.
-or-
the people…will throw stones at us and kill us

all the people: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the people was the way that the Jewish people referred to themselves. Here it indicates that the Jewish leaders were referring to their fellow Jewish people. In some languages it may be helpful to make this explicit. For example:

all ⌊our fellow⌋ Jews

20:6c

for: The word for introduces the reason why the Jewish leaders believed that the crowd would stone them. In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of this reason and put it before the result in 20:8b. See the General Comment on 20:6a–c below for an example.

they are convinced that John was a prophet: The phrase they are convinced indicates here that the people were sure that John was a prophet. They firmly believed that he was speaking words from God. In this context the Jewish leaders implied that the people believed that John’s authority came from God. God had sent him to preach and to baptize people. Some other ways to translate this are:

they totally believe that John was a prophet
-or-
they believe that John was really a prophet from God

In some languages it may be more natural to use direct speech to express what the people believed. For example:

they all say, “John was a prophet.”

a prophet: A prophet is a man who speaks on behalf of God. He tells people what God reveals to him. Some other ways to translate prophet in this context are:

a spokesman for God
-or-
God’s message-speaker
-or-
a person who speaks with God’s authority

In 1:76 John’s father spoke about John saying that he would be a prophet of God. See how you translated prophet there. See also prophet in the Glossary.

General Comment on 20:6a–c

In some languages it may be helpful to reorder the clauses in this verse. For example:

6cAll the people regard John as a prophet, 6bso they will stone us 6aif we say that John got his authority to baptize from human beings ⌊alone⌋.

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