14:27
And whoever does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple: If you reordered 14:26 as shown in the preceding General Comment, you may also want to reorder 14:27. For example:
And no one can be my disciple unless he carries his cross and follows me.
carry his cross: The phrase carry his cross refers to the way that Roman soldiers executed criminals. They forced a condemned criminal to pick up a large wooden cross. He had to carry it to the place where he would be put to death. Then the soldiers nailed him on the cross to die.
When Jesus used this phrase, he knew that the Romans would soon force him to carry a literal cross. But in this context, he used the phrase figuratively. Jesus meant that anyone who wanted to become his disciple had to be willing to suffer and die in order to obey him.
Some ways to translate the phrase carry his cross are:
• Translate the figure of speech literally and add a footnote that explains the meaning. A sample footnote is:
In the time of Jesus, a person who was condemned to be nailed to a cross was forced to carry the cross. He carried it to the place where he would be nailed to it. Here Jesus was saying that a person who wants to be his follower must be ready to suffer and die in order to follow Jesus.
• Omit the figure of speech and translate the meaning directly. For example:
is not willing to suffer and even die
If you follow this option, consider adding a footnote that gives Jesus’ literal words.
See also the note on 9:23d, where a similar phrase occurs. Be aware that in that verse, the word “daily” may make a slight difference in the meaning.
cross: A cross refers to two large wooden boards or beams that were attached to each other. Roman soldiers used crosses to kill criminals. They nailed or tied a criminal to these wooden beams, then set them upright. They did this in order to cause the criminal to die slowly and painfully.
The word cross comes from the fact that the beams were crossed and attached. This made the shape of a + or ✝ (or sometimes a T).
In many languages there may be no word for cross. If that is true in your language, you may need to use a descriptive phrase. For example:
board/wood of death
-or-
crossed-beam(s) of death
-or-
a tree for killing people
-or-
a stake/plank to which they fasten/nail someone to kill him
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