20:2a–b
“Tell us,” they said, “by what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”: The Berean Standard Bible places the words they said in the middle of what the chief priests, scribes, and elders said to Jesus. This is good English style. However, in some languages, it may be necessary to place these words at the beginning of 20:2a. For example:
and they said to him, “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things and who gave you this authority?”
Tell us.…by what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?: Here the Jewish leaders challenged Jesus’ authority. The Greek text uses two questions to translate this challenge. In some languages it may be natural to express one or both of the questions as a command. For example:
Tell us what authority You have to do these things and who gave You the authority.
The Greek text connects the questions with a conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and. However, many English versions translate this conjunction as “or.” In some languages it may be more natural to have no conjunction. For example:
What right do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority? (Contemporary English Version)
Use a natural way in your language to express this challenge to Jesus’ authority.
20:2a
they said: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as they said is literally “and they spoke, saying to him.” In the Greek text this phrase occurs at the beginning of the verse. See the note on 20:2a–b above and place this phrase where it is natural in your language.
In this context the leaders were challenging Jesus, so it may be natural to use a more specific verb. For example:
They demanded (New Living Translation (2004))
by what authority are You doing these things: In Greek the clause by what authority are You doing these things is identical to the question in Mark 11:28a.
The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as by what authority means “by what right.” It questions the type of authority Jesus had. Did he claim to be the Messiah, a prophet, or to have some other type of authority? Some other ways to translate this are:
Tell us, what gives you the right…? (God’s Word)
-or-
Tell us where your authority to do all that…is from!
doing these things: The phrase doing these things has a general meaning. It refers to everything that Jesus had been doing and teaching since he arrived in Jerusalem. In some languages it may be helpful to include a footnote to explain the meaning more specifically. For example:
“These things” could refer to everything that Jesus had been doing and teaching since he arrived in Jerusalem. These things included accepting the praise of the crowd as he entered the city, making people stop selling things in the temple, and teaching people in the temple.
20:2b
and who gave You this authority?: This question is similar to the question in 20:2a, but it is more specific. The leaders demanded that Jesus tell who had given him the right to do what he was doing. The leaders themselves did not actually believe that anyone had given Jesus such a right. Another way to translate the demand is:
Who sent you ⌊to do these things⌋?
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