21:27a
At that time: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as At that time is literally “And then,” as in the Revised Standard Version. This phrase introduces a very important event in Jesus’ prophecy: the Son of Man will appear in power and glory. Introduce this event in a natural way in your language.
they will see the Son of Man: The pronoun they refers to people in general. It also implies that people everywhere will see him. Some other ways to translate this are:
• Use a subject that will clearly refer to everyone. For example:
⌊people⌋ ⌊everywhere⌋ will see the Son of Man
-or-
⌊everyone⌋ will see the Son of Man
• Use a passive clause. For example:
the Son of Man will be seen (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
the Son of Man will appear (Good News Translation)
the Son of Man: The phrase the Son of Man was a title that Jesus often used to refer to himself. See the note on 17:22a–b for translation suggestions. For more information, see also “Son of Man” in Key Biblical Terms.
21:27b
coming in a cloud: In the Old Testament a cloud often symbolized God’s presence, power, and glory. In the parallel verse in Mark 13:26, the plural form “clouds” is used. Mark 14:62 also indicates that Jesus will come on clouds of heaven. The plural form occurs in a similar context in Daniel 7:13, which indicates that the clouds were near the throne of God. Other ways to translate in a cloud are:
surrounded by a cloud
-or-
with a cloud
-or-
coming being-accompanied-by the clouds
coming: The word coming can also be translated as “arriving” or “approaching.”
If you need to supply a destination for the verb coming, you may use “toward the earth” or “downward” or a similar expression. For example:
coming ⌊downward⌋ in a cloud
-or-
coming ⌊toward the earth⌋
with power and great glory: In this context power refers to both the right and the ability to judge and to rule over all people.
The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as great glory here refers to the shining radiance that in the OT often displayed God’s greatness (for example, see Exodus 16:10, 40:34; 2 Chronicles 7:1). The brightness with which the Son of Man will come to earth will show that he is great, even as God himself is great.
Another way to translate with power and great glory is:
He will be powerful and very glorious/majestic.
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