Paragraph 7:40–43
7:40a
But: This verse begins with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “and.” Because Jesus responded here to the Pharisee’s thoughts (7:39), some English versions translate this as “Then” (New Jerusalem Bible, New Living Translation (2004)) or “So” (NET Bible). The New International Version and some other English versions do not translate this Greek conjunction. However, since Jesus speaks to correct the Pharisee’s conclusions about him, to indicate a contrast, the Berean Standard Bible translates the conjunction as But. Connect this verse to 7:39 in a way that is natural in your language.
Jesus answered him: The Pharisee had not asked a question out loud. Jesus knew what he was thinking and responded to that. In some languages, it may not be natural to use the word answered when a question has not been asked. If that is true in your language, you may be able to say:
Jesus said to the Pharisee (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Jesus answered his thoughts (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Jesus responded ⌊to his thoughts⌋ and said
Simon: Here Jesus addressed the Pharisee by his name. This is the first time that his name is mentioned in this story. If it is not natural in your language to introduce the name here, you may need to mention the Pharisee’s name in 7:36a or 7:39a.
I have something to tell you: The phrase I have something to tell you means “I want to tell you something.” In this case Jesus wanted to use a parable and explain it in order to tell Simon something that might be difficult for Simon to accept. Some languages may have a natural expression that people use to introduce something like this that they want to say. Use a natural expression in your language.
7:40b
Tell me: The Pharisee invited Jesus to tell him whatever it was that he wanted to say. Use a phrase that is natural in this context in your language. For example:
What is it…? (Revised English Bible)
-or-
I am listening.
Teacher: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Teacher was a polite form of address for a religious teacher. It was a title of respect for a Jewish man who had authority to teach things about God. The same word was used to address John the Baptizer at 3:12b.
In some languages the appropriate way to address a religious teacher may be:
Sir Teacher
-or-
Sir
-or-
Master
In some languages there may be a polite term of address for religious teachers that has a different meaning from “Teacher.” If that is true in your language, you may consider using it here.
he said: The phrase he said means “the Pharisee said.” Place this phrase where it is natural in your language.
© 2009, 2010, 2013 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.