13:35a
At the end of 13:34e, Jesus finished giving the word picture or illustration of the man who left on a journey. In 13:35a he again addressed the disciples.
Therefore keep watch: Jesus spoke the words Therefore keep watch to his disciples. They are not words that the man in the story spoke to the doorkeeper. The form of the Greek verb keep watch is plural, so it is certain that Jesus was speaking to the disciples. The New Living Translation has one way to make this clear:
You, too, must keep watch!
In some languages it may be necessary to supply an introductory phrase to indicate this. For example:
So Jesus, finishing his story, said to his disciples: “Therefore keep(plur) watch.”
keep watch: The Greek verb translated as keep watch or “be alert” is the same verb that is found in 13:34e. It will occur again at the end of 13:37.
13:35b
because you do not know when the master of the house will return: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as because introduces the reason that Jesus told the disciples to keep watch constantly. The reason is that they did not know when he would return.
you do not know: The phrase you do not know repeats what Jesus told them in 13:33b. You may need to make it clear that it was not only the disciples who did not know when Jesus would return. You may want to use a phrase that could include others. For example:
because no one knows when the owner of the house will come back
the master of the house: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the master is often used in the Gospels when they addressed Jesus. So the disciples would understand that Jesus was the master of the house from the parable. You may need to make this plain to the listener/reader. For example:
because you(plur) do not know when I, the owner/master of the house, will come back
General Comment on 13:35a–b
In some languages, it may be more natural to change the order of 13:35a and 13:35b. For example:
So Jesus, said to his disciples: 35b“You do not know when the owner of the house will come back. 35aThat is why you must keep watch.”
13:35c
In the Jewish culture, people did not usually travel at night. Thieves were out at that time and people avoided travel because it was dangerous. Jesus was saying to the disciples that he would come at a time that they did not expect him to come.
whether in the evening, at midnight: The phrases in the evening and at midnight are possible times that the owner might return. The Berean Standard Bible uses a dash to introduce these times. You may need to begin a new sentence here. For example:
The owner of the house might come back in the evening or at midnight.
-or-
I, the owner of the house, might come back in the evening or at midnight.
-or-
It could be in the evening or at midnight or at dawn or in the morning. (God’s Word)
in the evening: The phrase in the evening indicates the time period after sundown starting from about six o’clock until about nine o’clock.
Here is another way to translate this:
after sundown
at midnight: The phrase at midnight indicates a time in the middle of the night from about twelve o’clock to about three o’clock.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
late at night
-or-
in the middle of the night
13:35d
when the rooster crows: The phrase when the rooster crows indicates a time before sunrise, from about three o’clock until six o’clock in the morning.
Here are some ways to translate this:
• Translate it literally. For example:
at the time that roosters crow/cry
• Translate it as a general period of time. For example:
in the morning while it is still dark (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
early in the morning
-or-
as the night was ending
• Translate it as an exact time. For example:
three o’clock in the morning
in the morning: The phrase in the morning indicates a time period in the early morning after sunrise. It starts at about six o’clock and continues until about nine o’clock.
Here are some ways to translate this:
• Translate it literally. For example, the New Century Version has:
when the sun rises
• Translate it as a general period of time. For example:
in the morning (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
at sunrise (Good News Bible)
-or-
at dawn (New International Version)
• Translate it as an exact time. For example:
six o’clock in the morning
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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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