14:18a

they were reclining and eating: In this context, the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as reclining, refers to “reclining” or “lying” by a table in order to eat. In this context it probably means that Jesus and his disciples were lying on one side, on a low couch or cushion. Their heads were propped on one elbow. This was one of the positions that people of Jesus’ time used when they ate, especially if it was a special meal.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

• Keep the position and add an explanatory phrase. For example:

reclining at the table (New International Version)
-or-
lying on their sides eating

• Use a position that people normally use when they eat in your culture. For example, the Revised English Bible says:

they sat at supper

• Omit the position and just say what Jesus and his disciples were doing. For example, the Contemporary English Version says:

Jesus and the twelve disciples were eating together

This same phrase occurs in 14:3a–b. You should translate it here as you did there.

14:18b

Truly I tell you: Jesus often used the words Truly I tell you to introduce a statement that he wanted to emphasize. (The clause Truly I tell you also occurs in 3:28a, 8:12, 9:1, 9:41, 10:15, 11:23, 12:43, 13:30, 14:9, 14:25, 14:30.) His words indicate that the statement was important and totally reliable, and that people should listen carefully to it.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

I can guarantee this truth (God’s Word)
-or-
You can be certain that…

In some languages you may need to translate the phrase differently in different contexts. Do not translate in a way that implies that Jesus had not been telling the truth at other times. See how you translated this phrase in 14:9a.

one of you who is eating with Me: In this context the phrase one of you who is eating with Me indicates that a person who was eating with Jesus at that moment would later betray him. In some languages it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

he will be one who is now eating with me

eating with Me: In Jewish culture eating together implied friendship and loyalty. In some languages there may be an idiom for eating with someone that would be appropriate in this context. (In one language, it is “to mix up hands with a person.”)

one of you…will betray Me: Jesus told his twelve disciples that one of them would hand Jesus over to his enemies.

The word betray means “to deliver a person into the control of someone else.” Here are some other ways to translate Jesus’ statement in this context:

one of you will give me into the hands of the people who want to kill me
-or-
one of you will help my enemies capture me
-or-
one of you will turn against me (New Century Version)

This same word occurs in 14:10b.

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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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