9:23a–b

If You can?: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as If You can? is literally, “the ‘if you can.’” It indicates that Jesus was repeating the words “If you can” that the man had said to him in 9:22b. It also indicates that Jesus was about to respond to these words. Use a natural way in your language to indicate that Jesus was repeating the man’s words.

The phrase If you can also expresses a mild rebuke. It indicates that the man should not doubt that Jesus could help him.

Some ways to translate If you can in this context are:

• As an introductory phrase. For example:

Jesus said to the father, “You said, ‘If you can!’ ” (New Century Version)
-or-
As for your words ‘If you can,’ know/realize that everything is possible…

• As a rhetorical question. In some languages it may be necessary to use a pronoun like “I” to show that Jesus was talking about himself. For example:

Why do you doubt/question that I can do anything about this?

• As a statement or command. For example:

As for whether I can do anything…
-or-
You should not doubt that I can do this.

echoed Jesus: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as echoed Jesus is more literally “Jesus said to him.” The Berean Standard Bible places these words in the middle of what Jesus said. It also puts the subject Jesus after the verb echoed. In Greek, these words occur before the question. Place the words echoed Jesus where it is natural in your language and in a natural word order.

All things are possible to him who believes: In this context the phrase All things are possible means that anything can be done or anything may happen if a person believes. For example, the New Revised Standard Version says:

All things can be done for the one who believes.

The phrase to him who believes refers to anyone who believes. For example, the New Living Translation says:

if a person believes

In some languages it may be necessary to express the clause All things are possible to him who believes in a more active way. If that is true in your language, you may need to supply God or Jesus as the subject. For example:

I/God can do anything for the person who believes.

believes: In this context, the word believes refers to believing in Jesus. A person who believes is one who trusts that Jesus can do all things. This person is confident that Jesus has the power to help him or her.

Here are some other ways to translate believes:

relies/depends on me
-or-
trusts in me
-or-
has confidence that I can do all things

Your language may use an idiom for this meaning. See believe, Meaning 3, in the Glossary.

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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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