en_tn/mrk/03/04.md

Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath ... or to kill?

Jesus said this to challenge them. He wanted them to acknowledge that it is lawful to heal people on the Sabbath. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion)

to do good on the Sabbath day or to do harm ... to save a life or to kill

These two phrases are similar in meaning, except that the second is more extreme. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-parallelism)

to save a life or to kill

It may be helpful to repeat "is it lawful," as that is the question Jesus is asking again in another way. AT: "is it lawful to save a life or to kill" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-ellipsis)

a life

This refers to physical life and is a metonym for a person. AT: "someone from dying" or "someone's life" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy)

But they were silent

"But they refused to answer him"