The religious leaders imply that they will suffer from the people if they give this answer. This refers to the source of the baptism of John. Alternate translation: "But if we say, 'The baptism of John was from men,'" or "But if we say, 'From men,' that would not be good." or "But we do not want to say that it was from men." (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-ellipsis]])
The author, Mark, explains why the religious leaders did not want to say that John's baptism was from men. This can be stated clearly. "They said this to each other because they were afraid of the people" or "They did not want to say that John's baptism was from men because they were afraid of the people" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit]])
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