Section 3:31–35

Jesus’ family arrived to take him home, but he stayed to do God’s will

In this section, Jesus’ family, who thought that he was insane (3:21), arrived to take him home to Nazareth. Jesus refused to go with them. He also indicated that those who are truly related to him are those who do what God wants them to do. They are his true family.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

Jesus’ family tries to take him home
-or-
Jesus says who his true family really is

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 12:46–50 and Luke 8:19–21.

Paragraph 3:31–35

3:31a

Then: This verse is the beginning of a new story. The events in this story happened soon after the events in the preceding section. The Berean Standard Bible introduces this story with the word Then.

It may be natural in your language to begin a story with a time word or phrase. If that is true, use an expression that is not too specific. For example:

Then (New Century Version)
-or-
After that

In some languages, a time word or phrase is not necessary. Introduce this story in a natural way in your language.

brothers: If your language must distinguish between “older” and “younger” brothers, it is recommended that you use a term for “younger brothers” here. If your language does not use terms that distinguish male and female, such as brother or sister, it may be more natural to use general terms. For example:

siblings
-or-
younger-siblings

came: In 3:21b, Jesus’ family left their home to come and take Jesus back home. In this verse they arrived. It is implied that they cameto the house where Jesus was. This house was mentioned in 3:20a. If you need to specify in your language where they arrived or where they came from, you could say:

arrived at the house where he was
-or-
arrived from their home

3:31b

stood outside: Jesus’ mother and brothers stood outside the house where Jesus was because there were so many people inside the house. In some languages it may be helpful to make some of this information explicit. For example:

and stood outside the house
-or-
and standing outside because of the crowd inside

3:31c

They sent someone in to summon Him: In Greek, this part of the verse is literally “they sent to him calling him.” It indicates that Jesus’ mother and brothers sent a message to him to request him to come outside. The text does not specify how they sent the message to Jesus. The Berean Standard Bible supplies the words someone and in, because it is likely that they told someone to go inside the house to tell their message to Jesus.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

They…sent in a message, asking for him. (Good News Bible)
-or-
they sent word to him to summon him (NET Bible)
-or-
They caused him to be called.

Use a natural way in your language to express the idea.

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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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