8:24a

The man looked up: Before the man was able to answer Jesus, he looked around. The expression does not indicate that he looked up into the sky. The New Living Translation translates this as:

The man looked around.

and said, “I can see the people: Here the man responded to Jesus’ question in 8:23e. Be sure that your translation of the response fits with the question. For example:

he said, “Yes, I see people…”
-or-
and replied, “I can see people…”

Use a natural response in your language.

I can see the people: The text does not indicate which people the man saw. He was outside the village, but the disciples were there, and there may have been other people passing by also.

people: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as people refers to people in general, either male or female.

8:24b

but: The conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as but literally means “that.” The Berean Standard Bible uses this conjunction because there is an implied contrast between this statement and the statement in 8:24a. No one expects people to look like trees. In some languages it may be natural to make this contrast explicit.

they look like trees walking around: The man was not able to see clearly. The people walking by looked to him like big blurry shapes moving around. It may also be necessary to make explicit why the man thought the people looked like trees. For example, the New Living Translation says:

…but I can’t see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around.

Paragraph 8:25–26

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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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