8:2a
some women: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as some women includes Mary, Joanna, and Susanna. It also includes the “many others” of 8:3b whose names are not mentioned.
women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Some of the women had formerly been controlled by evil spirits, and some had been sick. The text does not imply that all the women had been controlled by evil spirits and had also suffered from diseases. One way to make this clear is:
and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits or diseases
In some languages it may not be natural to speak of being healed of evil spirits. If that is true in your language, you may use a different verb. The phrase healed of evil spirits implies that formerly the evil spirits were controlling the women. Then Jesus forced the evil spirits to release their control. Use natural terms in your language to talk about this. For example:
who had been delivered from evil spirits
-or-
whom Jesus freed from evil spirits
evil spirits: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as evil spirits refers to spirits that are evil and can control people’s actions. The phrase evil spirits refers to the same type of spirit as the Greek terms that are often translated as “demons” and “unclean spirits.” The Greek term for “demons” is used in 8:2b. In many languages it may be good to translate these two terms in the same way.
Some ways to translate evil spirits are:
• Use a general term in your language that refers to spirits that are evil and can control people. If there is one word with this meaning, you may not need a separate word like “evil.” For example:
demons
• Use a specific term in your language that refers to a certain type of spirit. This spirit should be able to do what is described in this context. Do not use a term that refers to the spirit of a dead person.
• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:
evil/bad spirits
-or-
unclean spirits
Be sure that an expression like “unclean spirits” does not imply that the spirits are literally dirty.
See demon in the Glossary for more information.
8:2b
Mary called Magdalene: Scholars believe that Mary was called Magdalene because she came from the town of Magdala. Mary was a common name in New Testament times, and this distinguished her from the other women named Mary who are mentioned in Luke. Here are some ways to translate this phrase:
Mary surnamed the Magdalene (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
Mary, known as Mary of Magdala (Revised English Bible)
from whom seven demons had gone out: When a demon controlled a person, the Jews thought of the demon being in the person. Here the text says that the seven demons had gone out of Mary. Your language may have a different expression to describe when a demon releases control of a person. Some other ways to say this are:
whom seven demons had left
-or-
who had been healed/rescued from seven demons
-or-
who had been controlled by seven demons, but had been freed from their control
The text implies that Jesus is the one who caused the demons to come out of Mary. If this is not clear to your readers, you may need to make it explicit. For example:
from whom Jesus had cast out seven demons
-or-
Jesus had commanded seven demons to leave her
demons: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as demons is different from the term “evil spirits” in 8:2a, but it has the same meaning. Here are two ways to translate these terms:
• Use a different term here than the one you used in 8:2a, but be sure that it has the same meaning or a very similar meaning.
• Translate both terms in the same way.
See demon in the Glossary.
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