8:41a
Just then: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Just then is literally “and look.” It often indicates that the speaker will say something important or surprising, and he wants people to listen carefully to it. In this context it helps to introduce Jairus as an important person in the following events. Many English versions do not translate it here. Consider whether you have a natural way to translate it in this context. For example:
Look!
-or-
Listen to this!
a synagogue leader named Jairus: This phrase introduces a main person in the story and gives information about him. Introduce him in a way that is natural in your language. Some ways to do this are:
A man named Jairus ⌊lived⌋ ⌊in the town on/by the shore⌋ and was an official of the synagogue there. He came to Jesus.
-or-
And then a certain man came to Jesus. His name was Jairus and he was an official of the synagogue.
-or-
There was a man in that town who was in charge of the Jewish meeting place. His name was Jairus. He came to Jesus.
a synagogue leader: Each synagogue had one or more leaders. These men were responsible to take care of the synagogue building and arrange the synagogue activities and services. Jairus was one of the men who was responsible for this at the synagogue in the town where Jesus was. Some other ways to translate this are:
an elder of the ⌊local⌋ synagogue
-or-
one of the men who was a leader at the synagogue ⌊in that town⌋
-or-
he directed the business affairs of the synagogue there
If you use footnotes for background information, you may want to use one here. For example:
Each synagogue had one or more leaders. These men were not priests or rabbis. They were responsible for taking care of the synagogue building and for arranging the worship services and other activities at the synagogue.
synagogue: A synagogue was a building where Jews gathered to pray, read Scripture, teach their beliefs, and worship. The Jews also used the synagogue as a place to gather for cultural activities. There was only one temple (in Jerusalem), but each Jewish community had a synagogue. Some ways to translate synagogue are:
prayer-house ⌊of the Jews⌋
-or-
meeting-place ⌊of the Jews⌋
-or-
worship building
-or-
house for gathering together
If you make explicit a phrase such as “of the Jews,” be sure that it does not imply that Jesus was not a Jew.
If the word synagogue is already known in your area, you may write it according to the sounds of your language. You may want to include a word or phrase to explain the meaning. For example:
sinagog house/building
Refer to how you translated this term at 7:5a–b. See synagogue in the Glossary.
8:41b
In the Greek text 8:41–42 is one long sentence. If such a long sentence would not be natural in your language, you may want to begin a new sentence.
fell at Jesus’ feet: The phrase fell at Jesus’ feet means that Jairus knelt in front of Jesus and lowered his face to the ground. It does not mean that he fell accidentally. Bowing down like this was a way to show respect and honor to someone of high position. It was also appropriate for requesting something from such a person. See the notes on 5:8a and 5:12b. Some other ways to translate this are:
bowed before Jesus
-or-
knelt down in front of Jesus (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
bowed his face to the ground near Jesus’ feet ⌊to show respect⌋
He begged Him: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as begged has several meanings. Here it means to appeal to someone for help. It indicates that Jairus earnestly desired for Jesus to help him. Other ways to translate this are:
he pleaded with him (NET Bible)
-or-
he implored him (English Standard Version)
This is the same Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translated as “kept begging” in 8:31 and as “begged” in 8:32b. You may want to use the same word that you used in those verses.
In some languages it may be more natural to express a request such as this one in direct speech. For example:
He said/begged, “Please come to my house….”
to come to his house: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as come is literally “enter.” Use the word that is most natural in your language to describe coming and visiting at the house of another person.
It is clear that Jairus was begging Jesus to come to his house in order to heal his daughter. In some languages it may be helpful to make this explicit. For example:
to come to his house ⌊to heal his daughter⌋
See Mark 5:23, where this request is stated explicitly.
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