8:42a
because: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as because introduces the reason for Jairus’ request. Express this connection in a natural way in your language. See the General Comment on 8:41b–42a below for a suggestion about reordering.
his only daughter: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as his only daughter means that Jairus had only one child, and that his child was a girl.
who was about twelve: In the Jewish culture of that time, a girl who was twelve years old was becoming an adult. She was reaching the age when she could marry.
was dying: In this context the form of the Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as was dying indicates that the girl was in the process of dying. She had not yet died, but she was very ill and close to death.
General Comment on 8:41b–42a
In some languages it may be more natural to give the reason for Jairus’ request before stating the request. For example:
42aHe had a 12-year-old daughter, his only child, who was dying. 41bSo he begged Jesus to come to his house ⌊and heal his daughter⌋.
Paragraph 8:42b–44
This paragraph begins a new story that happens before the story of Jairus ends. It describes how Jesus helped someone else before he arrived at Jairus’ house. Introduce it in a way that is natural in your language for such a context.
8:42b
As Jesus went with him: The clause As Jesus went with him implies that Jesus agreed to do what Jairus requested in 8:41. Then he began going with Jairus to his house. In some languages it may be more natural to make this explicit. For example:
Jesus ⌊agreed and departed⌋. As he was on his way…
-or-
So Jesus went with him. As he went…
In the second example above, the first sentence is taken from the Berean Standard Bible text of Mark 5:24. You may also want to refer to your translation of Mark 5:24 and consider if some words from it would fit here.
Jesus: The context shows that Jesus’ disciples went with him to Jairus’ house (see also Matthew 5:19). The crowd also followed him there. In some languages it may be more natural to mention this here. For example:
As Jesus ⌊and the/his disciples⌋ were on their way, the crowd ⌊followed them⌋
went: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as went here means “to continue to move or go in a certain direction.” The English expression “was on his way” is an idiom with the same meaning.
8:42c
the crowds pressed around Him: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as pressed around Him literally means “to choke” or “to cause someone to not be able to breathe.” (The same Greek word was used in 8:14b, where the Berean Standard Bible translated it as “choked.”) Here it is used figuratively as a hyperbole. It indicates that the people pressed very closely around Jesus as they walked. Some other ways to translate this in English are:
the people pressed round him (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
the people were crowding him from every side (Good News Translation)
-or-
he was surrounded by the crowds (New Living Translation (2004))
Some ways to preserve the hyperbole are:
he could hardly breathe for the crowds (Revised English Bible)
-or-
the crowds were pressing so close around him that he could hardly breathe
-or-
the crowds nearly suffocated him (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
You may have an idiom for this in your language.
the crowds: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the crowds refers to the large group of people mentioned in 8:40b. The Berean Standard Bible uses a plural form here, as the Greek text does. However, this does not imply that there were two distinct groups of people following Jesus. Some other ways to translate this are:
the people (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
the crowd
-or-
the crowd of people
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