8:47a
Then the woman, seeing that she could not escape notice: The woman realized from the conversation in 8:45–46 that Jesus was determined to discover who had touched him. Connect this verse to the context in a natural way in your language.
seeing: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as seeing here means “realizing” or “understanding.” The woman realized that she could not avoid being noticed.
she could not escape notice: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as she could not escape notice indicates that the woman realized that Jesus knew what she had done. She also knew that he would not allow her to slip quietly away. Some other ways to translate this are:
she had not been able to hide
-or-
what she had done was known
In some languages it may be necessary to indicate who had noticed her. If that is true in your language, you may indicate that it was Jesus. For example:
Jesus knew what she had done (similar to the New Living Translation (1996))
8:47b
came: In some languages it may be necessary to say where the woman came:
came ⌊to Jesus⌋
trembling: The woman was trembling or “shaking” because she was afraid (see Mark 5:33). In some languages it may be necessary to make this explicit:
came trembling ⌊with fear⌋
The text does not specify the exact reason why the woman was afraid. One reason may have been that her illness had made her ritually unclean. As an unclean person, she had broken the Jewish law by touching Jesus and also by being in the crowd. She may have been afraid that Jesus and the people would be angry.
In some translations it may be helpful to include a footnote to explain the woman’s fear. For example:
According to Jewish law, the woman’s illness made her ritually unclean. If she touched anyone, that person also became unclean. She was probably afraid that when Jesus and other people discovered that she had touched him, they would be angry.
If you include a footnote here, you will probably not need one at 8:43.
fell down before Him: The phrase fell down before Him indicates that she knelt and bowed down with her face to the ground in front of Jesus. This showed her respect and submission to him. She did not fall accidentally. The same or similar expressions also occur at 5:8, 5:12, 8:27, and 8:41.
8:47c
In the presence of all the people, she explained: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as In the presence of all the people, she explained indicates that the woman spoke so that the crowd surrounding Jesus heard what she said to him. Other ways to translate this are:
While all the people listened, she told (New Century Version)
-or-
Before all the people she explained (Revised English Bible)
-or-
She ⌊spoke so that⌋ all the people could hear and told
why she had touched Him: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as why refers to the cause or reason for something. Here it means that the woman publicly told the reason why she touched Jesus.
8:47d
how she had immediately been healed: This is a passive clause. Some other ways to translate this are:
how the bleeding instantly stopped
-or-
how ⌊touching his cloak⌋ had immediately caused her to be well
-or-
how ⌊Jesus’ power⌋ had instantly healed her
how: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as how probably refers to the fact that the woman was healed as soon as she touched Jesus’ cloak. The healing was immediate. It does not indicate that she explained the manner or process in which she was healed. Another way to translate this is:
that she had been immediately healed (New Living Translation (2004))
General Comment on 8:47a–d
In some languages it may be necessary to use direct speech to report what the woman said to Jesus in 8:47d. It may also be helpful to make the connections between the clauses in 8:47 more explicit. For example:
47aThe woman realized then that she could not hide ⌊what had happened⌋. 47bSo, even though she was very afraid, she came ⌊forward⌋ and kneeled in front of Jesus. 47cWith everyone ⌊watching and listening⌋, she said ⌊to him⌋, “I touched you because ⌊I have been bleeding for twelve years, and I believed that if I could touch you, I would become well. I did touch the edge of your clothing⌋ 47cand I immediately became well.”
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