4:53a
Then: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then introduces a result or conclusion. It indicates that the father came to a conclusion about Jesus. Some English versions do no translate this conjunction. Introduce this sentence in a natural way in your language. For example:
So (New American Standard Bible)
the father realized that this was the very hour in which Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.”: This is the climax (most important point) of the story. It was one o’clock in the afternoon when Jesus spoke to the official, the exact time when the boy became well. Translate this in whatever way you normally emphasize an important point. For example:
the father of the child remembered that that was exactly when Jesus said to him, “Your child is well.”
-or-
the father realized that that was the exact time that Jesus told him that his son would live
General Comment on 4:53a
In some languages it is more natural to use direct speech for the father’s thoughts. For example:
Then the father realized, “That was the same time Jesus said to me, ‘Your son will live!’”
-or-
Then the boy’s father said to himself, “One o’clock is the time when Jesus told me the boy would get better!”
4:53b
And he and all his household believed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as And introduces an additional result indicated by the Greek word at the beginning of the verse. (See the first part of the note at 4:53a.) If you translated that earlier Greek word with something like “Then,” “So,” or “Therefore,” you could translate the word here as “and.” For example:
So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives”; and he himself believed and his whole household.. (New American Standard Bible)
household: The word household means all those living in the house. It includes everyone in the official’s family and those working for him as well. For example:
his entire family (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
all the people who lived in his house (New Century Version)
believed: This word includes the idea of believing the facts about who Jesus was, accepting him as the Messiah, and what he did. But it also includes the idea of trusting Jesus instead of trusting oneself or someone else. Both ideas are very closely related. If someone believes the facts about Jesus, it should result in trusting him. See how you translated this idea in 4:39, 4:41, and 4:42. Here are other ways of translating this word:
put their faith in Jesus (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
became believers (Revised English Bible)
-or-
trusted in Jesus
What these people believed is left implied in both the Berean Standard Bible and the Greek. In some languages it is more natural to supply that they believed in Jesus. For example:
So the man and all the people who lived in his house believed in Jesus. (New Century Version)
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