22:43–44
There is a textual issue here. Some early Greek manuscripts do not include the words in 22:43–44. Scholars disagree about whether they should be included in a translation:
(1) These verses were in the original text and should be included.
(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, God’s Word, Good News Translation, New Living Translation (2004), New Century Version, Contemporary English Version, English Standard Version, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English. The NET Bible and New Revised Standard Version include them in square brackets.)
(2) These verses were not in the original text and should not be included.
(Revised Standard Version)
It is recommended that you follow option (1), as most English versions do.
22:43a
Then: This verse begins with a common Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then. It introduces something that happened as Jesus was praying. Introduce the verse in a natural way in your language. Some ways to introduce it in English are:
As Jesus prayed
-or-
After he finished speaking
an angel from heaven: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as an angel from heaven refers to an angel from God. The Jews often used the word heaven to refer indirectly to God. They did that to show their great respect for his name. In some languages it may be necessary to refer directly to God. For example:
an angel from ⌊God in⌋ heaven
-or-
⌊God⌋ sent an angel
-or-
one of ⌊God’s⌋ angels
angel: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as angel means “messenger.” It refers here to a spirit being who serves God.
Some ways to translate this term are:
• Use a descriptive word or phrase. For example:
messenger ⌊from God/heaven⌋
-or-
⌊holy⌋ spirit-being
• Use a local term that fits the biblical meaning.
• In some areas the churches may already be using a borrowed term or a transliterated word for “angel.” Be sure that this term fits the biblical meaning. If some people do not understand the right meaning from this term, you may need to indicate the meaning in some way. For example:
an angelos messenger ⌊from God⌋
-or-
a sacred angelos spirit
Be sure that your term for “angel” is different from your terms for “prophet” and “apostle.” See angel in the Glossary for a chart that shows the differences in these three terms.
This term also occurred in 1:11. See how you translated it there.
from heaven: In this context the phrase from heaven describes the angel. It indicates that he was an angel who served God. It does not imply that the angel was in heaven when Jesus saw him. It also does not necessarily indicate that he had come directly from heaven to Jesus. See the examples in the note on “angel from heaven.”
appeared to Him: The phrase appeared to Him indicates here that the angel came to Jesus, and Jesus could see him. This phrase is often used in the Bible when spirit beings come to people in visible form.
In some languages the context may already imply that Jesus could see the angel. If that is true in your language, it may be more natural to focus only on the angel’s arrival. For example:
came to him
22:43b
strengthened Him: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as strengthened can refer to strength of body and also to strength of spirit. It is different from the word that the Berean Standard Bible translated as “strengthen” in 22:32d. The strength that the angel gave Jesus here probably affected both his body and his spirit. The angel helped Jesus so that he was able to endure the anguish that he felt. He was then able to pray even more earnestly (22:44).
Some other ways to translate strengthened in this context are:
helped him
-or-
gave him strength
In some languages there may be an idiom to translate this.
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