24:29a–b

But: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But is often translated as “and.” It introduces what the disciples did when they saw that Jesus seemed to be going further. They urged Jesus to stay with them. In some languages a conjunction is not needed. Connect this verse to the preceding one in a natural way in your language.

they pleaded with Him, “Stay with us…”: This clause implies that the two disciples urged Jesus to come to their home and stay with them overnight. In Greek the quotation Stay with us is introduced with a word that means “saying.” There are two ways to translate the quotation:

• Use direct speech. For example:

they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us…”
-or-
they begged him, “Stay the night with us…” (New Living Translation (2004))

• Use indirect speech. For example:

they pleaded that he would stay with them
-or-
they begged him to stay the night with them (New Living Translation (1996))

Use a natural way in your language for people to invite someone to come and stay overnight as a guest in their home.

us: The word us refers to the two men with whom Jesus was walking.

24:29c–d

for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over: Here the word for introduces the disciples’ reason for inviting Jesus to stay at their house. The disciples emphasized the reason by saying it in two different ways. The clauses it is nearly evening and the day is almost over have the same meaning. They indicate that evening was coming, and it would soon be dark. It was dangerous to travel on the roads in the dark.

Some other ways to translate this reason are:

since it is getting late (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
because it is late; it is almost night (New Century Version)
-or-
the day is almost over and it is getting dark (Good News Translation)

In some languages it may be natural to say this reason only once. For example:

It will soon be dark.

See also the General Comment on 24:29a–e below for another translation suggestion.

24:29e

So He went in to stay with them: This clause tells the result of the disciples’ urging. Jesus went with them to their house and came into it to stay awhile with them. Verse 31 shows that he actually did not stay for the whole night. Some other ways to translate the clause are:

And/Then he went to stay with them.
-or-
When they said that, Jesus ⌊went with them to their house and⌋ came in to stay ⌊awhile⌋.
-or-
So Jesus went into the house to stay with them. (Contemporary English Version)

General Comment on 24:29a–e

In this verse the disciples asked Jesus to stay with them in 24:29b before they gave the reason for their request in 24:29c–d. In some languages it is more natural to change the order so that the reason comes before their request. For example:

29aBut they pleaded with him, saying, 29c“The sun will soon set, 29dand it will be dark, 29bso please stay with us.” 29eSo Jesus went in to stay with them.

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