4:17a
the scroll of the prophet Isaiah: The phrase the scroll of the prophet Isaiah means “the scroll containing the words of the prophet Isaiah.” Isaiah himself had not personally written this particular scroll. This was a copy of the prophecies that he received from God. Isaiah had prophesied about six hundred years earlier.
scroll: In Jesus’ time people used scrolls, not books like the ones people use today. A scroll was a roll of specially prepared animal skins (called parchment) or papyrus paper with writing on it. People wrapped the two ends of the scroll around wooden handles. In order to read from it, a person used these handles to unroll the scroll. People rolled up the scroll and kept it that way when no one was using it. Another way to translate scroll is:
book (Good News Translation)
the prophet Isaiah: The phrase the prophet Isaiah means the same thing as “Isaiah the prophet” in 3:4a. You should translate it the same way in both places.
prophet: A prophet was a person who spoke on behalf of God. He told people what God revealed to him. God gave some prophets power to work miracles. These miracles helped people realize that God sent the prophet. Some ways to translate prophet are:
a spokesman for God
-or-
a person who speaks God’s words
-or-
God’s message-speaker
It is good to use a general term that does not focus only on foretelling the future. Although prophets did foretell the future, they also gave people other messages from God. They especially told them to stop sinning and to obey God.
Be sure that your term for prophet is different from other words which are similar in meaning such as “angel,” “apostle,” and “preacher.”
This word also occurs in 3:4a. See also prophet in the Glossary.
was handed to Him: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as was handed is literally “was given” (as in the Revised Standard Version). This verb is passive. Some ways to translate this verb are:
• As a passive verb. For example:
was given to him (NET Bible)
-or-
was delivered unto him (King James Version)
• As an active verb. In some languages it may be more natural to say who gave the scroll to Jesus. It was probably the same attendant who is mentioned in 4:20b. You may also be able to use a general subject. For example:
⌊Someone⌋ gave him
-or-
The attendant gave him (God’s Word)
4:17b
Unrolling it: The word Unrolling refers to what is done to open a scroll. Jesus opened the scroll in order to read what was written on it. Another way to translate this is:
He opened the book (New Century Version)
4:17c
He found the place: The phrase He found the place indicates that Jesus located a specific Scripture passage that he intended to read. He unrolled the scroll until he came to the correct place. Another way to translate this is:
to the place (New Living Translation (1996))
This place is the Scripture passage that is now known as Isaiah 61:1–2. In Jesus’ time, the books of the Bible were not divided into chapters and verses as they are today.
Luke did not explicitly say that Jesus read that passage aloud. However, that is implied, and it may be necessary to make that explicit. For example:
Jesus found ⌊and read aloud⌋ the passage
where it was written: The phrase where it was written is similar to the phrase “it is written” in 4:4a and 4:8a. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:
where it says (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
where this is written (New Century Version)
-or-
where these words are written (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
In some languages it may be more natural to leave the passive verb “was written” implied. For example:
and found the passage which says (Revised English Bible)
-or-
Jesus found ⌊and read aloud⌋ this writing/prophecy
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