4:41a

Demons … came out of many people: These demons came out of the people against their will. Jesus forced them to leave by telling them to come out. In some languages, it may be helpful to make this explicit. For example:

demons came out of many people ⌊at Jesus’ word/command⌋

Demons: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Demons is the same word as in 4:33a and 4:35b. Here it is plural.

many people: Many of the people there were possessed by demons. For each person there with a demon or demons, Jesus commanded the demons to come out, and all the demons came out.

Check that your translation does not imply that Jesus was able to cast out demons from “many” but not “all” people.

also: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as also introduces what happened to a different group of people. Another way to translate this is word:

Moreover, demons came out of many people (New International Version)

4:41b

shouting: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as shouting is literally “crying-out and saying.” The sound was a loud shout or scream. It was also understandable speech. For example:

screaming (Good News Translation)

It was the demons who were shouting.

You are the Son of God!: The demons shouted to Jesus that he was the Son of God. The way in which they shouted these words shows that they were not praising or worshiping Jesus.

the Son of God: See the note on the Son of God in 4:3a for more information on this title for Jesus. Translate it the same way in both places.

4:41c

But: There is a contrast between 4:41b and 4:41c. The contrast is that the demons wanted to speak but Jesus would not allow them. Most English versions are like the Berean Standard Bible and indicate this contrast by translating the Greek conjunction at the beginning of this verse part as But.

In some languages, it may not be necessary to translate this conjunction explicitly. For example:

Jesus gave the demons an order and would not let them speak (Good News Translation)

He rebuked the demons and would not allow them to speak: Another way to translate this is:

Jesus ordered the demons not to speak (Contemporary English Version)

He rebuked the demons: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as rebuked here is the same word as in4:35a and 4:39a. It means “spoke forcefully to.” Some other ways to translate this word are:

ordered (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
commanded (New Century Version)
-or-
said sternly (New International Version)

and would not allow them to speak: The phrase would not allow them to speak means that Jesus did not permit the demons to talk any more at that time.

In your translation, avoid implying that Jesus stopped the demons because what the demons had said was not true. It was true. Jesus stopped them because he did not yet want people to know that he was the Son of God, the Christ/Messiah (4:41d).

4:41d

because they knew He was the Christ: Verse 4:41d gives the reason why Jesus stopped the demons from speaking in 4:41c. It leaves implied the fact that Jesus did not want the demons to declare to the people that he was the Christ.

In some languages, it is more natural to put 4:41d before 4:41c. See the General Comment on 4:41c–d below.

the Christ: In Luke the word Christ is a title. It is not just one of Jesus’ names. The Jews used this title to refer to the person whom God had appointed and promised to send as king and savior. The title Christ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word “Messiah,” and the two words have the same meaning.

Some ways to translate Christ are:

• Use a title or a descriptive phrase in your language that has the same meaning as Christ. For example:

Messiah
-or-
Promised Deliverer
-or-
the Rescuer-King whom God appointed

• Transliterate Christ and include a phrase that explains the meaning. For example:

Christ, the appointed one
-or-
Cristo, the Savior whom God promised to send
-or-
the Christ who comes from God

• Transliterate Christ and indicate in some way that it is a title. For example:

the Christ
-or-
the Kirisita

If you do not indicate the meaning of Christ in the text, you may want to include a footnote to explain it. Or you may want to explain the meaning in a glossary. For example:

The word/title “Christ” refers to the king and savior whom God had promised to send.

See also Christ in the Glossary.

General Comment on 4:41c–d

In this verse, 4:41d expresses the reason for the result in 4:41c. In some languages, it may be more natural to change the order of these clauses. For example:

But 41dbecause they knew that he was the Christ, 41che spoke strongly to them and stopped them from speaking ⌊about him⌋.
-or-
But 41dthey knew that he was the Christ, 41cthat is why he spoke strongly to them and stopped them from speaking ⌊about him⌋.

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