Section 9:1–6

Jesus sent his twelve apostles to preach and heal people

Jesus sent his twelve apostles to different towns to preach about God’s kingdom, to heal people, and to cast out demons. He gave them instructions about the trip (9:3), about where they should stay (9:4), and about what to do when people did not welcome them (9:5).

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Another heading for this section is:

Jesus sent out the twelve apostles/disciples
-or-
The Sending of the Twelve Apostles (NET Bible)

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 9:35, 10:5–15, and Mark 6:6–13.

Paragraph 9:1–6

9:1a

Then Jesus called the Twelve together: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then Jesus called the Twelve together is the first event in this section. Jesus called together the twelve disciples whom he had chosen as apostles. He asked them to come where he was so that he could prepare them for what he wanted them to do.

The verb called…together implies that some of the Twelve were not with him at the time. Jesus may have sent a messenger to summon them.

Other ways to introduce this section are:

He summoned the Twelve (New American Bible)
-or-
Jesus caused the Twelve to gather/come to him. When they came, he…
-or-
One day Jesus called together his twelve disciples (New Living Translation (2004))

You should begin this story in a way that is natural in your language.

the Twelve:
The phrase the Twelve refers to the twelve apostles whom Jesus had chosen from among his disciples. See 6:12–16. Some English versions supply the word “apostles.” Others supply the word “disciples.” For example:

the twelve disciples (Good News Translation)
-or-
his twelve apostles (Contemporary English Version)

You may use either option here. See the word that you used for “apostles” in 6:13b. In 9:10a, all the English versions as well as the Greek text use the word “apostles.” See the note there for more information on “apostles.” See the note in 9:14b for more information on “disciples.”

9:1b

and gave them power and authority: The word power refers to the ability to do something, and authority refers to the right to do something. Here Jesus gave the twelve apostles both the ability and the right to do the work that he was sending them to do.

In some languages there may be one expression that covers both ideas. For example:

gave them complete power (Contemporary English Version)

In 4:36d the same words also occur, but the nouns are reversed. Use whichever order is natural in your language. In some languages it may be more natural to use two clauses. For example:

and he gave them power…. He also gave them the right to…

In some languages you may need to use verbs to express the meaning of power and authority. For example:

he empowered and authorized them

over all demons: The phrase over all demons is literally “over all the demons.” It refers to causing evil spirits to leave people and stop controlling them. The disciples did this by commanding the spirit/spirits to leave.

Jewish people often spoke of evil spirits as being in someone. Different cultures have different ways of speaking about people being controlled by demons and being released from the control of demons. Use a natural expression for this in your language. Some ways to translate this are:

to drive out all demons (New International Version)
-or-
to send the demons away
-or-
to exorcize the demons
-or-
to free people who were controlled by demons

all: The word all does not indicate that the disciples were to cast out every demon on earth. It indicates that they were able to cast out every demon that they encountered. There was no demon that they were not given the power and authority to cast out.

demons: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as demons refers to spirits that are evil and can control people’s actions. The word demons refers to the same type of spirit as the Greek terms that are often translated as “evil spirits” and “unclean spirits.”

Some ways to translate demon are:

• Use a general term in your language that refers to spirits that are evil and can control people.

• Use a specific term in your language that refers to a certain type of spirit. These spirits should be able to do evil things. Do not use a term that refers to spirits of dead people.

• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:

evil/bad spirits
-or-
unclean spirits

Be sure that an expression like “unclean spirits” does not imply that the spirits are literally dirty.

See how you translated demon in 4:33a. See demon in the Glossary for more information.

and power to cure diseases: In some languages it is more natural to say that the apostles were to cure people rather than diseases. If that is true in your language, you may need to make this explicit. For example:

and to cure/heal ⌊people⌋ from their diseases/sicknesses
-or-
and to heal ⌊the sick⌋

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