10:49a

Jesus stopped: The phrase Jesus stopped means “Jesus stopped walking,” “Jesus halted,” or “Jesus stood still.” The text implies that Jesus stopped because he heard the blind man shouting. In some languages it may be necessary to make that explicit. For example:

When Jesus heard him, he stopped

and said: It is not clear to whom Jesus spoke here. It may have been to some of his disciples or to some of the people in the crowd. If it is necessary in your language to indicate this, use a general expression, such as:

and said to some of the people

10:49b

Call him: The words Call him indicate that Jesus wanted people to tell Bartimaeus to come to him. You may need to make that meaning more explicit here. For example, the New Century Version says:

Tell the man to come here.

General Comment on 10:49a–b

In some languages it may be natural to translate Jesus’ words here with indirect speech. For example:

Jesus stopped and told his followers to summon the man.

10:49c

So: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as So is the common conjunction that is often translated as “and.” Here it introduces the people’s response to what Jesus told them to do in 10:49b. The Berean Standard Bible uses the word So to indicate that their response is the result of his command. The Revised Standard Version says “And.” Introduce the people’s response in a natural way in your language.

they called the blind man: Here Mark indicates that the people obeyed Jesus’ command to call Bartimaeus. In 10:49c Mark quoted what they said to him. Introduce these words in a way that is natural in your language.

they: The word they refers either to some of Jesus’ disciples or to some of the people in the crowd. Refer to them in a general way, as the Berean Standard Bible does with they or with a word like “people.”

called: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as called is the same verb that Jesus used in 10:49a. It means to summon a person who may be some distance away.

10:49d

The people who called the blind man said three things to him. See the following notes.

Take courage!: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Take courage means literally “have courage” (as in the NET Bible).

Here are some other ways to translate this:

Take heart. (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Don’t be afraid! (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Be brave!

If there is an idiom in your language to express the way the people were encouraging Bartimaeus, you could use it here. For example:

Good news!

they said: In the Greek text the phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as they said occurs at the beginning of this sentence. Place it where it is natural in your language.

Get up!: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Get up means “Stand up” or “Rise.” Bartimaeus was sitting by the road when the people told him to get up. This command is related to the information that Jesus was calling him. They wanted Bartimaeus to get up quickly so that he could go to Jesus.

He is calling for you: Jesus had told the people to call the blind man. He implied that they should tell the blind man to come to him. The people were the messengers, but Jesus himself was inviting the man to come. In some languages it may be more natural to use a direct or indirect quote here. For example:

He says, “Come.”
-or-
He says that you may come.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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