1:32a

That evening, after sunset: The phrase That evening, after sunset refers to early evening, shortly after the sun had set. There was a special reason why the people waited until sunset to bring the sick people to Jesus. The Sabbath, the Jewish rest day, ended at sunset. The Jewish law did not allow people to work on the Sabbath, and they considered it work to carry a sick person.

In many areas the reason that people waited until sunset will not be clear. If that is true in your language, you may want to indicate the reason in some way. For example:

• Translate the cultural meaning of sunset rather than the literal term. For example:

That evening, after the rest day had ended

• Provide a footnote. For example:

The Jewish law did not allow people to work on the Sabbath, and they considered it work to carry a sick person. So they waited until the Sabbath ended at sunset before bringing the sick people to Jesus.

1:32b

people: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as people is literally “they.” This word refers here to the people who lived in Capernaum. It does not refer specifically to the people who were in the house of Simon and Andrew.

Here is another way to say this:

people in the town brought to Jesus all the sick and those who had demons

brought to Jesus: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as brought indicates that people helped those who were sick to go to Jesus. They may have carried them or supported them as they walked. The form of the word here indicates that this action happened repeatedly. People started bringing the sick to Jesus after sunset and kept bringing them one after the other.

all who were sick and demon-possessed: The phrase all who were sick and demon-possessed refers to two kinds of people: those who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. The word all is a figure of speech here. It emphasizes that very many people were brought to Jesus. The New Living Translation translates it as:

many sick and demon-possessed people (New Living Translation)

demon-possessed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as demon-possessed indicates that demons controlled the people’s thoughts and actions. The word demon refers to the same type of spirit as the Greek terms that are often translated as “evil spirit” and “unclean spirit.”

So you may translate demon-possessed in the same way you translated “with an unclean spirit.” See the note on 1:23a.

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