1:34a

And He healed many: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as many in this context refers to all the sick people who came to Jesus to be healed. In some languages a literal translation might imply that Jesus did not heal all the sick people who came to him. If that is true in your language, you will need to translate in a different way. For example:

And he healed the many sick people
-or-
Jesus healed great numbers of sick people (New Living Translation, 1996 edition)
-or-
Jesus healed all kinds of terrible diseases (Contemporary English Version)

healed: The word healed means “cured” or “made well.” In this context it indicates that Jesus cured people miraculously. He did not use medicine to cure them. In some languages there is no term that refers unambiguously to miraculous healing. If that is true in your language, you may be able to use a more general expression that is correctly understood in this context. For example:

caused to become well
-or-
helped

Make sure that the expression you use refers clearly to miraculous healing.

various diseases: The phrase various diseases indicates here that Jesus healed many kinds of sicknesses. It does not imply that each sick person had several different diseases.

1:34b

and drove out many demons: Jesus drove out demons by commanding the demons to leave. In some languages it may be necessary to translate this clause by using a direct quote. For example:

and commanded many demons, saying, “Leave(sing) that person.”

If you use a direct quote, you may need to decide whether to use a singular or plural form of a verb like “leave.” Jesus commanded many demons, but he probably commanded them one at a time. Use what is natural in your language for this kind of situation.

drove out: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as drove out is literally “cast/threw out.” In this context it means that Jesus caused many evil spirits to stop controlling people. He did this by commanding the evil spirits to leave, as 1:25b indicates.

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.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

sent the demons away
-or-
exorcized the evil spirits
-or-
freed people who were controlled by an evil spirit

many demons: There were many demons that were disturbing the people who came to Jesus. He expelled these demons from the people. The phrase many demons does not imply that Jesus did not expel some of the demons. In some languages it may be necessary to make this clear. For example:

the many demons
-or-
all the demons

For the word demons, see the note in 1:32b. See also evil spirit in the Glossary.

1:34c

But: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But is often translated as “and,” as in the Revised Standard Version. In this context it connects two things that Jesus did to the demons. He expelled the demons from people, and he would not let them speak. Connect these two clauses in a natural way in your language.

He would not allow the demons to speak: As in 1:34b, it may be more natural in some languages to express this clause as a direct quote. For example:

…he ordered them, “Be(sing) silent.”

If you use a direct quote here, you may need to decide whether to use a singular or plural form of the verb or pronoun. See the note in 1:34b.

Some languages use different commands for a person of higher status and lower status. If that is true in your language, you should use a form that is appropriate for a person of higher status giving orders to someone of lower status.

1:34d

because they knew who He was: The clause they knew who He was means in this context that the demons knew that Jesus was the Son of God and the Christ/Messiah. See 1:11 and 1:24. It does not mean that the demons merely knew that his name was Jesus or that he was Mary’s son. (Jesus did not want the demons to reveal who he was, because he did not want information about himself to be revealed by evil powers. He also did not want people to find out that he was the Messiah before he had accomplished what God wanted him to do.)

You should translate the phrase who He was in a general way if possible. If a general phrase is not possible or if people understand it to refer to Jesus’ name, you may use an expression similar to the one that you used in 1:24. For example:

they knew that he was the Son of God
-or-
they knew that he was the Christ/Messiah

General Comment on 1:34c–d

In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of 1:34c and 1:34d. For example:

34d But because they knew who he was, 34che refused to allow the demons to speak. (New Living Translation, 1996 edition)

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