Section 1:35–39

Jesus prayed alone and then preached in other villages

In this section Jesus got up very early in the morning and went out of the town alone to pray. When his disciples found him, they implied that he should come back to town and help more people. Jesus told them that he must go and preach in other villages. Then he and his disciples went to other villages so that he could preach there also.

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

Here are some other ideas for this section heading:

Jesus prays in an isolated place
-or-
Jesus preached in other villages in Galilee

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 4:23 and Luke 4:42–44.

Paragraph 1:35–39

1:35a

Early in the morning, while it was still dark: The phrases Early in the morning, while it was still dark indicate that the next event happened before daybreak, long before the sun rose. For example:

Very early the next morning, long before daylight (Good News Bible)
-or-
In the morning, long before sunrise (God’s Word)

Use a natural expression in your language that refers to this time of day.

in the morning: The phrase in the morning refers to the morning immediately after the events in 1:34. For example:

Early the next morning (New Century Version)

1:35b

Jesus got up and slipped out: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as slipped out is literally “he went out and departed.” It does not mean that Jesus slipped on something and fell down. The phrase may imply that Jesus went out of the house or that he went out of the town. Both implications are true and both may be implied by the next phrase, which says that he went to a solitary place. Consider whether it is necessary in your language to make explicit that Jesus left the house or left the town. For example:

…Jesus got up and left the house. He went out of town… (Good News Bible)
-or-
Jesus woke and left the house (New Century Version)
-or-
Jesus got up and went to a place (Contemporary English Version)

to a solitary place: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a solitary place refers to a desolate area where there were no people. The word solitary is a form of the same Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “wilderness” in 1:3a. See the note there. This was a place where Jesus could be alone.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

to a remote spot (Revised English Bible)
-or-
to a place where he could be alone (God’s Word)
-or-
to an isolated place (New Living Translation)

1:35c

to pray: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as pray indicates here that Jesus spoke to God. The form of the verb that is used here is literally “was praying.” It may mean that Jesus began to pray and was still praying when Simon and the others found him.

Some languages may use different words to refer to specific kinds of prayer, such as requests, thanks, or praise. Here you should use a word or expression that has a general meaning. Avoid a term that may imply magical or meaningless words.

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