Section 16:12–13

Jesus appeared to two of his followers

In this section, Jesus met two of his followers on the road outside of Jerusalem. At first, the two men did not know that they were talking to Jesus.

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

Here is another possible heading for this section:

Two disciples saw the risen/living Lord Jesus

Luke 24:13–35 provides more details about the events in this paragraph.

Paragraph 16:12–13

16:12a

After this: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as After this is literally “after these things.” The words “these things” probably refer to the events in 16:9–11. According to Luke 24:13, the event in 16:12–13 happened later the same day. Use a general word or expression that can refer to several hours later.

Jesus appeared: In 16:9b, Jesus “appeared first to Mary Magdalene.” Here in 16:12, he appeared to two other disciples. The verb appeared indicates that Jesus showed himself to them, that is, he allowed them to see him. You may be able to use the same verb as you used in 16:9b. (The Greek verb is slightly different here, but it has the same meaning.)

in a different form: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as in a different form refers to Jesus’ outward appearance. He did not look the same as he looked before his resurrection. (Some commentators say that this refers to appearing in a different form than the form in which he had appeared to Mary Magdalene. But in the story about Jesus appearing to the two disciples, they did not recognize him. Therefore, the main idea here is probably that Jesus appeared in a different form than the one they knew.)

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

in a form they did not recognize
-or-
he looked different than he looked before

Be careful not to translate this phrase in a way that would make people think Jesus had the form of an animal or anything other than a man.

to two of them: The phrase to two of them means “to two of Jesus’ other followers.” This phrase indicates that they were two of Jesus’ followers mentioned in 16:10. You may need to make this explicit. For example, the New Century Version says:

to two of his followers (New Century Version)

16:12b

as they walked along: Jesus met the two men as they walked along. According to Luke 24:15, he talked with them as they were walking together.

in the country: There are two ways to interpret the Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as in the country:

(1) They were going into the country. They had been in the city of Jerusalem and now were going out into the countryside. For example:

while they were on their way to the country (Good News Bible)
-or-
as they were on their way out of the city (Contemporary English Version)

(Good News Bible, Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation, New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, NET Bible, King James Version, English Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible)

(2) They were in the country (on a road); that is, between one town and another, among the farms and fields. For example:

while they were walking in the country (New Century Version)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, New Century Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

General Comment on 16:12a–b

In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of some of the information in this verse. For example:

12aAfter that, Jesus appeared to two of his disciples 12bas they were walking toward a rural area, 12abut his appearance had changed.

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