2:4a

Since they were unable to get to Jesus through the crowd: This part of the verse explains the reason for the action in 2:4b. Because the men could not get near Jesus by going through the crowd, they brought the paralytic to him in a different way.

Here is another way to translate this:

They could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd. So….

they were unable to get to Jesus: The phrase they were unable to get to Jesus indicates that they could not bring him all the way to Jesus. The men were unable to reach Jesus while carrying the paralyzed man.

they: The word they here refers to the people who were carrying the paralyzed man.

through the crowd: The phrase through the crowd indicates that so many people were at the door that there was no space for the men to enter.

2:4b

The houses in Capernaum and other places in Israel had flat roofs. There were ladders or stairs so that people could get onto the roof of the house. To make the roof, people put wooden beams and smaller poles and sticks across the walls. These beams and poles were covered with thatch and then with a layer of tiles that were made of burnt clay. That is the reason that the men could dig

they uncovered the roof above Him, made an opening: Here the author used two different ways to express a similar meaning. The men uncovered the roof by making an opening in it. You may need to say this only once. For example:

They made an opening in the roof
-or-
They dug through the roof

they uncovered the roof: The original readers of the Gospel of Mark would have understood that the men climbed stairs to get onto the roof. They would also have known that the roof was flat and the men could walk across it. In some languages it may be necessary to communicate some of this implied information.

Here are several ways to do this:

• Make some of the details explicit in the text. For example:

they climbed stairs onto the flat roof and uncovered it

• Use a footnote to explain how the men got onto the roof.

• Include a drawing of a Galilean home with a ladder or stairs and four men carrying a paralyzed man onto the roof.

Use an appropriate option for your translation.

2:4c

lowered the paralytic on his mat: The paralyzed man was lying on a mat when the men lowered him through the roof. The text does not say exactly how the men lowered the mat. Probably they held onto ropes that they had attached to the four corners of the mat. Then they slowly lowered ropes until the man was on the floor in front of Jesus. Describe this in a way that will not be confusing in your language.

Paragraph 2:6–12

In this section the teachers of the law reacted to Jesus’ statement that the sins of the paralytic were forgiven. They thought that Jesus was an ordinary person who could not be the Messiah.

2:6a

But: In this context the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But introduces background information. It is not indicating contrast in this case. Use the style that is natural in your language to indicate background information.

scribes: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as scribes is sometimes translated as “teachers of the law,” as in the New International Version. The original work of these men was to copy the laws of Moses by hand. In New Testament times, their main task was to study, interpret, and teach the law of Moses and related Jewish laws and traditions.

Here are some other ways to translate this term:

teachers of the Law of Moses (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
teachers of religious law (New Living Translation)
-or-
experts on the law

See how you translated this term in 1:22. See also teacher of the law in the Glossary.

there: The word there refers to the fact that the scribes were in the house with Jesus. The scribes were close enough to Jesus to see and hear what was happening.

2:6b

thinking in their hearts: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as thinking in their hearts is literally “reasoning in their hearts.” It indicates that the teachers of the law were thinking about what Jesus had just said, but they did not speak their thoughts out loud. Use a natural expression in your language to describe this.

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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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