Section 6:53–56

Jesus healed sick people in the region of Gennesaret

After the storm, Jesus and his disciples all landed in the region of Gennesaret. People recognized Jesus and brought sick people to him from many places in that area and he healed them.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Here are some other possible headings for this section:

Jesus heals the sick at Gennesaret
-or-
Healing at Gennesaret

There is a parallel passage for this section in Matthew 14:34–36.

Paragraph 6:53–56

6:53a

When they had crossed over: The clause When they had crossed over connects this story to the previous one. These new events took place after Jesus and his disciples had traveled by boat to the other side of the lake. You may need to make some of this explicit in your translation. For example:

Jesus and his disciples finished crossing the lake. Then….

6:53b

they landed: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as they landed is literally “they came to land” (as in the Good News Bible). This indicates that Jesus and his disciples ended their journey on the water and arrived at the edge of the lake. The New Century Version translates this as:

they came to shore

at Gennesaret: The word Gennesaret was the name of an area on the northwest shore of Lake Galilee south of the town of Capernaum. It is also the name of a village in that area. It is not possible to tell whether the village or the area is meant here.

If it is acceptable in your language, do not specify whether it is a region or a town. If you must make it clear which one it is, it is recommended that you say “area” or “region.” This is more accurate, because the activity in 6:53–56 happens throughout that area.

moored the boat: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as moored refers to bringing the boat into harbor and preventing it from moving. The disciples did this near the shore or on shore so that they could get out on land. There are several ways to translate this:

• Translate it as anchored. The word anchored refers to the action of lowering the anchor (a heavy weight) to the bottom of the lake. A rope connected the anchor to the boat. This was done in order to keep the boat from drifting on the water. For example, the New Living Translation, 1996 edition says:

they anchored the boat

• Translate it as moored or tied. The word moor refers to tying a boat to a dock or pole put in the ground close to shore. People do this in order to keep the boat from drifting on the water. For example:

they…moored to the shore (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
they tied up the boat (Good News Bible)

• Translate it in a general way that leaves the specific method of fastening the boat implied. For example, the Contemporary English Version says:

they brought the boat to shore

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