10:8a

Heal the sick: This command refers to healing sick people by using God’s power. It does not refer to healing as a doctor does. In some languages, it may be necessary to make this more explicit. For example:

⌊By God’s power,⌋ heal the sick

raise the dead: This command refers to causing a dead person to return to life. This command does not refer to lifting a dead body.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

raise the dead back to life
-or-
cause the dead to live again

10:8b

cleanse the lepers: In this context, the word cleanse means “heal.” For example:

cure those with leprosy (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
heal people who have leprosy (Contemporary English Version)

lepers: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as lepers refers to people who had various kinds of infectious skin diseases. The disease today called “leprosy” turns the skin white and the affected flesh eventually dies.

If you are in an area where “leprosy” is not known, you may want to follow the Good News Translation that translates it as:

dreaded skin diseases (Good News Translation)

drive out demons: The phrase drive out also occurs in 10:1b. You should translate it here as you did there.

10:8c

Freely you have received: This clause means that Jesus gave the disciples the power to heal and do other miracles, and he did not ask them to pay him money for that power. He gave it to them freely, as a gift.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

You received ⌊this power⌋ without paying ⌊money⌋
-or-
You received ⌊this power to heal⌋ ⌊from me⌋, and you did not pay ⌊for it⌋.
-or-
I give you these powers freely (New Century Version)

10:8d

freely give: This clause means that the disciples must give people aid/help without asking them to pay for it. The disciples must heal people and do miracles freely, without cost.

give ⌊people help⌋ without ⌊asking them to⌋ pay
-or-
help other people freely (New Century Version)

-or-

do these things without charging people for them

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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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