Section 13:53–58

The people of Nazareth rejected Jesus

Jesus grew up in the town of Nazareth. The people there knew him and his family. They were ordinary people. So when the people of Nazareth heard that Jesus was teaching and doing miracles, they had difficulty believing that he had so quickly become a great prophet.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

Rejection at Nazareth (NET Bible)
-or-
Nazareth does not honor Jesus

There are parallel passages for this section in Mark 6:1–6 and Luke 4:16–30. See also John 4:44, 6:42.

Paragraph 13:53–57a

13:53

Verse 13:53 is a transitional verse from one section to another. Some English versions (like the New Revised Standard Version and God’s Word) put this verse at the end the previous section. If the major language version in your area has 13:53 in the previous section, you may want to follow that.

13:53a

When Jesus had finished these parables: This clause refers to Jesus finishing his teaching using parables.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

When Jesus finished ⌊telling⌋ these parables
-or-
When Jesus finished teaching with these stories (New Century Version)
-or-
When Jesus finished ⌊teaching people using⌋ these parables

13:53b

He withdrew from that place: The phrase from that place refers either to the house in Capernaum where Jesus was staying or more generally to the town of Capernaum.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

he left that place (Good News Translation)

-or-

he left that part of the country (New Living Translation (2004))

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