8:17a
This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: There are two ways to interpret the way that 8:17a is connected to 8:16b–c:
(1) It is the purpose for which Jesus healed people. According to this interpretation, Jesus cast out demons and healed the sick so that scripture would be fulfilled. For example:
He did this to make come true what the prophet Isaiah had said (Good News Translation)
(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Good News Translation, English Standard Version, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, Revised Standard Version, New Century Version)
(2) It is the result of Jesus healing people. According to this interpretation, Jesus cast out demons and healed the sick, and as a result scripture was fulfilled. For example:
So God’s promise came true, just as the prophet Isaiah had said (Contemporary English Version)
(God’s Word, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation (2004), Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The Greek conjunction in this sentence clearly indicates purpose.
A similar clause occurs in 1:22. See how you translated that clause.
to fulfill: The word fulfill means “to make come true” or “to make happen as it was foretold/prophesied.”
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
He did this to make come true what the prophet Isaiah had said (Good News Translation)
-or-
He did these things to bring about what Isaiah the prophet had said (New Century Version)
what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as through the prophet Isaiah can also be translated as “by the prophet Isaiah” (as also in the English Standard Version). This phrase indicates that the following words did not come from Isaiah himself. They came from God through Isaiah. God spoke the following words to Isaiah, and Isaiah then spoke them to the people. Isaiah also wrote them down.
This is a passive clause. Some ways to translate it are:
• Use a passive verb. For example:
what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah (New International Version)
• Use an active verb. For example:
the word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, who said (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
what ⌊God⌋ spoke ⌊to the people⌋ through the prophet Isaiah
prophet: A prophet is a person who spoke on behalf of God. God spoke to the prophet Isaiah through words and visions. Then the prophet told God’s message (the prophecy) to the people or wrote it down for their use.
See how you translated prophet in 1:22 and 4:14. See also prophet in the Glossary for further information.
8:17b
Verse 8:17b is a quote from Isaiah 53:4. It is also a Hebrew form of poetry called a parallelism. In a parallelism, an idea is repeated.
In the example below, one parallel pair in 8:17b is underlined. The other parallel pair is made bold. Notice that the parts of each pair are similar in meaning.
He took on our infirmities
and carried our diseases.
In some languages, people will think that the parallel parts in 8:17b describe different events. In other words, they will think that “He took on our infirmities” and “carried our diseases” describe different events.
If that is true in your language, you should:
• Indicate that both expressions refer to the same thing. For example:
He took on our infirmities,
⌊I repeat, he⌋ carried our diseases.
• Combine the parallel parts. For example:
He took on our infirmities and diseases.
-or-
He took away all our infirmities.
He took on our infirmities and carried our diseases: Early Christians understood these words from Isaiah to refer to Jesus dealing with sin, sorrow and sickness when he died on the cross. The verb took on means that in some sense Jesus “took away” people’s sins and diseases, and he “took them on himself.” The verb carried is a synonym. He “carried away” or “removed” people’s sins and sicknesses, and he “carried/bore” them on himself on the cross. He paid for them and removed them when he died. In the passage from Isaiah, the verbs took and carried seem to have only a spiritual sense.
However, Matthew applied this verse to Jesus healing people. The way Matthew applied this verse from Isaiah, the verb took means “took away” and the verb carried mean “removed” in the sense of “healed.” These verbs have a physical sense.
Here are some other ways to translate these verbs:
• Use verbs that refer only to the spiritual sense of “bearing” people’s sickness as found in Isaiah. For example:
He took our suffering on him and carried our diseases. (New Century Version)
• Find verbs that can be used in both a spiritual and physical sense. For example:
He himself took our sickness and carried away our diseases. (Good News Translation)
• Use verbs that refer to the physical healing in the Matthew context. For example:
He healed our diseases and made us well. (Contemporary English Version)
He: The pronoun He is emphasized in the Greek. Some English versions show this emphasis. For example:
He himself (New Jerusalem Bible)
General Comment on 8:17b
Old Testament prophets sometimes used the past tense to speak a prophecy about an event that would happen in the future. The past tense views the event from God’s viewpoint after the event happened. Isaiah lived more than 600 years before Jesus. Isaiah spoke this prophecy that was fulfilled in 8:16–17. It may be more natural in your language to use something other than past tense here. For example:
He will take away our illnesses and will remove our diseases.
But to a reader of your translation, all these events are past. So using the past tense may be acceptable.
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