9:24a
“Go away,” He told them: The Berean Standard Bible places the words He told them after what Jesus said. In some languages, it may be necessary to place these words at the beginning of 9:24a. For example:
he said, “Go away…” (English Standard Version)
Go away…The girl is not dead: The Greek of 9:24a uses a conjunction that is often translated as “for” (English Standard Version) to introduce the basis for the command to leave. For example:
Go away, for the girl is not dead (English Standard Version)
Many English versions allow the context to indicate this, and they leave this word untranslated.
Go away: The words Go away are a command to the people to leave the house.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
Get out of here (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
Leave
girl: Mark and Luke describe the dead girl as being twelve years old. Use a term for a girl of that age.
is not dead, but asleep: Jesus knew that the girl was dead, but he alone knew that her death was temporary. He knew that he would soon bring her back to life. So, he figuratively referred to her as asleep. As someone wakes from sleep, Jesus would bring the girl back from death.
Jesus was purposely speaking in a way that could be misunderstood. The meaning of his words would only be clear when the girl was alive again. So it is recommended that you translate the word asleep literally.
Here are some other ways to translate this expression:
is not dead; she is asleep (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
the girl is only sleeping, she is not dead
If people in your area will think that Jesus was confused or wrong when he said that the girl was not dead, but asleep, you may want to include a footnote to explain. A footnote could include some of the above information.
9:24b
And: The crowd reacted to Jesus’ words by laughing at him. In some languages, it is natural to introduce this type of reaction with a word or phrase. For example:
But they laughed at him. (New International Version)
-or-
Then they all started making fun of him. (Good News Translation)
-or-
⌊When they heard this,⌋ they laughed at him
they laughed at Him: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as laughed at can also mean “ridicule.” Since they knew the girl was dead, they probably thought Jesus was wrong or stupid to say that she was asleep.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
they began making fun of him (NET Bible)
-or-
they ridiculed him (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
they laughed, making fun of him
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