24:24a

Then some of our companions went to the tomb: The phrase some of our companions refers to their male companions who were also followers of Jesus. These companions also heard the women’s report. The parallel passage in John 20:3–9 suggests that the phrase refers to Peter and John.

Some other ways to translate this part of the verse are:

Some of our men went to the tomb (God’s Word)
-or-
Then some of those who were with us went to the tomb (NET Bible)
-or-
So some of our group went to the tomb (New Century Version)

24:24b

and found it just as the women had described: When the men from the group of disciples went to the tomb, they saw that the women were right. Specifically, they saw that the tomb was empty. Jesus’ body was no longer there. Then they understood that what the women had told them about the tomb was true.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

and found it empty, as the women had said (God’s Word)
-or-
They saw that Jesus’ body was not there, just as the women had told them

24:24c

But Him they did not see: The clause But Him they did not see indicates that the men did not see Jesus. It implies that they wanted or expected to see Jesus. They were puzzled when they saw only the empty tomb. This caused the disciples to wonder what had happened.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

but they did not see him (NET Bible)
-or-
but they did not see Jesus (New Century Version)

© 2009, 2010, 2013 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

1:22a

was unable to speak to them: Zechariah was unable to talk, so he was not able to tell the people what he had seen in the temple.

1:22b

they realized: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as realized indicates that the people “understood” or “came to know” that Zechariah had seen a vision. Some other ways to say this are:

they perceived (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
it became clear to them

he had seen a vision: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a vision implies here that the angel appeared to Zechariah in a supernatural way. A human being is not able to see an angel unless God makes him able to see the angel. The meaning in this context is a little different from the usual meaning of vision. Usually, a vision refers to something similar to a dream, except that a person is awake when he sees it.

Some other ways to translate this are:

he had seen something supernatural
-or-
God had showed him something

1:22c

There is a Greek conjunction at the beginning of this verse part that is often translated as “and” in English. It introduces an explanation of how the people realized that Zechariah had seen a vision. Some translations, such as the New International Version, translate it as “for.” Other translations, including the Berean Standard Bible, do not translate it. Connect this part of the verse to 1:22b in a natural way in your language. See the General Comment on 1:22a–d at the end of the notes on 1:22d for suggestions about reordering the parts of this verse.

He kept making signs to them: The phrase making signs describes the way in which Zechariah tried to communicate with the people. He did this by moving his hands and perhaps also his head. The form of the verb indicates that he did this action many times.

1:22d

but: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as but is often translated as “and” in English. Some English versions use but because it is natural in English to indicate a contrast between what Zechariah could do (1:22c) and what he could not do. Other English versions translate the conjunction as “and,” or they do not translate it. Connect 1:22d to 1:22c in the way that is most natural in your language in this context.

remained speechless: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as remained speechless can mean unable to speak, unable to hear, or both. Here it includes the idea that Zechariah remained speechless, since that is what Gabriel had said. Luke 1:62 may indicate that Zechariah was also deaf. If your language has a word that means both unable to speak and unable to hear, you may use it here.

This verse refers specifically to Zechariah as he tried to communicate with the people at the temple. Luke 1:62–64 indicates that he remained speechless for a long time (for at least nine months).

General Comment on 1:22a–d

In some languages, it may be necessary to reorder this verse. One way to do that is to put the description of Zechariah’s behavior first and then give the people’s conclusion that Zechariah had seen a vision. For example:

22aWhen Zechariah came out of the temple, he could not talk to them. 22cHe made hand signals to them 22dbut remained mute. 22bThen/so the people realized that he had seen a vision.
-or-

22aWhen he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. 22bThen they realized 22cfrom his gestures 22dand his silence 22bthat he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary. (New Living Translation (2004))

© 2009, 2010, 2013 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

1:54–1:55a

He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful…to Abraham and his descendants forever: The word Israel refers to the same people as Abraham’s descendants. Abraham was the ancestor of Jacob, who was called Israel, for whom the nation of Israel was named. In some languages it may be good to indicate this in some way in your translation. For example:

He has helped…⌊us⌋ Israelites. Yes, he has remembered to be merciful…to ⌊our ancestor⌋ Abraham and to ⌊us⌋ his descendants forever.

remembering to be merciful…to Abraham and his descendants forever: This phrase does not suggest that God might potentially forget something. Rather, it indicates that God will continue to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants in the future. He will never stop being merciful to them.

1:54a

He has helped His servant Israel: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as helped means “to assist, to share in someone’s situation to aid him/her.” God had helped the people of Israel by fulfilling his promise to send the Messiah who would save them. The angel had told Mary that she would give birth to the Messiah.

His servant Israel: The phrase His servant Israel refers to the people of Israel. They are called God’s servant because they serve God and worship him. In some languages it is not natural to use a singular form to speak of the whole nation as God’s servant. If this is true in your language, some other ways to translate it are:

his servants, the people/nation of Israel
-or-
us Israelites, his servants

servant: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as servant refers to a slave, but to one whom the master loves. This is a different Greek word than “servant” or “slave” in 1:38a, but the meaning is similar.

1:54b

remembering to be merciful: The phrase remembering to be merciful refers to the same action as the previous phrase “he has helped his servant Israel.” It means that God remembered that he had promised to be merciful to his people, and he fulfilled his promise.

God had not previously forgotten to be merciful. If a literal translation would give this wrong meaning, you may need to say something such as:

God has kept his promise to be merciful.

to be merciful: The phrase to be merciful means “to have compassion” or “to show pity.” It is related to the word that is translated as “mercy” in 1:50. See the note there.

Some other ways to translate it are:

to be kind
-or-
graciously to show compassion

© 2009, 2010, 2013 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

2:6a

While they were there: The pronoun they refers to Joseph and Mary. The word there refers to the town of Bethlehem. During the time that Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem, Jesus was born.

2:6b

the time came for her Child to be born: The Berean Standard Bible translates this with a passive verb, but in Greek this clause is active, literally “the days were completed for her to give birth.” This indicates that the baby in Mary’s womb had matured and her body was ready to give birth. Some languages may have an idiom for this. Another way to say this, with an active verb, is:

the time came for Mary to give birth to her baby

© 2009, 2010, 2013 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

3:18a-b

This verse is a summary and conclusion of Paragraph 3:15–18. In Greek it begins with a conjunction that is often translated as “therefore” or “thus.” The Berean Standard Bible does not translate this conjunction. Some other ways to introduce this conclusion in English are:

In this way
-or-
So (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
Then (CSB)

In some languages there may be a special way to introduce such a conclusion. Introduce the summary or conclusion of this paragraph in a natural way in your language.

With these and many other exhortations: There are two ways to interpret the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as other:

(1) It means “more of the same kind.” John used more exhortations like the one in the previous verses. For example:

with many other exhortations (NET Bible)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Standard Bible, NET Bible, Revised English Bible, New Century Version, King James Version, New Living Translation (2004), God’s Word)

(2) It means “different.” This means that not all of John’s preaching was like the previous verses. For example:

In many different ways (Good News Translation)

(Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

John proclaimed the good news: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as proclaimed here refers to the act of appealing to people to do something. John was urging or encouraging the people to repent (3:8a) by accepting the good news that he told them and obeying God. For example:

urged them to change their ways (Good News Translation)

proclaimed the good news to the people: The phrase proclaimed the good news is a translation of one Greek verb. This verb also occurs in 2:10b. In this context John proclaimed to the people the message that God would soon send the Christ to save them.

Some other ways to translate this are:

told the Good News to the people (God’s Word)
-or-
announced the good news (Revised English Bible)
-or-
told them good news ⌊about the Christ⌋
-or-
told them good/sweet news ⌊from God⌋

© 2009, 2010, 2013 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

Paragraph 4:23–27

4:23a

This verse begins with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “and.” Some English versions, such as the English Standard Version, translate it that way. The Berean Standard Bible has not translated this conjunction here, and some other versions such as the New International Version and NET Bible also do not translate it. However, since the events in this paragraph occurred after the events in 4:20–22, in some languages, it may be natural to begin this paragraph with a time word or phrase. For example:

Then he said (New Living Translation (2004))

Connect 4:23a to 4:22c in a way that is natural in your language.

Surely: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Surely means “it is sure that,” “certainly,” or “without a doubt.” Some other ways to translate this are:

I know that (New Century Version)
-or-
certainly (Contemporary English Version)

quote: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as quote is literally “say” (as in the King James Version). The word quote is the natural English expression for repeating words that someone else has already said or written.

this: In this context, the word this refers to the proverb which follows in 4:23b. It does not refer to something that came before this verse.

If the word “this” in your language refers only to something that precedes it, you should say:

the proverb
-or-
the following proverb

proverb: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as proverb refers to a saying or expression that many people have heard. The well-known saying that Jesus was referring to is in 4:23b. See also parable, Type 1, in the Glossary.

4:23b–d

Jesus gave two quotations in 4:23b–d. In 4:23b he quoted the proverb. Then in 4:23c–d he quoted the words that the people wanted to say to him about the proverb. You may want to use separate sets of quotation marks for the proverb and for what the people say about it. If you decide to do that, you should close the quote for the proverb at the end of 4:23b. Then, after a word or phrase introducing the second quotation, you can use a separate set of quotation marks in 4:23c–d. For example:

23Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’ 24aBut I tell you the truth…” (New Living Translation (2004))

Physician, heal yourself!: The expression Physician, heal yourself was a proverb in Jesus’ time. It meant that someone who claimed to have special abilities should use them to help himself and his own people, as well as to help others. Some other ways to translate this are:

Doctor, cure yourself! (God’s Word)
-or-
Doctor, first make yourself well. (Contemporary English Version)

The people did not mean Jesus was a physician or that Jesus was sick.

Physician: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Physician refers to a doctor who heals or cures sick people.

heal: The word heal means “to cure, to make well.”

4:23c–d

Luke 4:23c–d tells why Jesus used this proverb to describe what the people of Nazareth were thinking about him. They had heard that Jesus had performed miracles in the town of Capernaum. Now they wanted Jesus to do miracles for them in Nazareth also. They thought that he ought to benefit them, the people in his own hometown.

In some languages it may be necessary to make it explicit that Jesus was saying what the people thought. He was no longer quoting the proverb. One way to do this is to introduce 4:23c–d with a phrase such as:

⌊You will also say⌋
-or-
You will tell me (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
You want to say (New Century Version)

Another possibility is to translate 4:23c–d into indirect speech. If you do this, you can use an introductory phrase such as:

⌊You will tell me to⌋

See the General Comment on 4:23a–d at the end of 4:23d for an example of using indirect speech.

4:23c

Do here in Your hometown: The word hometown refers to the town where Jesus had lived when he was a boy. Jesus’ hometown was the town of Nazareth (4:16a).

In some languages, it may be necessary to make explicit that the people wanted Jesus to do some miracles. For example:

Do all the things in your hometown (God’s Word)
-or-
Do ⌊miracles⌋ here in your(sing) own town

Your hometown: In Greek, the pronoun Your is singular. In some languages, it may be more natural to make explicit that it was also the hometown of many of the people to whom Jesus was speaking. For example:

our(incl) hometown

4:23d

what we have heard that You did in Capernaum: This refers to the miracles that the people of Nazareth had heard about. Jesus knew that they wanted to see similar things. It may be necessary to make this explicit in either 4:23c or here in 4:23d. An example of making this explicit here in 4:23d is:

⌊the things/miracles⌋ we have heard that you(sing) did in Capernaum

General Comment on 4:23a–d

This verse contains a quotation within a quotation. In some languages, this may not be natural, or it may be difficult to understand. If that is true in your language, you may be able to use indirect speech here. For example:

23aJesus said to them, “I am sure that you(plur) are wanting to apply this proverb to me: 23b‘Physician, heal yourself.’ 23c⌊You(plur) are going to tell me to⌋ do here in my hometown the miracles 23dthat you(plur) heard that I did in Capernaum.”

© 2009, 2010, 2013 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

5:11a

And: This verse begins with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “and.” Some English versions, including the Berean Standard Bible and the English Standard Version, translate it that way. This verse concludes this event and tells what the fishermen did as a result of what happened. Some other ways to translate this word are:

Then (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
So (New International Version)

Some versions do not translate this word. Connect this verse with the previous verses in a way that is natural in your language.

they: Jesus had been talking specifically to Simon in the previous verse. However, the pronoun here is plural. It may refer to all the fishermen who were with Simon, to some of them, or specifically to Simon, James, and John. So it is recommended that you leave this general if possible. Some ways to do this are:

• Use a plural pronoun. For example:

they

• Use a phrase. For example:

Simon and his companions

had brought their boats ashore: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as had brought their boats ashore is literally “brought the boats on the land.” The fishermen pushed or pulled their boats up on dry land where it would be safe to leave them.

5:11b

left everything: The phrase left everything means “abandoned everything.” The word everything here probably refers to their fishing equipment. The fishermen left their boats. They left the fishing business. They even left the fish they had just caught.

They might have given or sold their equipment to other fisherman or just left it sitting on the shore. These details are not in focus in the story.

followed Him: The phrase followed Him here means “became Jesus’ disciples/ followers.” The fishermen decided to go with Jesus wherever he went in order to learn from him.

Another way to translate this is:

went with Jesus as his disciples/followers
-or-
became Jesus’ disciples/followers

General Comment on 5:11a–b

There are three verbs in 5:11a–b (“brought the boats,” “left everything,” and “followed him”). In the Greek text, the main verb is “followed.” Express the actions in a natural way in your language.

© 2009, 2010, 2013 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.