4:21a

and He began by saying: The clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as He began by saying is literally “and He began to say/speak to them.” It indicates here that Jesus began to teach them. He began to explain the scripture that he had just read to them. This scripture was about him, and it was being fulfilled.

In your translation, you may want to use a more specific word or phrase than by saying or “to speak.” For example:

Then Jesus began to teach them. He said…
-or-
Then Jesus began to explain the words that he had read, saying…

4:21b

Today this Scripture is fulfilled: The phrase Today this Scripture is fulfilled means “That which this scripture talked about is happening today.” With these words, Jesus told them that he was the person whom the prophet Isaiah had written about. He was the one who fulfilled this scripture. God had appointed him to be the Messiah, and the Holy Spirit had empowered him to do all the things in 4:18–19.

Some other ways to translate this are:

Today this scripture has been fulfilled (NET Bible)
-or-
Today…this text has come true. (Revised English Bible)
-or-
This passage came true today (God’s Word)

Jesus was not saying that all the prisoners had been released, that all the blind people cured, or that the other things that he had read about had already happened.

in your hearing: The phrase in your hearing means “while you have been listening.” Some other ways to translate this are:

when you heard me read it. (God’s Word)
-or-
While you heard these words just now (New Century Version)

General Comment on 4:21b

In some languages, it may be more natural to change the order of some of the parts of 4:21b. For example:

What you have just heard me read has come true today. (Contemporary English 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.

5:9

For: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible and most English versions translate as For introduces the reason why Simon said what he did in 5:8. The miracle of the large catch of fish showed Simon that he was with a holy, powerful man from God.

his companions: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as his companions is literally “all the ones with him.” This refers to his fellow fishermen who were in his boat with him.

Some other ways to translate this are:

everyone who was with him (God’s Word)
-or-
the other fishermen (New Century Version)

astonished: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as astonished usually describes amazement and awe. It is used to describe someone who sees or experiences something very unusual. This unusual thing is often caused by divine power. The fishermen were very surprised, amazed, and even afraid. There was no way to explain the number of fish they had caught apart from a miracle.

Some other ways to translate this are:

amazed (God’s Word)
-or-
completely surprised (Contemporary English Version)

at the catch of fish they had taken: The fishermen were astonished that they had caught fish during the day. They were especially astonished that they had caught so many fish. You may want to make this explicit in your translation. For example:

at the large number of fish they had caught (Good News Translation)
-or-
at the catch of so many fish

at: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as at here means “because of” or “on the basis/account of.” It introduces the reason why Simon Peter and his companions were astonished.

the catch of fish they had taken: Here the word catch is a noun. This word means something that is caught or taken. So it may be redundant in some languages to translate explicitly the clause they had taken. If that is the true of your language, you could consider translating this simply as:

at their enormous catch of fish
-or-
that they had caught ⌊so many⌋ fish

© 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.

6:2a

But some of the Pharisees asked: This is the first time that the Pharisees are mentioned in this story. In some languages, it will be more natural to introduce the Pharisees in a separate sentence. The context implies that the Pharisees were close enough to see what the disciples were doing.

Some ways to translate this are:

Some Pharisees were there. They said/asked…
-or-
There were some Pharisees ⌊who saw what they did⌋. They asked…
-or-

⌊When⌋ some Pharisees ⌊saw what they did,⌋ ⌊they⌋asked…

the Pharisees: The Pharisees were a Jewish religious group or party. It was very important to them to obey all of the Jewish religious laws very carefully and in detail. Some ways to translate Pharisees are:

• Transliterate the word Pharisees according to the sounds of your language and indicate that it refers to a group of people. For example:

Farisi members
-or-
Parise adherents

• Transliterate the word Pharisees and indicate that it refers to a group of people with certain beliefs. For example:

people belonging to the Farise religious sect/group
-or-
members of the Jewish group called the Farasi

You should translate this word in the same way as you did in 5:30a and 5:33b.

6:2b

Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?: This is a rhetorical question. The Pharisees accused the disciples of breaking a law and rebuked them for it. In their opinion, the disciples were breaking the Sabbath rules.

Some ways to translate this rebuke and accusation are:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

Why are you doing what our Law says you cannot do on the Sabbath? (Good News Translation)
-or-
Why are you breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath? (New Living Translation (2004))

• As an exclamation. For example:

You shouldn’t be doing that! It’s against the law to work by harvesting grain on the Sabbath. (New Living Translation (1996))

• As a rhetorical question and an exclamation. For example:

Why are you picking grain on the Sabbath? You’re not supposed to do that! (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Why are you breaking our laws? You are working on the Sabbath day!

Translate this accusation and rebuke in a way that is natural in your language.

you: The word you here is plural. The disciples were the ones eating the grain. So the Pharisees asked them this question. However, Jesus was part of the group too. So the Pharisees were also asking Jesus this question as well. If your language allows it, use a plural form that can include both the disciples and Jesus.

doing what is unlawful: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as unlawful means “not permitted ⌊by the law⌋.” The Pharisees did not want the disciples to pick the grain and rub it. They considered these actions to be harvesting and threshing grain. That was work. Therefore, they believed that the disciples were breaking the law about not working on the Sabbath day.

Some other ways to translate this are:

breaking the law (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
doing something that is not right to do (God’s Word)
-or-
doing what the Law forbids men to do (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

The Pharisees were not accusing the disciples of taking grain that belonged to someone else. (The Law of Moses permitted this. See Deuteronomy 23:25.) This should be clear from the context. But you may want to explain this in a footnote. For example:

Jewish law allowed someone to pick small amounts of grain from another person’s field (Deuteronomy 23:25). So the disciples were not stealing. The Pharisees were accusing them of doing the work of harvesting. The Law of Moses required that no one should work on the Sabbath day.

© 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.

6:34a–b

And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you?: This is the third rhetorical question. Jesus used this rhetorical question to emphasize that you will not receive any credit in this situation. He said that when you lend only to those who can repay you, it is no credit to you.

Translate this emphasis using the same form (question or statement) that you used for the two previous rhetorical questions in 6:32–33.

6:34a

you lend: In some languages, it may be necessary to supply an object for lend. For example:

you lend money (Contemporary English Version)

to those from whom you expect repayment: The phrase those from whom you expect repayment refers to people whom you hope/expect will repay you. Some other ways to translate this are:

only to someone you think will pay you back (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
only to those who can repay you (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
always hoping to get something back (New Century Version)

6:34b

what credit is that to you?: This is the same clause as 6:32a–b.

General Comment on 6:34a–b

In some languages, it may be natural to change the order of 6:34a and 6:34b. For example:

34bWhat credit/praise do you deserve 34afor lending to people whom you expect to repay you?

6:34c

Even sinners lend to sinners: This sentence gives the reason why there is no credit in lending money to people who will repay you. Sinners also lend money to those who will fully repay them. This is not exceptional, and it does not cause a person to deserve special favor. Connect 6:32c to 6:32b in the same way that you connected 6:32c to 6:32a–b.

expecting to be repaid in full: The phrase expecting to be repaid in full is literally “that they may receive in return the equal.” It means “expecting to get back what they loaned.” Some other ways to translate this are:

and expect to get their money back (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
because they think they will get it all back (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
to get back the same amount (Good News Translation)
-or-
for a full return (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.

7:17

And the news about Jesus spread: The phrase the news about Jesus spread means that people went and told many other people what Jesus had done. More and more people learned that Jesus had raised the young man from the dead.

throughout Judea: In this context the word Judea probably includes all the country of the Jews including Galilee and Judea. You could translate this as:

the region of/called Judea
-or-
the country/land of the Jews

all the surrounding region: The phrase the surrounding region refers to the land surrounding the region of Judea. Another way to translate this could be:

throughout Judea and all the land/places around it

© 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.

7:49a

But: This verse begins with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “and.” Many English versions do not use a conjunction here. Other versions use various conjunctions to connect the verses: “And” (King James Version), “Then” (Revised Standard Version), and “But” (New Revised Standard Version). This verse tells the reaction of the guests to the statement in 7:48. It comes between two things that Jesus said to the woman in 7:48 and 7:50. Connect these verses in a way that is natural in your language.

those at the table began to say to themselves: This clause introduces the question in 7:49b. There are two ways to interpret the Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as say to themselves here:

(1) It refers to thoughts. The guests thought about the question in 7:49b without speaking out loud. For example:

say to themselves (Good News Translation)

(Berean Standard Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Good News Translation, New American Standard Bible, King James Version, Revised English Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, God’s Word)

(2) It refers to spoken words. The guests spoke to each another about the question in 7:49b. For example:

saying to one another (Contemporary English Version)

(Revised Standard Version, New International Version, NET Bible, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version, New Century Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This view is favored by the majority of Bible scholars. The same Greek expression is used in 7:39a, where it is clear that the thought was not spoken aloud. Some other ways to translate this are:

asked themselves
-or-
thought (God’s Word)

those at the table: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as those at the table is literally “the ones who were reclining with (him).” This refers to the other men who were guests at the feast. Refer to them in a way that in natural in your language.

7:49b

Who is this who even forgives sins?: This is a rhetorical question. It does not imply that the people did not know who Jesus was. It expresses their surprise and disapproval that Jesus declared that the woman’s sins were forgiven. They believed that only God had the authority to forgive sins. There are two ways to translate this:

• As a rhetorical question that implies surprise or disapproval. For example:

Who does this man think he is, going around forgiving sins? (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
Who is this who dares to forgive sins? (Contemporary English Version)

• As an exclamation that implies surprise or disapproval. For example:

This man dares to say that he forgives sins! ⌊That is shocking!⌋
-or-
I cannot understand why/how this man says that he forgives sins!

The people who said this did not believe that Jesus had authority to forgive sins. You may need to make this explicit in your translation by saying something like:

Who is this man who claims the authority ⌊that only God has⌋ to forgive sins?
-or-
I am amazed/shocked that this man believes that he can even forgive sins!
-or-
This man does not have authority to forgive sins! ⌊Only God does.⌋

even: The word even emphasizes the greatness of the authority that Jesus was claiming. He claimed to have authority even to forgive sins. The people thought that only God had that authority, and to claim the authority to forgive sins was like claiming to be God. Since they did not believe that Jesus was God, they were offended. Some other ways to say this could be:

Who is this man who claims such ⌊divine⌋ authority as to forgive sins?
-or-
Who is this man who goes so far as to forgive sins?

© 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.

8:31

the demons: At this point, the pronoun in Greek switches from “he” to “they,” referring to the many demons who were speaking through the man. For clarity, the Berean Standard Bible translates this pronoun as the demons.

kept begging Jesus: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as kept begging means to “plead for” something. This word is used when a request is earnestly desired. The Greek verb form probably indicates repeated action. It implies that the demons begged Jesus many times. Some ways to translate this are:

begged him repeatedly (New International Version)
-or-
were now begging (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
were begging (New American Standard Bible)

not to order them to go into the Abyss: This request implies that the demons expected Jesus to command them to go into the Abyss. To obey this command, the demons would also have to leave the man. In some languages it may be natural to make this explicit. For example:

they begged him that ⌊after they left the man⌋ he would not order them to go into the Abyss

Abyss: The word Abyss is a transliteration of the Greek word abussos. It means a very deep pit, and it may imply a pit that has no bottom. Here this word refers to the place where unclean spirits are kept while waiting for their final punishment. The Jews thought of this place as being deep under the ground. Some ways you could translate this are:

the bottomless pit (God’s Word)
-or-
the prison for evil spirits
-or-
the place where God keeps evil spirits for punishment
-or-
the deep pit, where they would be punished (Contemporary English Version)

You may want to include a note to explain more about the Abyss. For example:

Jews believed that the place of the dead was deep underground. It was also the place where unclean spirits were kept while they waited for the day when God would punish them.

General Comment on 8:31

In some languages it may be best to translate the demons’ request in this verse as direct speech. For example:

they begged him repeatedly, “Do not send us(excl) into the Abyss!”

© 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.

Section 9:7–9

Herod was confused by the reports about Jesus

Herod the governor heard about the amazing things that Jesus and his apostles were doing. However, Herod did not know what that implied about the kind of person that Jesus was. People said that Jesus was a prophet who had become alive again (9:19), but they could not decide which prophet he was. Some people thought that Jesus was John the Baptizer. Herod had caused John to be executed, and he was confused about who Jesus was and how he got his power.

Some other headings for this section are:

Herod’s confusion about Jesus
-or-
Herod was worried

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 14:1–12 and Mark 6:14–29.

Paragraph 9:7–9

9:7a

When: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as When introduces a change of topic in this story. It does not refer to present time. Some English versions do not translate this word here. Some other ways to introduce the topic are:

When Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, heard about everything Jesus was doing (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Herod, the governor, heard about all the things that were happening (New Century Version)

Herod: This Herod was Herod Antipas. His father was Herod the Great.

the tetrarch: A tetrarch was the ruler or governor of a fourth part of a kingdom. When Herod the Great died, Caesar divided the land that he ruled. Caesar appointed some of Herod’s sons to rule different parts. Herod Antipas became the ruler of the province/district called Galilee.

The focus here is not on the meaning of the word tetrarch. For this reason, you may translate tetrarch in a general way. You may want to make “Galilee” explicit in order to distinguish this Herod from the other rulers in the New Testament who were also named Herod. For example:

Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Herod, the leader/governor ⌊of Galilee⌋
-or-
Herod ruled/governed ⌊the province called Galilee⌋.

The term tetrarch also occurred in 3:1c.

heard about all that was happening: The phrase heard about all that was happening indicates that Herod heard about all the amazing things that Jesus and his apostles were doing.

9:7b

This part of the verse expresses Herod’s reaction to the things that Jesus and his disciples were doing. Herod was perplexed. The next part of the verse (9:7c) gives the reason why he was perplexed. People were saying different things about Jesus, and Herod did not know which things were true. Express the connections in this verse in a natural way in your language. Here is one way to do this in English:

7aWhen Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard about all the things that were happening, 7bhe was very confused, 7cbecause some people were saying… (Good News Translation)

he was perplexed: The clause he was perplexed means “he (Herod) was puzzled.” Herod did not know what to think about Jesus. He was confused because people had different ideas about who Jesus was. In some languages you may have an idiom to express this kind of confusion. Other ways to translate the clause in English are:

He was very confused
-or-
He did not know what to think about it

9:7c

For: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For introduces the reason why Herod was perplexed. Different people were saying different things about Jesus.

some were saying that: The word some means “some people” and refers to the first of three different groups of people who had different ideas about who Jesus was.

John had risen from the dead: Some people said that Jesus was really John the Baptizer, who had become alive again. In some languages you may need to make the meaning more explicit. For example:

Some were saying that ⌊Jesus was⌋ John, who had been raised from the dead

The verb phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates with an active form, had risen, is passive in Greek. This indicates that John did not rise from the dead on his own. Someone raised him from the dead. In some languages it may be natural to use an active verb and say who did the action. For example:

⌊God⌋ had raised John from the dead

© 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.