8:28

This verse describes in more detail what the man did when he “met” Jesus. Some of the man’s actions, such as seeing Jesus and crying out, happened before he actually came and met Jesus.

The man did these actions himself, but it is clear that the demons in him caused him to fall at Jesus’ feet and shout. In some languages there may be a special way to describe actions that a person does when controlled by a spirit. If that is true in your language, consider whether you can use it here.

8:28a

This verse continues the action that was introduced in a general way in 8:27b and followed by background information in 8:27c–e. Languages have different ways to begin the action of a story again after giving background information. Use a natural way in your language to do that here.

In some languages you may need to give the information in a different order. See the General Comment on 8:27a–28a at the end of the notes on 8:28a for a suggestion on how to reorder the verses.

When the man saw Jesus: The demons living in the man realized who Jesus was. Mark 5:6 states that the man saw Jesus “from a distance.” That is probably the meaning here also. The man first saw Jesus from a distance. Then the demons recognized him and caused the man to cry out and come to where Jesus was.

he cried out: Here the man probably screamed or gave a cry that was noise, but not words. In 8:28b–c he shouted out words.

fell down before Him: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as fell down before Him means to kneel, bow, or lie flat in front of someone in order to show respect. It is common for someone to bow like this in order to plead for something. In this context, the man was under the control of an evil spirit. He knelt before Jesus because the evil spirit knew that Jesus’ power was greater than his.

See how you translated the similar expressions at 5:8b and 5:12c.

That the man bowed down in front of Jesus implies that he came to Jesus (and this was also said in 8:27b). In some languages, it may be natural to make this explicit. For example:

he came to Jesus and bowed down in front of him

General Comment on 8:27a–28a

In some languages, it may be more natural to tell the events in 8:27–28 in a different order or to give background information first. Here is one example:

27a
⌊On that side of the lake⌋ 27ba man who had an evil spirit was living. He was from the town there, 27ebut he now lived in the tombs ⌊near the lake⌋. 27dFor a long time, he had not lived in a house 27cor worn clothes. 27aAs Jesus was stepping ⌊out of the boat⌋ onto the land, 28athis man saw Jesus 27band came to meet him. 28aThe man cried out and knelt at Jesus’ feet.

8:28b

shouting in a loud voice: The phrase in a loud voice is an English idiom that means “very loudly.” The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as shouting in a loud voice is literally “he said with a great/loud voice.” In some languages it may be sufficient to say “he shouted.” Use a word that is natural in your language to describe a person shouting under the influence of a demon.

8:28c

What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?: The demons, speaking through the man, used both Jesus’ name and the title Son of the Most High God to address him. If this would not be natural in your language, you may need to use a different way to express the ideas. For example:

Jesus, Son of the Most High God! What do you want with me? (Good News Translation)
-or-
What do you want with me, Jesus? You are the Son of the Most High God!
-or-
You are Jesus, the Son of the Most High God! What do you want with me?

What do You want with me: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as What do you want with me is literally “What to me and to you?” This is an idiom. It means “What connection/relation do I have with you?”

This is a rhetorical question that implies “we have no connection/relation” or “we have nothing in common.” It also implies a request or rebuke, that is, “since we have nothing in common, you should not trouble me.” In this context, the demons, in fear or panic, were pleading with Jesus not to cause them to leave the man.

Here are some ways to translate this rhetorical question:

• As a question. For example:

What connection do we have with each other…?
-or-
Why are you troubling/disturbing me…?
-or-
Why are you interfering with me…?

• As a statement. For example:

We certainly do not have anything in common with one another…!
-or-
Do not trouble me…!
-or-
Leave me alone…! (NET Bible)

In some languages you may have an idiom that expresses this meaning. See how you translated the similar expression “What do You want with us…?” at 4:34a.

Son of the Most High God: The Bible uses the title Son to express the fact that Jesus has the same nature as God, and that he comes from God. See how you translated the expressions “the Son of the Most High” at 1:32b, “the Most High” in 1:35b, and “the Son of God” in 4:3a and 4:41b.

the Most High God: The phrase the Most High God is a title for God that is used several times in the Old and New Testaments. It indicates that God is greater and more powerful than any other god, being, or power that exists. The title does not refer to literal height or size. In some languages there may be a special way to indicate that a phrase like this is a title. The Berean Standard Bible has done this by using capital letters. Other ways to translate this include:

son of the Greatest God
-or-
son of God, the One who is more powerful than all other beings
-or-
Son of God, the God who is so great that no one is great like him

8:28d

I beg You: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as I beg You introduces a strong request. In some languages it may be translated with a word that means “please.”

not to torture me: Though this phrase is grammatically a command, it functions as a request or plea. Use the form in your language that is most natural for a plea. In this context, the word torture means “to punish with suffering and pain.” Some other ways to translate this are:

Do not punish me!
-or-
Do not torment me!
-or-
Do not cause me to suffer!

© 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.

9:4a–b

Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that area: The phrase Whatever house you enter refers to any house where the apostles were invited to stay as guests on their journey. Jesus told them that they should stay in that same home until they left that town. This implies that they should not go to other houses to look for a better place to stay.

In some languages it may be necessary to make explicit some of this information or to reorder some of the parts of this verse. For example:

Wherever you go, stay in the same house until you leave town (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
When you are welcomed into a home, stay there until you leave that town (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
When you arrive in a town and someone invites you to be his guest, stay at that person’s house until you leave that town

stay there: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as stay there means “stay there as a guest,” that is, sleep there at night. It does not imply that the disciples should stay inside the house and never go outside.

until you leave that area: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as until you leave that area is literally “and from there depart.” Several English versions translate the phrase that way. The Berean Standard Bible has supplied the words that area to make the meaning clear. Use a natural way to say this 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.

9:36a

After the voice had spoken: As in 9:35a, it may be necessary to say that it was God who had spoken. There may also be other ways to express this idea. For example:

When ⌊God⌋ had spoken
-or-
When the voice stopped (Good News Translation)

only Jesus was present with them: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as only Jesus was present with them is literally “Jesus was found alone.” This is a passive phrase. In this context, the word “found” indicates that Jesus was alone and that the disciples saw or recognized that. The disciples saw that Moses and Elijah had gone. Of the three, only Jesus was left. Other ways to translate this clause are:

they saw that Jesus was alone (God’s Word)
-or-
Peter, John, and James saw only Jesus

9:36b

The disciples kept this to themselves: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as kept this to themselves is literally “kept silent” in Greek. It does not mean that they did not speak at all. It means that the three disciples kept quiet about what had happened. They did not talk to anyone else about the amazing things they had seen. Your language may have an expression that describes not speaking about something specific. For example:

they held their peace

9:36c

in those days they did not tell anyone what they had seen: The phrase did not tell anyone what they had seen is literally “reported to no one…anything of what they had seen.” This statement repeats the same meaning as 9:36b. The repetition emphasizes the meaning that the disciples said absolutely nothing about this event.

This part of the verse adds the phrase in those days. This implies that later the disciples did tell others about what they had seen.

in those days: The phrase in those days refers to the remaining time of Jesus’ ministry on this earth. In the parallel verses in Matthew 17:9 and Mark 9:9, Jesus specifically ordered his disciples not to tell anyone about this until after he had risen from the dead. If it would be helpful to your readers, you may want to put this information in a footnote.

what they had seen: The phrase what they had seen includes all that the disciples had seen, heard, and experienced on the mountain. In some languages it may be necessary to make some of this information explicit. For example:

what they had seen ⌊and heard⌋

General Comment on 9:36b–c

Some other ways to translate 9:36b–c are:

Peter, John, and James said nothing and told no one at that time what they had seen. (New Century Version)
-or-
The disciples kept quiet about all this and told no one at that time anything they had seen. (Good News Translation)
-or-
The disciples kept these things that they had seen a secret. They did not say anything to anyone else.

© 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.

10:6a

If a man of peace is there: The clause If a man of peace is there refers primarily to the head or leader of the household. It means, “If the head of the household is a man of peace.” But this clause probably includes the other people who live in the house. For example:

If the people living there are peace-loving (Contemporary English Version)

a man of peace: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a man of peace is literally “a son of peace.” It refers to a person who seeks and loves peace. A person like this would desire to have peace with God and to experience his blessing. So the person would welcome the disciples into his home and receive what they taught.

In some languages, you may need to make some of this implied meaning explicit. For example:

loves peace and is willing to listen to you
-or-
desires to receive peace and blessing ⌊from God⌋
-or-
wants God to bless/proper him

your peace will rest on him: The phrase your peace means “the peace/blessing that you have spoken/requested from God.” The phrase will rest on him means that he will truly receive this peace/blessing. Some other ways to translate this whole clause are:

the peace that you asked God to give him will remain with him
-or-
your prayer for peace will bless them (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
God will prosper/bless him

10:6b

if not: The phrase if not is an ellipsis. The complete clause would be “if ⌊a man of peace is⌋ not ⌊there⌋.” This implies, “If the leader of the home does not receive you.” Here is a way to fill in the missing information:

But if they are not peace-loving (Contemporary English Version)

it will return to you: The clause it will return to you indicates that the family would not receive the blessing that the disciples spoke when they entered the home. It would be as if the disciples had never spoken the words of blessing. This phrase probably does not mean that the disciples would receive the blessing instead of the family. Other ways to translate this clause are:

he will not receive the blessing/peace you ⌊asked God to give him⌋
-or-

⌊God⌋ will not give it to him

© 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 10:38–42

Jesus visited Martha and Mary

Jesus and his disciples continued to travel from place to place. During their travels, Jesus went to the home of two sisters, Martha and Mary. Their brother was Lazarus. This short section shows how the two sisters considered different things to be important. It also tells what Jesus thought about those things.

Some other examples for section headings are:

Jesus’ Visit with Martha and Mary
-or-
At the Home of Martha and Mary (New International Version)

This story occurs only in Luke.

Paragraph 10:38–42

10:38a

As they traveled along: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as As they traveled along is literally “they were traveling/journeying.” In order to make the subject clear at the beginning of a new section, some versions (Good News Translation, New Century Version, New International Version, New Living Translation (2004)) say “Jesus and his disciples” here rather than “they.”

The phrase traveled along indicates that Jesus and his disciples continued to travel through various villages. They were going to Jerusalem (see 9:51 and 13:22), but that is not in focus here. If you need to specify where they were going, you may say “Jerusalem.” For example:

continued on their way to Jerusalem (New Living Translation (2004))

Jesus entered: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Jesus entered is literally “he entered.” Several English versions translate it that way. This phrase refers only to Jesus, since the focus of the story is on him. However, his disciples were probably still with him. Some ways to indicate this are:

• Use a plural form like “they.” For example:

they arrived/entered/came

• Use a singular form like “he,” but also mention the disciples. For example:

Jesus, accompanied by his disciples, continued to travel until he arrived in a certain village.

Try to use a natural way in your language to keep the focus on Jesus. But you should not imply that Jesus left the disciples outside the village while he entered.

a village: This village was probably Bethany (see John 11:1 and 12:1–3). You may give the name of this village in a footnote along with the cross-references from John. However, it is not recommended that you supply the name in the text.

10:38b

where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home: In some languages it may be necessary to start a new sentence here and supply the information that Martha lived in this village. For example:

A woman named Martha ⌊lived there, and she⌋ welcomed him into her home.

Martha welcomed Him into her home: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as welcomed Him into her home means that she offered food and lodging for the night to Jesus and probably to all his disciples that were traveling with him. Here are some other ways to translate this:

gave/offered him food and lodging at her house
-or-
welcomed him ⌊and his traveling companions⌋ to stay/lodge/sleep at her house for the night
-or-
received him as a guest in her home, ⌊together with his disciples⌋

© 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.

11:28

But: This verse begins in Greek with a conjunction that connects the woman’s statement in 11:27b with Jesus’ contrasting statement in 11:28. Some English versions (God’s Word, New International Version, New Living Translation (2004)) do not translate this conjunction, but most versions do translate it as “but” in order to show the contrast. For example:

But Jesus answered (Good News Translation)

Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it: The basic meaning of Jesus’ answer is that there is a greater blessing than being the mother of the Messiah. That greater blessing comes from listening to God’s message and obeying it. Another way to translate this is:

But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice. (New Living Translation (2004))

Some other ways to translate this are:

That’s true, but the people who are really blessed are the ones who hear and obey God’s message! (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Yes, but if you listen to God’s message and obey it, you are even more fortunate/privileged!

Blessed: See the note on Blessed at 11:27b and see bless, Meaning 3, in the Glossary.

rather: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as rather introduces a correction of what the woman had said. Jesus did not say that what the woman said was false, but he stated that there was something even more important.

In some languages, there are different ways of respectfully correcting or partially disagreeing with what another person has said. Notice that some English versions introduce Jesus’ answer with an affirmative, others with a negative. For example:

That’s true, but… (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
No, happy are those who… (Revised English Bible)

Consider how you would respectfully correct another person’s statement in your language.

the word of God: Here the word of God may refer to both the words/message that God communicated through Jesus and to the written Scriptures. Another way to translate this is:

God’s message (Contemporary English Version)

Try to translate this phrase in a way that will allow both meanings.

© 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.

12:38

Some versions, such as the New International Version, order this verse differently than the Greek text. In Greek it literally says:

And if in the second or even in the third watch of the night he comes and finds them ⌊watching⌋ thus, blessed are those ⌊servants⌋.

The Berean Standard Bible follows this order. Use a natural order in your language.

12:38a

Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night: The phrase second or third watch of the night refers to two periods of guard duty that lasted from near midnight until some time before dawn. During this time it would be increasingly difficult for the servants to keep awake.

If you have natural expressions in your language to refer to periods of guard duty during the night, you may use them here. Otherwise, you may use more general expressions of time. For example:

during the middle of the night, or near dawn (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
even if it is midnight or later (New Century Version)

12:38b

finds them alert: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as finds them alert is literally “finds thus.” The word “thus” refers back to 12:37a, where it makes explicit that the servants were awake and waiting for the master. Other ways to translate this are:

ready (New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
still waiting (New Century Version)
-or-
awake (Revised English Bible)

In some languages it may not be natural to repeat so soon the exact information that was given in 12:37a. Consider whether there is a natural way to indicate that something is being deliberately repeated for emphasis. One way to do this in English is:

⌊Yes,⌋ it will ⌊indeed⌋ be good for those servants whom the master finds watching like that!

See below for a suggestion on reordering these verses.

General Comment on 12:37–38

In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of information in these verses. For example:

37a/38aThose servants will be truly happy/fortunate when their master sees that they have been watching alertly for his return. 38bThey will be happy even if he returns in the middle of the night or later yet. 37bI assure you that their master will change his clothes. 37cHe will then have his servants sit down and serve them a meal.

Notice that in this example the statements in 12:37a and 12:38a have been combined to avoid repetition. This is a good option if the repetition is not natural 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.