Paragraph 18:40–43

18:40a

Jesus stopped: The phrase Jesus stopped indicates that Jesus stopped walking and stood still. The text implies that Jesus stopped because he heard the blind man shouting. In some languages it may be necessary to make that explicit. For example:

⌊When⌋ Jesus ⌊heard him, he⌋ stopped

and directed that the man be brought to Him: The verb be brought is passive. In some languages it is more natural to translate it as active. The text does not say whom Jesus expected to bring the man to him. If you must supply this information, you may use a general expression like “someone,” “them,” or “one of them.” For example:

Jesus…ordered ⌊someone⌋ to bring the man to him.
-or-
Jesus told ⌊them⌋ to bring/lead the man to him.

It may be more natural in some languages to translate this part of the verse as a direct quotation. For example:

Jesus said, “Bring(plur) the man to me.”

Because the man was blind, he needed someone to lead him to Jesus. Refer to this in a natural way in your language. For example:

Jesus ordered the man to be led to him
-or-
Jesus ordered ⌊someone⌋ to lead/help the blind man to come to him

18:40b–41a

When he had been brought near: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as When he had been brought near is literally “when he came near.” It indicates that the blind man came or went close to Jesus. The context implies that people led the blind man to Jesus, as Jesus told them to in 18:40a. Another way to translate this is:

When ⌊someone/they⌋ brought him to Jesus

Jesus asked him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”: The blind man had already asked Jesus to have mercy on him in 18:38. Now Jesus asked the man what kind of mercy or help he wanted.

In some languages it may be more natural to translate the question as indirect speech. For example:

Jesus asked him what help he wanted.

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