9:42a

Even while the boy was approaching: The Berean Standard Bible has supplied the phrase the boy. The Greek text says “While he was coming,” and several English versions translate the phrase that way. Your translation should clearly indicate that it was the son who was coming. It should also indicate clearly that he was coming to Jesus. Some ways to do this in English are:

Even while the boy was approaching ⌊Jesus⌋
-or-
But before the boy could reach him (Revised English Bible)

the boy: If you use a term such as the boy here, it should refer to a male probably less than thirteen years old and more than three years old.

9:42b

the demon slammed him to the ground in a convulsion: In Greek, the clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as slammed him to the ground in a convulsion is literally “the demon threw him down and convulsed him.” It means that the demon caused the boy to fall violently to the ground and to jerk around in a fit or convulsion. Other ways to translate this include:

the demon violently caused him to fall down and made him shake/jerk all over
-or-
the demon knocked the boy to the ground and threw him into convulsions (God’s Word)

demon: The word demon occurs in 9:1b. See the note there for information about translating this term.

9:42c

Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit: The clause Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit means that Jesus gave a stern command to the demon. It does not mean here that Jesus merely scolded the demon. Luke did not record what Jesus said, but it is clear from the parallel passages that Jesus commanded the unclean spirit to leave the boy. In some languages it may be necessary to make this information explicit. For example:

Jesus sternly commanded the evil spirit ⌊to leave the boy⌋

unclean spirit: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as unclean spirit refers to the same type of spirit as the terms “evil spirit” and “demon.” These terms all refer to a spirit that is evil and can control people’s actions.

See the note on 4:33a. You may translate unclean spirit the same way that you translated the word “demon” in 9:42b, or you may use a different term. Be sure to use an expression that clearly refers to the same being as the word “demon” in 9:42b.

If the term for “unclean spirit” is a single word in your language, you can omit the word for unclean. In other words, it is not necessary to say “unclean demon” if a demon is already unclean. Do not literally translate the words unclean and spirit unless this is a natural way in your language to refer to this type of being.

See the word demon in the Glossary.

9:42d

healed the boy: There are two ways to interpret the phrase healed the boy:

(1) Jesus healed the boy by casting out the demon. For example:

and ⌊thus⌋ healed the boy

(2) Jesus cast out the demon and also healed the boy of his injuries. For example:

He ⌊also/then⌋ healed the boy

The English versions are ambiguous. If possible, you should translate in a way that allows either meaning. If you cannot do this, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This interpretation is supported by a majority of scholars.

gave him back to his father: The phrase gave him back to his father means that Jesus led or presented the boy to his father. See the note on 7:15b.

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