5:28

For: The word For in the Berean Standard Bible introduces the explanation for 5:27b. The woman touched Jesus’ cloak because she believed that this was all she needed to do in order to be healed. Use a natural way in your language to indicate that 5:28 is the reason for what the woman did in 5:27b.

she kept saying, “If only I touch His garments, I will be healed”: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as kept saying is literally “said.” This verb can refer to either spoken words or thoughts. The implication here is that the woman kept saying this to herself.

If you translate the words that follow as direct speech, be sure to use a verb that can introduce direct speech. In some languages it may be more natural to use indirect speech here. For example:

She thought that if she just touched his clothes, she would be healed.

only: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as only indicates here that the only thing the woman needed to do to be healed was to touch Jesus’ clothes. She believed that Jesus’ power was so great that even touching his clothes would be enough to heal her. It was not necessary to actually touch a part of his body.

garments: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as garments is the plural of the word that was translated as “cloak” in 5:27b. It refers to clothes in general.

healed: See the note on healed at 5:23d.

General Comment on 5:27–28

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

27aThe woman heard about Jesus, 28and she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 27bSo she came behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak.

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