6:31

The Berean Standard Bible follows the Greek order of the phrases in 6:31. The New International Version changes the order. Compare the order of the phrases in the Berean Standard Bible and New International Version below.

31aAnd he said to them, 31b“Come with Me privately to a solitary place, 31cand let us rest for a while.” 31dFor many were coming and going, 31eand they had no leisure even to eat. (Berean Standard Bible)

31dThen, because so many people were coming and going 31ethat they did not even have a chance to eat, 31ahe said to them, 31b“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place 31cand get some rest.” (New International Version)

You should arrange the phrases in 6:31 in a way that is natural in your language.

6:31a

And: In Greek this verse begins with the common conjunction that is often translated as “and.” The Berean Standard Bible uses And as a transition word here and the New International Version uses “Then” as a transition word. In 6:30 the apostles came back to Jesus and reported what they had done. Here, the word And introduces what happened next in the story.

The Contemporary English Version uses “But” here to contrast Jesus and the apostles in 6:30 with all the people coming and going in 6:31.

Use a natural way in your language to make this transition and introduce the next event in the story.

He said to them: You may need to use a noun for one or both of the pronouns He and them. For example:

Jesus said to the apostles

6:31b

privately: Many people besides the twelve apostles were followers of Jesus. But the words privately make it clear that he was inviting just the small group of twelve, who especially needed some rest.

a solitary place: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a solitary place is literally “a lonely place” (as in the Revised Standard Version). This was a private or desolate area where there were no people. It was a place where Jesus and his followers could be alone and rest.

The Berean Standard Bible also translates this phrase as “a solitary place” in 1:35b. See how you translated it there.

6:31c

and let us rest for a while: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as let us rest for awhile means “rest for a little while.” This phrase shows the purpose for which Jesus invited the twelve to go away with him. You may need to make this clear by saying:

in order to rest a while

Notice that the Good News Bible has “you can rest a while.” In some languages it may be possible to use the pronoun “you(plur)” if it implies that Jesus was showing concern for his followers. It should not imply that Jesus intended to keep working or teaching while the apostles rested. In some languages it may be more natural to use the pronoun we(incl) to show that Jesus intended to rest along with the apostles.

6:31d

For many people were coming and going: The word For introduces the reason that Jesus told his apostles to get away and rest in 6:31d–e. It may be more natural in your language to follow the Greek order and give the reason (6:31a–b) after the result (6:31d–e). If so, you should follow the order of the Berean Standard Bible.

many people were coming and going: The clause many people were coming and going describes a state of constant activity. Many people were coming to see Jesus and the apostles. As they were leaving, there were always other people coming.

6:31e

and they did not even have time to eat: The clause they did not even have time to eat means that Jesus and his disciples did not have time to eat because they were too busy because of all the people who came to see them.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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