13:2a–b

Such large crowds gathered around Him that He got into a boat: The reason that Jesus got into a boat was because a large group of people gathered around him. He got into a boat so he could better speak to all the people.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
He got into a boat because a very large crowd had gathered
-or-
The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat (Good News Translation)

large crowds: The plural large crowds indicates that the size of the crowd was very large.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

a very large crowd
-or-
very many people

He got into a boat: Jesus entered a boat so he could more easily speak to the large crowds. In this way more people could hear him. He did not get into a boat to flee from the crowd. In some languages, it may be necessary to make some of this information explicit. For example:

he entered a boat ⌊to more easily speak to the crowd⌋

got: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as got is a specific verb for entering a boat. Here are some other ways to say this:

entered
-or-
descended into
-or-
stepped/climbed into

You should use whichever verb is appropriate in your language for entering a boat.

boat: This word probably refers to a wooden boat used for fishing. It may or may not have had sails. It was probably big enough for eight to twelve people to sit inside.

sat down: As in 13:1b, Jesus sat down to teach the people. In some languages, it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

sat down ⌊to teach⌋

13:2c

while: This conjunction indicates that the crowd stood on the shore at the same time as Jesus was in the boat.

Here is another way to translate this:

and

all the people: This phrase refers to everyone in the large crowds of 13:2a.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

the entire crowd (God’s Word)
-or-
all the people (New International Version)

shore: This word describes the land close to the edge of a lake or sea. The people stood on the land next to the lake.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

beach (English Standard Version)
-or-
beside/near the water

-or-

at the edge of the water

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