15:23a

But: We would expect Jesus to respond to the woman’s request, but he did not.

Here is another way to introduce this unexpected response:

However

In some languages, it is not necessary to have a conjunction here. For example:

Jesus did not say a word. (Contemporary English Version)

Jesus did not answer a word: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible literally translates as answer indicates that Jesus did not respond to the woman. She did not ask Jesus a question. So, in some languages, a verb like “respond” is more natural here. For example:

he did not reply
-or-
Jesus gave her no reply (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Jesus did not say a word to her. (Good News Translation)

Jesus did respond to her later in 15:28. So here he was probably testing her faith or persistence. In some languages, it may be natural to say:

⌊At first,⌋ Jesus did not reply

15:23b

There is some implied information here. The disciples’ request indicates that the woman continued begging Jesus to have pity on her. In some languages, it may be natural to make this more explicit. For example:

But the woman kept following along and shouting (Contemporary English Version)

His disciples came: The disciples were already with Jesus. They did not come to him from a distance. In this context, the word came means that they approached Jesus to speak to him. Your translation should not imply that they came from a distance.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

his disciples came ⌊near⌋ to him
-or-
they approached him

and urged Him: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as urged also means “asked” or “begged.”

Here are some other ways to translate this verb:

and asked him (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
pleaded with him (New Jerusalem Bible)

15:23c

Send her away: The disciples used these words to politely ask Jesus to tell the woman to leave.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

Tell her to go away (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-

⌊Please⌋ send her away
-or-

⌊Lord,⌋ dismiss her

for: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for introduces the reason that the disciples want Jesus to send the woman away.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

because
-or-
The reason is that

In some languages, it is more natural to begin a new sentence without using a conjunction. For example:

She keeps shouting behind us. (God’s Word)

she keeps crying out after us: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as keeps crying out means “keeps shouting” or “keeps calling out with a loud voice.” (This same word occurs in 15:22b). It does not mean “was weeping.”

The word after implies that the woman was following Jesus and his disciples on the road. She continued to follow them and shout for Jesus to pity her. In some languages, it may be natural to make this explicit. For example:

She is following us and shouting (New Century Version)

General Comment on 15:23c

In some languages, it is more natural to change the order of the two clauses in 15:23c. For example:

She is following us and shouting, ⌊so⌋ send her away!

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