2:10a
But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…: This clause expresses Jesus’ purpose for healing the paralytic. He wanted the teachers of the law and everyone else to know that he had the power or authority to forgive sins. In some languages it may be necessary to express this purpose as a complete sentence. For example, the Good News Bible says:
I will prove to you, then, that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.
Use a natural way in your language to express this.
But so that: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But so that introduces a purpose clause. There are several ways it can be translated. For example:
I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. (God’s Word)
-or-
I will show you that the Son of Man has the right to forgive sins here on earth. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
But to prove to you that the Son of man has authority to forgive sins on earth… (New Jerusalem Bible)
the Son of Man: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the Son of Man is literally “the Son of the human/person.” Jesus used this title to imply that:
(a) he was a true human being, and he represented all people.
(b) he came from God and had authority from God.
Try to use an expression that implies both meanings.
Here are some other expressions that translators have used:
the Man whom God Sent
-or-
the True Man from God/Heaven
-or-
the Representative of Mankind
-or-
The Older Brother of All People
In some cases, an unusual title may correctly suggest a deeper meaning. For example:
the Child of a Person
-or-
the One who was Born as a Human
Translators have also used expressions that are more literal. These more literal expressions may be appropriate where readers are familiar with a literal title in another version.
In some languages it may be necessary to use a form like “I” or “me” to indicate that Jesus was referring to himself. For example:
me, the Son of Man
-or-
who became man/human
on earth: The phrase on earth emphasizes Jesus’ authority to forgive sins here on earth. The people listening to Jesus already knew that God had this authority in heaven.
to forgive sins: In this context the phrase to forgive sins refers to canceling people’s offenses so that God will not punish them for those offenses. See the notes on 2:5c and 1:4d.
General Comment on 2:10a
The Berean Standard Bible uses an ellipsis mark (…) to indicate that Jesus did not end his sentence. Instead he began to talk to the paralytic. Some English versions use a dash to indicate this. Other versions make Jesus’ words a complete sentence. For example, the New Living Translation says:
So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.
Express this part of the verse in a natural way in your language.
2:10b
He said to the paralytic: This part of the verse introduces what Jesus said to the paralytic. He turned from talking to the teachers of the law in 2:10a to speaking to the paralytic in 2:10c. The way you translate this depends partly on the way you translate 2:10a.
Here are some examples from English versions:
Then he said to the paralyzed man (God’s Word)
-or-
So he said to the paralyzed man (Good News Bible)
-or-
—he turned to the paralysed man—(Revised English Bible)
Connect 2:10b with 2:10a in a natural way in your language.
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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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