5:14a

Those tending the pigs: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Those tending the pigs refers to men who took care of the pigs as their job. Some languages will have a specific word for “pig herders.” Because they have not been mentioned previously, you may need to introduce them in some way before you tell what they did. For example:

The herders of the pigs were there. They now ran…
-or-
Some men were there tending the pigs. They ran…

ran off: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as ran off means “they ran away” or “they fled.” The herdsmen ran away because they were frightened and upset by what had happened.

5:14b

reported this: The phrase reported this indicates that the herdsmen told people about what had happened.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

reported everything that had happened (God’s Word)
-or-
telling everyone about this (New Century Version)

in the town and countryside: The town is not identified by name. You could identify it as “the nearby town.” The countryside refers to the farms and small villages surrounding the town.

5:14c

and: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and connects 5:14b to 5:14c. In this context the people came to see Jesus as a result of the report spread by the herdsmen. So some English versions translate this conjunction as:

so (God’s Word)
-or-
then (New Revised Standard Version)

Connect 5:14c to 5:14b in a way that is natural in your language for this context.

the people went out: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the people went out is literally “they came.” It indicates that the inhabitants of the town and countryside left their homes and villages and went down to the lakeshore.

Be careful not to translate in a way that implies that the people only went outside their houses to see what had happened.

In some languages it will be more natural to supply a subject like “people” or “everyone,” as many English versions do.

went out to see what had happened: This phrase indicates that people left the places where they were in order to go and see what had happened. They wanted to see for themselves what the herdsmen had told them about. Compare 5:15a, which indicates that they arrived where Jesus was.

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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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