5:22a
A synagogue leader named Jairus: This phrase introduces Jairus as a new character in the story. Consider how to introduce him in a natural way in your language.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
There was a man named Jairus who was one of the local synagogue elders. He also came there.
-or-
There was a man in the crowd who was one of the synagogue officials. His name was Jairus.
A synagogue leader: Each synagogue had one leader or more. These men were responsible to take care of the synagogue building and arrange the synagogue activities and services. Jairus was one of the men who was responsible for this at the synagogue in the town where Jesus was.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
one of the elders of the local synagogue
-or-
one of the men who was a leader at the synagogue in that town
If you are using footnotes for background information, you might use one here. For example:
Each synagogue had one or more leaders. These men were not priests or rabbis. They were responsible for taking care of the synagogue building and for arranging the worship services and other activities at the synagogue.
synagogue: A synagogue was a building where Jews gathered to pray, read scripture, teach their beliefs, and worship. The Jews also used the synagogue as a place to gather for cultural activities. There was only one temple (in Jerusalem), but each Jewish community had a synagogue.
Here are some other ways to translate synagogue:
prayer-house of the Jews
-or-
meeting-place of the Jews
-or-
worship building
-or-
house for gathering together
If you make explicit a phrase such as “of the Jews,” be sure that it does not imply that Jesus was not a Jew.
If the word synagogue is already known in your area, you may write it according to the sounds of your language. You may want to include a word or phrase to explain the meaning. For example:
sinagog house/building
Refer to how you translated this term at 1:21b. See synagogue in the Glossary.
arrived: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as arrived is literally “comes.” Using the present tense was a way of introducing an important new event. This word indicates here that Jairus came to the place where Jesus was, near the lake. Probably he went there because he wanted to speak to Jesus.
5:22b
seeing Jesus: The phrase seeing Jesus indicates when Jairus knelt down before him. One way to express the meaning of this phrase is as the Good News Bible has done:
when he saw Jesus
he fell at His feet: The phrase he fell at His feet means that Jairus knelt in front of Jesus and lowered his face to the ground. It does not mean that he fell accidentally. Bowing down like this was a way to show respect and honor to someone of high position. See how you translated the similar expressions at 3:11b and 5:6b.
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