Paragraph 23:55–56
23:55a
The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee: This phrase refers to the same women who were mentioned in 23:49. There the Berean Standard Bible refers to them as “the women who had followed Him from Galilee.” Refer back to them in the way that is natural in your language.
23:55b
followed: The verb followed indicates that the women accompanied Joseph when he went to the tomb in 23:53. In some languages it may be necessary to say explicitly where the women went, or where Joseph went. Some other ways to translate it are:
had followed Joseph ⌊to the tomb⌋
-or-
followed closely behind Joseph (God’s Word)
-or-
went with Joseph (Good News Translation)
23:55c
and they saw the tomb and how His body was placed: This clause indicates that the women went all the way to the tomb with Joseph and saw it. They also saw how Jesus’ body was laid in the tomb. The text does not necessarily imply that the women went into the tomb. It implies that the tomb was still open and the women were able to look inside and see Jesus’ body.
In some languages it may be necessary to say that the women arrived at the place where the tomb was before saying that they saw it. Notice that Joseph as well as the women arrived and saw the tomb. Luke mentioned only the women because they are in focus here. The women observed the location of the tomb carefully because they planned to return to it on Sunday morning.
Some other ways to translate the clause are:
⌊When the women got there,⌋ they saw the tomb and how Jesus’ body was placed in it.
-or-
They observed the tomb and how his body was laid in it. (God’s Word)
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