3:35

For whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother.”: In this verse Jesus explained what he meant by his statement in 3:34b. Jesus indicated that he considers every person who obeys God to be a member of his family.

In some languages it may be necessary to make explicit that this verse further explains the meaning of 3:34b. For example:

What I mean is that whoever does God’s will…
-or-
because those who do what God wants…

the will of God: The phrase the will of God refers to whatever God wants us to do.

Here is another way to express this:

does what God wants him to do

My brother and sister and mother: The terms brother, sister, and mother indicate very close relationships in a family. Consider which kinship terms in your language are appropriate to use here for these close relationships. For example:

my siblings and mother

If you must specify between older and younger brothers and sisters, you should use the word “younger.” For example:

my younger brother and younger sister and mother

General Comment on 3:34b–35

The English versions translate 3:34b–35 with a direct quotation. In some languages, it may be more natural to express this as an indirect quotation. For example:

Jesus said that those sitting around him were his real mother and brothers. His real mother and sister and brother were those who did what God wanted them to do.

Paragraph 4:1–9

4:1a

Once again: The phrase Once again indicates that this occasion was another time that Jesus taught by the lake. Previous occasions are mentioned in 2:13 and 3:7–12. The events in this section may have taken place later on the same day as the events in 3:7–12. Use whatever is most natural in your language to indicate that Jesus had taught by the lake before. For example:

Again (New International Version)
-or-
Another time
-or-
Then once again (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

Jesus began to teach: In some languages it may be more natural to supply an object for the verb teach. In other words, it may be more natural to say whom Jesus taught or what Jesus taught. For example:

Jesus began to teach the people
-or-
Jesus began to teach the good news

In some languages it may be natural to supply both whom Jesus taught and what he taught. For example:

Jesus began to teach the good news to the people

beside the sea: Jesus taught the people beside or “by” the sea. In some languages, it will be more natural to indicate that Jesus taught on the land or shore beside the lake. For example:

by the lakeshore (New Living Translation)
-or-
by the lakeside (Revised English Bible)

the sea: The phrase the sea here refers specifically to the Lake of Galilee. If people in your area refer to lakes by their names, you may want to include the name. For example, the Good News Bible says:

Lake Galilee (Good News Bible)

sea: Here, sea refers to a large body of water that is smaller than an ocean but wider than a river. For example, the New International Version translates this word as “lake.” This body of water contains fresh water rather than salt water.

If you do not have a word for lake, here are some other ways to translate it:

body of water
-or-
wide pond/river

See how you translated this word in 1:16a.

General Comment on 4:1a

The context implies that Jesus left the house (3:20) and went to the sea. It may be more natural in your language to include a verb of motion. For example:

Again Jesus went to the sea and began to teach.

4:1b–c

In Greek, 4:1b begins with the conjunction that is usually translated “and” (as in the Berean Standard Bible). You should connect 4:1a and 4:1b in the way that is natural in your language.

such a large crowd gathered around Him that He got into a boat: 4:1b gives the reason for 4:1c.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

1bThe crowd that gathered around him was very large, 1cthat is the reason why he got into a boat.
-or-
1bThe crowd that gathered around him was very large, 1cso he got into a boat.
-or-
1cJesus got into a boat 1bbecause of the large crowd that gathered around him.

crowd: The word crowd refers to a large group of people.

He got into a boat: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as got is a specific verb for entering a boat.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

he entered a boat
-or-
he descended into a boat
-or-
he stepped/climbed into a boat

You should use whichever verb is appropriate in your language for entering a boat.

As in 3:9, Jesus probably got into a boat so that the crowd of people would not crush him.

boat: This boat was probably a wooden boat used for fishing. It was probably big enough for several people to sit inside.

If you do not have a word for boatin your language, some ways to translate it are:

• Use a phrase that describes the function of a boat. For example:

a vehicle for crossing water
-or-
something for carrying people on top of water

• Use the word for a specific kind of boat in your culture. For example:

canoe

The same word also occurs in 1:19c.

4:1d

sat in it: The pronoun it refers to the boat. Jesus sat in the boat upon one of the wooden boards/seats laid across it from side to side. In this context, your language may use a different word than in. For example:

sat to teach upon the boat

in it: The phrase in it indicates that the boat was in the water while Jesus was sitting in it. Jesus probably got into the boat while it was on land. Then some men pushed the boat into the water a short distance from the shore.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

in it and went out on the lake
-or-
in the boat and asked some men to move the boat out into the water
-or-
in it. The boat was out on the lake

General Comment on 4:1c–d

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine 4:1c and 4:1d as follows:

he got into and sat down in a boat

4:1e

all the people crowded: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as all the people is literally “all the crowd.” This phrase refers to the same crowd as in 4:1b. The verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as crowded is literally “was.” It is general in meaning and does not indicate whether the people stood or sat. They probably stood (see Matthew 13:2). The Good News Bible says:

the crowd stood

The implied purpose for the people crowding along the shore was to listen to Jesus. It may be more natural in your language to include the purpose here. For example:

the crowd stood to listen

along the shore: The Greek text that the Berean Standard Bible translates as along the shore is literally “at the sea on the land.” These two phrases indicate that the crowd was near the shore but not in the water. For example, the New Century Version has:

on the shore close to the water

In some languages, one phrase may be sufficient to express the proper meaning. For example:

along the shore (New Living Translation, 1996 edition)
-or-
on the shore (Contemporary English Version)

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