7:35a

Immediately: There is a textual issue here:

(1) Some Greek manuscripts have a word that means “immediately.” It occurs before “the man’s ears were opened.” The New International Version has:

At this…

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Good News Bible, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, New Living Translation, NET Bible, God’s Word, King James Version, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible)

(2) Other Greek manuscripts do not have this word that means “immediately.”

(Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible)

It is recommended that you follow option (1), since it has the majority of manuscript support. (UBS4 (pages 148–149), Swanson, page 116.) Also, most English versions follow this option.

the man’s ears were opened: In this context the man’s ears were opened is an idiom. It means “the man was able to hear.” Translate this phrase in a way that is natural for your language.

7:35b

his tongue was released: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as his tongue was released is literally “the bond of his tongue was loosened.” This phrase is an idiom. It means that the man became able to speak clearly. Translate this idiom in a natural way in your language.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

his speech defect was removed
-or-
he was able to move his tongue freely

and he began to speak plainly: The word and in the Berean Standard Bible introduces what happened when the man’s tongue was released. In some languages it may be more natural to express this event as a result. For example, the New Century Version has:

so that he spoke clearly

speak plainly: The phrase speak plainly contrasts with “could hardly talk” in 7:32. The man was completely healed. He could speak clearly so that those around him understood what he said.

Here are some other ways to translate speak plainly:

talk without any trouble (Good News Bible)
-or-
speak clearly (New Century Version)

Paragraph 7:36–37

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