Section 8:22–25

Jesus commanded a storm to stop and it obeyed him

In this section Jesus showed his disciples that he had authority over the wind and the sea. While Jesus and his disciples were crossing Lake Galilee in a boat, a strong wind began to blow. The wind caused big waves on the lake. The waves were big enough to come into the boat. The boat was about to sink, but Jesus spoke to the waves. Because Jesus had the authority to command them to stop, the wind and the waves stopped.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Some other possible headings for this section are:

Jesus calmed a storm ⌊on the lake⌋
-or-
Jesus stopped the wind and waves
-or-
A storm obeys Jesus

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 8:23–27 and Mark 4:35–41.

Paragraph 8:22–24b

8:22

The Berean Standard Bible uses a different order for this verse than the Greek text does. Other English versions follow the Greek order. For example:

22aOne day 22bhe got into a boat with his disciples, 22aand he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” 22bSo they set out… (Revised Standard Version)

It is recommended that you follow this order, as most English versions do. This order is indicated in the Display with alternate source lines for 8:22a and 8:22c.

8:22a

One day: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as One day is literally “one of the days.” It introduces a new event and indicates that it happened sometime during the same period of time as the preceding events. Some ways to translate this are:

At about that time
-or-
Around that time
-or-
on one of those days (New American Standard Bible)

Jesus said to His disciples: For help in translating the word disciples, see the note on disciples at 5:30a. See also disciple in the Glossary for more information.

Jesus: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Jesus is literally “he.” Many English versions translate it that way. Refer to Jesus in the most natural way in your language for this context.

8:22b

Let us cross to the other side of the lake: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Let us cross is a polite command or request. In this context Jesus was telling his disciples that he wanted to cross with them to the other side of the lake. Other ways to express this request are:

Let us cross over to the other side of the lake (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
Let’s cross the lake
-or-
I want us to go to the other side of the lake
-or-
We should go ⌊now⌋ to the other side of the lake

the other side of the lake: The word lake here refers to “Lake Galilee.” Luke refers to this lake as the “Lake of Gennesaret” or simply as “the lake.” See the note at 5:1a. Here Jesus and his followers were going from Capernaum on the northwest coast of the lake to the northeast coast.

8:22c

So: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as So is most often translated as “and.” The Berean Standard Bible and some other English versions use So because the disciples set out as a result of what Jesus said. Connect this verse to the context in a natural way in your language. If you use a conjunction such as “so” that indicates result, notice that it goes with the verb “set out.” It does not go with getting into the boat.

got into a boat with them: This boat was probably a fishing boat with sails and oars. It was probably about 9 meters long and 2.5 meters wide (30 feet long and 8 feet wide).

In some languages there may be a special verb for getting into a boat. For example:

boarded a boat

Remember that in the Greek order, the phrase got into a boat has already occurred in 8:22a. You do not need to translate this phrase twice in 8:22.

set out: The words set out indicate that the disciples began moving the boat across the lake. They probably put up a sail for the wind to move the boat.

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