8:38a

The man whom the demons had left: Refer to this man here in a natural way in your language. See how you translated the similar phrase at 8:35c–d. In some languages it may be appropriate to use a shorter expression here than in earlier occurrences. See the note on “the demon-possessed man” at 8:36b.

begged to go with Jesus: The man who had been freed from demons wanted to go with Jesus and be his follower. In some languages it may be more natural to translate the man’s request as direct speech. For example:

The man…begged, “Please let me go with you(sing).”

begged: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as begged refers to making a strong or urgent request. The man very much wanted to go with Jesus.

to go with Jesus: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to go is literally “to be.” Use the verb that is natural in your language in this context. It should imply that the man wanted to remain with Jesus as his disciple. Some ways to say this in English are:

go with him
-or-

be with him
-or-

stay with him

Jesus: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates with the name Jesus is literally the pronoun “him.” This pronoun refers to Jesus. The man was asking if he himself could go with Jesus. He was not asking Jesus to go with him. If translating this as something like “if he could go with him” would be unclear in your language, you may wish to use the name Jesus here in your translation.

8:38b

But He sent him away: Jesus’ response here contrasts with the man’s request in 8:38a. Jesus did not agree to let the man go with him. Instead, he sent him on a mission back to his own people and area. In some languages, you may want to make explicit that Jesus did not accept his request. For example:

⌊But Jesus did not let him.⌋ Instead, he sent him away…

Notice that here sent him away does not indicate any bad feeling such as rejection or anger.

He sent him: If you did not use the name “Jesus” in 8:38a, you may wish to use it here, as many English versions do, to avoid the misunderstanding that the man sent Jesus away. Refer to Jesus here in a natural way in your language.

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