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OET (OET-LV) but having_been_terrified and having_become frightened, they_were_supposing to_be_observing a_spirit.
This section tells about another time when Jesus appeared to people after he rose from the dead. Jesus had already appeared to Simon (24:34) and to the two men on the road to Emmaus. In this section Jesus appeared to all eleven apostles and those who were with them. He ate with them and proved that he really was alive.
Some examples of other headings for this section are:
Jesus Appears to His Followers (NCV)
Jesus showed his followers that he was alive
There are parallel passages for this section in Mark 16:14, John 20:19–23, and Acts 1:4–5.
This verse tells the reactions of Jesus’ followers when he suddenly appeared to them. They did not rejoice immediately, because they were afraid. The reason for their fear was that they thought they were seeing Jesus’ ghost (24:37b). In some languages it is more natural to change the order of 24:37a and 24:37b so that the reason for the fear comes first. For example:
37bbut they thought he was a ghost, 37aso they were terrified
See the General Comment on 24:37a–b at the end of 24:37b for another example.
But they were startled and frightened,
They were alarmed and very frightened
His followers were afraid/terrified,
But: In Greek this verse begins with a conjunction that the BSB translates as But. It introduces how the disciples felt when Jesus appeared to them. Many English versions do not have a conjunction here. Do what is natural in your language. In some languages it may be natural to introduce the verse with a clause. For example:
When they saw him
they were startled and frightened: The Greek words that the BSB translates as they were startled and frightened are very similar in meaning. The Greek word for startled probably indicates that the disciples felt shocked when they saw Jesus so suddenly. The word for frightened refers to the fear that they felt because they thought that they were seeing a ghost. They did not realize that they were seeing the living Jesus himself.
Luke used these two words together to emphasize the disciples’ surprise and fear when Jesus suddenly appeared to them. In some languages it may be more natural to express their reaction in a different way. Some other ways to describe their reaction are:
And they were very much afraid
But they were startled and their fear was excessive
They were terrified
thinking they had seen a spirit.
because they thought that they were looking at a ghost/spirit.
for they thought/assumed that he was the spirit of a dead person.
thinking they had seen a spirit: The phrase thinking they had seen a spirit in the reason that the disciples were afraid. Another way to translate it is:
because they thought they were seeing a ghost (CEV)
Translate this reason in a natural way in your language.
thinking: The disciples were wrong in what they were thinking. Jesus was not a ghost, as they feared. In some languages it is good to use a word or phrase that implies a wrong thought or belief. For example:
assuming
wrongly thinking
a spirit: The Greek word that the BSB translates as a spirit refers to the spirit of a dead person. It does not refer here to an evil spirit. Use the appropriate word to refer to it in your language.
In this verse 24:37b is the reason for the result in 24:37a. In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of these clauses. For example:
37bBecause they thought he was a spirit, 37athey were startled and afraid.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result
πτοηθέντες & καὶ ἔμφοβοι γενόμενοι, ἐδόκουν πνεῦμα θεωρεῖν
˓having_been˒_terrified & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: πτοηθέντες δέ καί ἔμφοβοι γενόμενοι ἐδόκουν πνεῦμα θεωρεῖν)
If it would be helpful in your language, you could reverse the order of these phrases, since the second phrase gives the reason for the result that the first phrase describes. Alternate translation: [they thought they were seeing a spirit, and so they were frightened and became terrified]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
πτοηθέντες & καὶ ἔμφοβοι γενόμενοι, ἐδόκουν
˓having_been˒_terrified & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: πτοηθέντες δέ καί ἔμφοβοι γενόμενοι ἐδόκουν πνεῦμα θεωρεῖν)
If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning of the passive verbal form being frightened with an active form. Alternate translation: [they were afraid and became terrified, because they thought]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet
πτοηθέντες & καὶ ἔμφοβοι γενόμενοι
˓having_been˒_terrified & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: πτοηθέντες δέ καί ἔμφοβοι γενόμενοι ἐδόκουν πνεῦμα θεωρεῖν)
These expressions mean similar things. Luke may be using repetition for emphasis. Alternate translation: [becoming very frightened]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἐδόκουν πνεῦμα θεωρεῖν
˱they˲_˓were˒_supposing ˓a˒_spirit ˓to_be˒_observing
If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state explicitly why they thought this. Alternate translation: [they thought that they were seeing a ghost, because they did not yet understand truly that Jesus was alive again]
πνεῦμα
˓a˒_spirit
In this context, the term spirit refers to the spirit of a dead person. Alternate translation: [a ghost]
OET (OET-LV) but having_been_terrified and having_become frightened, they_were_supposing to_be_observing a_spirit.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.