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OET (OET-LV) And amazement became on all, and they_were_conversing_with to one_another saying:
What is the this message, that with authority and power he_is_commanding to_the unclean spirits, and they_are_coming_out?
OET (OET-RV) This amazed everyone and they started asking each other, “What is this command that has such authority and power that he orders evil spirits around and they come out?”
In Nazareth, people did not believe that Jesus was sent by God. In this section, Jesus went back to Capernaum (4:23d). Apparently, the people in Capernaum accepted him. There he commanded a demon to come out of a man. The people were amazed at both the authority and the power with which Jesus spoke.
Some other possible headings for this section are:
Jesus Forces an Evil Spirit out of a Man (GW)
Jesus exorcises an evil spirit
There is a parallel passage for this section in Mark 1:21–28.
All the people were overcome with amazement
All the people there were amazed/astonished,
This miracle amazed all the people.
All the people: The Greek word that the BSB translates as All the people is literally “all.” It refers to all the people in the synagogue who had just seen this miracle.
were overcome with amazement: The Greek word that the BSB translates as with amazement also means “astonished.” The people were amazed and astonished that the demon came out of the man without injuring him. They were also amazed that Jesus had the authority and power to command demons and make them leave.
In some languages, it may be necessary to say what had caused the people to be amazed. For example:
All the people were amazed at this
This miracle amazed all the people
and asked one another,
and they asked each other,
They talked to each other and said,
and asked one another: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as and asked one another is literally “and they were talking to one another saying.” Some other ways to translate this are:
They talked to each other and said
They discussed this among themselves and said
If you translate 4:36c as a question, it may be necessary to translate the Greek word “saying” as asked, as the BSB does. For example:
and asked one another
“What is this message?
“What are these words?
“What’s happening here? (NET)
“These are surprising words!
What is this message?: When you translate this clause, there are two issues to consider.
Interpretation issue: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as What is this message? is literally “What is this word?” In this context, there are several ways to interpret the word “word”:
It refers to all Jesus’ words. This includes both his command (in 4:35a) and his teaching (in 4:32b). For example:
What is there in this man’s words? (REB) (NET, NCV, REB)
It refers primarily to Jesus’ word/command in 4:35a that forced the demon to leave the man. For example:
What kind of command is this? (GW) (GW)
It refers primarily to the word/teaching in 4:32b, or his teaching in general. For example:
What kind of teaching is this? (CEV) (BSB, CEV, NIV)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).
Rhetorical question: This clause is a rhetorical question. It expresses surprise. It does not mean that the people did not understand what Jesus said.
Some ways to translate this are:
As a rhetorical question. For example:
What is there in this man’s words? (REB)
What’s happening here? (NET)
As a statement. For example:
These are surprising/amazing words!
Use whichever form is most natural in your language to express surprise of this type.
With authority and power He commands the unclean spirits,
He orders/commands the evil spirits to come out with authority and power,
He has so much power and authority that when he orders evil spirits to come out,
In Greek, 4:36d begins with a conjunction that Luke used to introduce the reason for the people’s surprised question in 4:36c. Some English versions, such as the RSV, translate this conjunction as “for.” The BSB and many other English versions do not translate this conjunction. You should introduce 4:36d in a way that is natural in your language.
With authority and power He commands the unclean spirits: The two Greek words that the BSB translates as authority and power are similar in meaning. The word authority refers to the right or privilege to say or do something. The word power refers to being able to do something. The people saw that Jesus had both authority to command the demon and power to force him to obey his command.
Some other ways to translate this are:
He has the right and the strength to command evil spirits to leave
He is stronger than evil spirits, and he has the right to order them to come out
If your language would not use nouns like authority and power here, you can say:
The evil spirits must obey him because he is greater and stronger than they are.
He commands the unclean spirits: The phrase He commands the unclean spirits means that Jesus commanded evil spirits to leave the people whom they were possessing. In some languages, it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:
he orders evil spirits to come out of people
the unclean spirits: The Greek word that the BSB here translates as unclean spirits is sometimes translated as “evil spirits” (GW, GNT, NLT). The terms unclean spirits, evil spirits, and demons all refer to the same beings. You may use the same term here as in 4:33a. See also demon in the Glossary.
and they come out!”
and they come out of people!”
they obey him and leave people!”
and they come out: The evil spirits had to come out of people when Jesus commanded them. They did not want to, but they had to obey Jesus. In some languages, it may be necessary to make it explicit that the evil spirits came out because Jesus told them to. For example:
and they obey him and come out of people
Another way to connect the information in 4:36d–e is:
He speaks with such authority and power that even evil spirits obey him and leave when he orders them!
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / personification
ἐγένετο θάμβος ἐπὶ πάντας
became amazement (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἐγένετο θάμβος ἐπί πάντας καί συνελάλουν πρός ἀλλήλους λέγοντες Τίς ὁ λόγος οὗτος ὅτι ἐν ἐξουσίᾳ καί δυνάμει ἐπιτάσσει τοῖς ἀκαθάρτοις πνεύμασιν καί ἐξέρχονται)
Luke speaks of astonishment as if it were something that actively came upon the people. Alternate translation: [they were all amazed]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
τίς ὁ λόγος οὗτος
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἐγένετο θάμβος ἐπί πάντας καί συνελάλουν πρός ἀλλήλους λέγοντες Τίς ὁ λόγος οὗτος ὅτι ἐν ἐξουσίᾳ καί δυνάμει ἐπιτάσσει τοῖς ἀκαθάρτοις πνεύμασιν καί ἐξέρχονται)
Luke uses the term word to describe the things that Jesus taught by using words. Alternate translation: [What is this teaching] or [What is this message]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion
τίς ὁ λόγος οὗτος
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἐγένετο θάμβος ἐπί πάντας καί συνελάλουν πρός ἀλλήλους λέγοντες Τίς ὁ λόγος οὗτος ὅτι ἐν ἐξουσίᾳ καί δυνάμει ἐπιτάσσει τοῖς ἀκαθάρτοις πνεύμασιν καί ἐξέρχονται)
The people are making a statement, not asking a question. They do not expect anyone to explain what Jesus’ teaching is. Instead, they are using the question form to express how amazed they are that Jesus has the authority to command demons to leave a person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate their words as a statement or exclamation. It may be helpful to make this a separate sentence. Alternate translation: [This is a powerful message!]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet
ἐν ἐξουσίᾳ καὶ δυνάμει ἐπιτάσσει τοῖς ἀκαθάρτοις πνεύμασιν
with authority (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἐγένετο θάμβος ἐπί πάντας καί συνελάλουν πρός ἀλλήλους λέγοντες Τίς ὁ λόγος οὗτος ὅτι ἐν ἐξουσίᾳ καί δυνάμει ἐπιτάσσει τοῖς ἀκαθάρτοις πνεύμασιν καί ἐξέρχονται)
The words authority and power mean similar things. The people use the two terms together to emphasize what great control Jesus has over unclean spirits. If it would be helpful in your language, you could combine these terms in a single phrase that would similarly express this emphasis. Alternate translation: [he has complete authority over the unclean spirits]
4:36 What authority and power this man’s words possess! Magicians and exorcists often used elaborate rituals and incantations. The people were amazed that Jesus merely spoke a word on his own authority and cast out the demon.
OET (OET-LV) And amazement became on all, and they_were_conversing_with to one_another saying:
What is the this message, that with authority and power he_is_commanding to_the unclean spirits, and they_are_coming_out?
OET (OET-RV) This amazed everyone and they started asking each other, “What is this command that has such authority and power that he orders evil spirits around and they come out?”
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.