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OET (OET-LV) And whenever the unclean spirit may_come_out from the person, it_is_passing_through through waterless places seeking rest and it_is_ not _finding.
OET (OET-RV) “Whenever an evil spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid lands looking for a place to rest, and doesn’t find any.
In this section, the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders increases. Jesus had already said several times that he was someone special. He said that he was greater than the temple (12:6). He said that he was Lord of the Sabbath (12:8). In this section, the religious leaders wanted to see a miraculous sign to confirm that he was really from God.
Jesus rebuked the religious leaders for asking for a sign, and he refused to give them an immediate sign. A sign would come later. It would be the sign of Jonah. By referring to the sign of Jonah, Jesus meant that he would be in the grave three days (12:40) before God resurrected him. He then told two stories and said that he was greater than Jonah and Solomon. Jesus warned them that if they did not recognize God’s work among them, they would be condemned.
Finally, Jesus told a story to warn the religious leaders of the spiritual dangers that faced them if they did not have the Holy Spirit in their lives.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
The religious leaders ask for a sign/miracle
The sign of Jonah
There is a parallel passage for 12:38–42 in Luke 11:29–32. There is a parallel passage for 12:43–45 in Luke 11:24–26.
This paragraph warns that removing evil from a person’s life is not enough. The person must also fill himself with good. The way that someone fills himself with good is not explicitly mentioned. The implied way is by following Jesus and having the Holy Spirit fill him.
Jesus used the present tense for all the verbs in 12:43–45. The present tense shows that this is a general example: these events commonly happen for this situation. Use the proper tense in your language to show that this is a general example.
When an unclean spirit comes out of a man,
¶ “When an evil spirit leaves a person,
¶ Jesus continued, “Suppose an evil spirit is forced to leave someone.
When an unclean spirit comes out of a man: An unclean spirit would not normally “go out” of a person unless someone forced it to leave. So it is probably implied that someone forced the unclean spirit to leave the person it possessed. In some languages, it may be necessary to make some of this information explicit.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
When an evil spirit leaves a person (CEV)
When an evil spirit comes out of a person (GW)
Suppose an evil spirit is caused/forced to leave a person it possessed
unclean spirit: The term unclean spirit refers to the same beings as “evil spirit” and “demon.” You can translate these three terms with the same term. The plural form of the term unclean spirit occurs in 10:1b.
The Jews believed that anyone who had an evil spirit was unclean. So an evil spirit was also called an unclean spirit.
Here are some other ways to translate unclean spirit:
Use a general term in your language that refers to a spirit that is evil and can control people. For example:
demon
devil
Use a specific term in your language that refers to a certain type of spirit. Do not use a term that refers to the spirit of a dead person.
Use a descriptive phrase. For example:
evil spirit (NIV)
See demon in the Glossary for more information.
it passes through arid places seeking rest
it goes through dry lands and looks for a place to rest,
He wanders/roams in dry lands looking for a place to stay/live.
it passes through arid places: The phrase arid places refers to areas that are dry or a desert. The evil spirit wanders/roams around in such places, but it does not stay there. It passes through these places.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
it travels through the desert (CEV)
it goes through dry places (GW)
it wanders through waterless places (JBP)
seeking rest: In this context, the word rest refers to a “place to stay/live” or a “home.” The unclean spirit was looking for a place where it could stop wandering around and start to live. In this context, a place to rest would refer to another person to possess. It does not mean that the unclean spirit was tired.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
hunting for a place to stay/live
looking for a home
and does not find it.
but it does not find any.
But he does not find one.
and does not find it: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as and is most often translated that way. There is a contrast between what the evil spirit sought and what happened: it did not find a place to stay. In some languages, it may be more natural to use “but” instead of and.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
But it doesn’t find any. (GW)
But when the demon doesn’t find a place (CEV)
and never finding it (JBP)
If it/he does not find a place to stay
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases
δὲ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅταν Δέ τό ἀκάθαρτον πνεῦμα ἐξέλθῃ ἀπό τοῦ ἀνθρώπου διέρχεται διʼ ἀνύδρων τόπων ζητοῦν ἀνάπαυσιν καί οὐχ εὑρίσκει)
Here, the word Now introduces the next topic that Jesus wants to speak about. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces the next topic, or you could leave Now untranslated. Alternate translation: [Next,]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / parables
ὅταν & τὸ ἀκάθαρτον πνεῦμα
whenever & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅταν Δέ τό ἀκάθαρτον πνεῦμα ἐξέλθῃ ἀπό τοῦ ἀνθρώπου διέρχεται διʼ ἀνύδρων τόπων ζητοῦν ἀνάπαυσιν καί οὐχ εὑρίσκει)
To further explain what he has been saying about “this generation,” Jesus tells a short story that continues through [12:45](../12/45.md). If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate that explicitly. Alternate translation: [here is an illustration about this generation: when the unclean spirit]
Note 3 topic: writing-participants
ὅταν & τὸ ἀκάθαρτον πνεῦμα ἐξέλθῃ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
whenever & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅταν Δέ τό ἀκάθαρτον πνεῦμα ἐξέλθῃ ἀπό τοῦ ἀνθρώπου διέρχεται διʼ ἀνύδρων τόπων ζητοῦν ἀνάπαυσιν καί οὐχ εὑρίσκει)
With this clause, Jesus introduces the unclean spirit and the man as characters in his story. If your language has its own way of introducing new participants, you could use it in your translation. Alternate translation: [there was an unclean spirit possessing a man. When the unclean spirit has gone out from the man]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
ἀνύδρων τόπων
waterless places
Jesus is describing the desert by reference to the lack of water there. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [a desert] or [the wilderness]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
ἀνάπαυσιν
rest
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of rest, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [a place to rest]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
ἀνάπαυσιν
rest
Here, rest represents a place to live or stay, which for an unclean spirit would be a person to possess or control. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression from your language or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [a place to live] or [a home] or [a person to control]
OET (OET-LV) And whenever the unclean spirit may_come_out from the person, it_is_passing_through through waterless places seeking rest and it_is_ not _finding.
OET (OET-RV) “Whenever an evil spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid lands looking for a place to rest, and doesn’t find any.
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.
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