2:1 Now 1 after some days, when he returned to Capernaum, 2 the news spread 3 that he was at home. 2:2 So many gathered that there was no longer any room, not even by 4 the door, and he preached the word to them. 2:3 Some people 5 came bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 6
3:7 Then 7 Jesus went away with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him. 8 And from Judea, 3:8 Jerusalem, 9 Idumea, beyond the Jordan River, 10 and around Tyre 11 and Sidon 12 a great multitude came to him when they heard about the things he had done. 3:9 Because of the crowd, he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him so the crowd 13 would not press toward him. 3:10 For he had healed many, so that all who were afflicted with diseases pressed toward him in order to touch him. 3:11 And whenever the unclean spirits 14 saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”
1 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
2 sn Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region.
3 tn Grk “it was heard.”
4 tn Some translations (e.g., NIV, NLT) take the preposition πρός (pro"), which indicates proximity, to mean “outside the door.” Others render it as “in front of the door” (TEV, CEV), and still others, “around the door” (NAB). There is some ambiguity inherent in the description here.
5 tn Grk “they”; the referent (some unnamed people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn The redundancy in this verse is characteristic of the author’s rougher style.
7 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
8 tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
9 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
10 tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity. The region referred to here is sometimes known as Transjordan (i.e., “across the Jordan”).
11 map For location see Map1-A2; Map2-G2; Map4-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
12 sn These last two locations, Tyre and Sidon, represented an expansion outside of traditional Jewish territory. Jesus’ reputation continued to expand into new regions.
13 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14 sn Unclean spirits refers to evil spirits.
15 tn Grk “And they”; “they” is probably an indefinite plural, referring to people in general rather than to the Syrians (cf. v. 25).
16 tn Grk “those who were moonstruck,” possibly meaning “lunatic” (so NAB), although now the term is generally regarded as referring to some sort of seizure disorder such as epilepsy (L&N 23.169; BDAG 919 s.v. σεληνιάζομαι).
17 tn The translation has adopted a different phrase order here than that in the Greek text. The Greek text reads, “People brought to him all who suffered with various illnesses and afflictions, those possessed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics.” Even though it is obvious that four separate groups of people are in view here, following the Greek word order could lead to the misconception that certain people were possessed by epileptics and paralytics. The word order adopted in the translation avoids this problem.