Luke 9:9-11 New English Translation

⁹Herod said, “I had John^[a] beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” So Herod wanted to learn about Jesus.^[b]

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

¹⁰When^[c] the apostles returned,^[d] they told Jesus^[e] everything they had done. Then^[f] he took them with him and they withdrew privately to a town^[g] called Bethsaida.^[h] ¹¹But when the crowds found out, they followed him. He^[i] welcomed them, spoke to them about the kingdom of God,^[j] and cured those who needed healing.^[k]

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Footnotes

Luke 9:9 tn Grk “John I beheaded”; John’s name is in emphatic position in the Greek text. The verb is causative, since Herod would not have personally carried out the execution.
Luke 9:9 tn The expression ἐζήτει ἰδεῖν αὐτόν (ezētei idein auton, “was seeking to see him”) probably indicates that Herod, for curiosity’s sake or more likely for evil purposes, wanted to get to know Jesus, i.e., who he was and what he was doing. See I. H. Marshall, Luke (NIGTC), 357. Herod finally got his wish in Luke 23:6-12, with inconclusive results from his point of view.
Luke 9:10 tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
Luke 9:10 tn The participle ὑποστρέψαντες (hupostrepsantes) has been taken temporally.
Luke 9:10 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Luke 9:10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
Luke 9:10 tc There is a seeming myriad of variants for this text. Many mss read εἰς τόπον ἔρημον (eis topon erēmon, “to a deserted place”; א*^,2 [1241]) or εἰς τόπον ἔρημον πόλεως καλουμένης Βηθσαϊδά (eis topon erēmon poleōs kaloumenēs Bēthsaida, “to a deserted place of a town called Bethsaida”; [A] C W Ξ^mg [ƒ^1,13] [565] M) here, while others have εἰς κώμην λεγομένην Βηδσαϊδά (eis kōmēn legomenēn Bēdsaida, “to a village called Bedsaida”; D), εἰς κώμην καλουμένην Βηθσαϊδά εἰς τόπον ἔρημον (eis kōmēn kaloumenēn Bēthsaida eis topon erēmon, “to a village called Bethsaida to a deserted place”; Θ), or εἰς τόπον καλουμένον Βηθσαϊδά (eis topon kaloumenon Bēthsaida, “to a place called Bethsaida”; Ψ). The Greek behind the translation (εἰς πόλιν καλουμένην Βηθσαϊδά, eis polin kaloumenēn Bēthsaida) is supported by (P⁷⁵) א¹ B L Ξ* 33 2542 co. The variants can be grouped generally into those that speak of a “deserted place” and those that speak of a place/city/town called Bethsaida. The Byzantine reading is evidently a conflation of the earlier texts, and should be dismissed as secondary. The variants that speak of a deserted place are an assimilation to Mark 6:32, as well a harmonization with v. 12, and should also be regarded as secondary. The reading that best explains the rise of the others—both internally and externally—is the one that stands behind the translation and is found in the text of NA²⁸.tn Or “city.”
Luke 9:10 sn Bethsaida was a town on the northeast side of the Sea of Galilee. Probably this should be understood to mean a place in the vicinity of the town. It represents an attempt to reconcile the location with the place of the miraculous feeding that follows.
Luke 9:11 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
Luke 9:11 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus’ teaching. The nature of the kingdom of God in the NT and in Jesus’ teaching has long been debated by interpreters and scholars, with discussion primarily centering around the nature of the kingdom (earthly, heavenly, or both) and the kingdom’s arrival (present, future, or both). An additional major issue concerns the relationship between the kingdom of God and the person and work of Jesus himself. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.
Luke 9:11 sn Again the combination of word (spoke to them) and healing (cured, compassionate deed) is what summarizes Jesus’ ministry: See Luke 4:38-44; 6:17-19; 7:22 (as also the disciples, 9:6).

New English Translation (NET)