Matius 9:1-8

Healing and Forgiving a Paralytic

9:1 After getting into a boat he crossed to the other side and came to his own town. ¹  9:2 Just then ²  some people ³  brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. ⁴  When Jesus saw their ⁵  faith, he said to the paralytic, “Have courage, son! Your sins are forgiven.” ⁶  9:3 Then ⁷  some of the experts in the law ⁸  said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming!” ⁹  9:4 When Jesus saw their reaction he said, “Why do you respond with evil in your hearts? 9:5 Which is easier, ¹⁰  to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? 9:6 But so that you may know ¹¹  that the Son of Man ¹²  has authority on earth to forgive sins” – then he said to the paralytic ¹³  – “Stand up, take your stretcher, and go home.” ¹⁴  9:7 And he stood up and went home. ¹⁵  9:8 When ¹⁶  the crowd saw this, they were afraid ¹⁷  and honored God who had given such authority to men. ¹⁸ 

Matius 9:20-22

9:20 But ¹⁹  a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage ²⁰  for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge ²¹  of his cloak. ²²  9:21 For she kept saying to herself, ²³  “If only I touch his cloak, I will be healed.” ²⁴  9:22 But when Jesus turned and saw her he said, “Have courage, daughter! Your faith has made you well.” ²⁵  And the woman was healed ²⁶  from that hour.

Matius 9:27-31

Healing the Blind and Mute

9:27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, shouting, ²⁷  “Have mercy ²⁸  on us, Son of David!” ²⁹  9:28 When ³⁰  he went into the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus ³¹  said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” 9:29 Then he touched their eyes saying, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” 9:30 And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about this.” 9:31 But they went out and spread the news about him throughout that entire region. ³² 

[9:1]  ¹ sn His own town refers to Capernaum. It was a town of approximately 1000-1500, though of some significance.

[9:2]  ² tn Grk “And behold, they were bringing.” Here καὶ ἰδού (kai idou) has been translated as “just then” to indicate the somewhat sudden appearance of the people carrying the paralytic. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1), especially in conjunction with the suddenness of the stretcher bearers’ appearance.

[9:2]  ³ tn Grk “they”; the referent (some unnamed people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:2]  ⁴ tn Traditionally, “on a bed,” but this could be confusing to the modern reader who might envision a large piece of furniture. In various contexts, κλίνη (klinh) may be translated “bed, couch, cot, stretcher, or bier” (in the case of a corpse). See L&N 6.106.

[9:2]  ⁵ sn The plural pronoun their makes it clear that Jesus was responding to the faith of the entire group, not just the paralyzed man.

[9:2]  ⁶ sn The passive voice here is a divine passive (ExSyn 437). It is clear that God does the forgiving.

[9:3]  ⁷ tn Grk “And behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1). Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events in the narrative.

[9:3]  ⁸ tn Or “some of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[9:3]  ⁹ sn Blaspheming meant to say something that dishonored God. To claim divine prerogatives or claim to speak for God when one really does not would be such an act of offense. The remark raised directly the issue of the nature of Jesus’ ministry.

[9:5]  ¹⁰ sn Which is easier is a reflective kind of question. On the one hand to declare sins are forgiven is easier, since one does not need to see it, unlike telling a paralyzed person to walk. On the other hand, it is harder, because for it to be true one must possess the authority to forgive the sin.

[9:6]  ¹¹ sn Now Jesus put the two actions together. The walking of the man would be proof (so that you may know) that his sins were forgiven and that God had worked through Jesus (i.e., the Son of Man).

[9:6]  ¹² sn The term Son of Man, which is a title in Greek, comes from a pictorial description in Dan 7:13 of one “like a son of man” (i.e., a human being). It is Jesus’ favorite way to refer to himself. Jesus did not reveal the background of the term here, which mixes human and divine imagery as the man in Daniel rides a cloud, something only God does. He just used it. It also could be an idiom in Aramaic meaning either “some person” or “me.” So there is a little ambiguity in its use here, since its origin is not clear at this point. However, the action makes it clear that Jesus used it to refer to himself here.

[9:6]  ¹³ sn Jesus did not finish his sentence with words but with action, that is, healing the paralytic with an accompanying pronouncement to him directly.

[9:6]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “to your house.”

[9:7]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “to his house.”

[9:8]  ¹⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:8]  ¹⁷ tc Most witnesses (C L Θ 0233 ˹³ Ï) have ἐθαύμασαν (eqaumasan; “marveled, were amazed”) instead of ἐφοβήθησαν (efobhqhsan) here, effectively turning the fearful reaction into one of veneration. But the harder reading is well supported by א B D W 0281 ˹ 33 892 1424 al lat co and thus is surely authentic.

[9:8]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “people.” The plural of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") usually indicates people in general, but the singular is used in the expression “Son of Man.” There is thus an ironic allusion to Jesus’ statement in v. 6: His self-designation as “Son of Man” is meant to be unique, but the crowd regards it simply as meaning “human, person.” To maintain this connection for the English reader the plural ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated here as “men” rather than as the more generic “people.”

[9:20]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “And behold a woman.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[9:20]  ²⁰ sn Suffering from a hemorrhage. The woman was most likely suffering from a vaginal hemorrhage which would make her ritually unclean.

[9:20]  ²¹ sn The edge of his cloak refers to the kraspedon, the blue tassel on the garment that symbolized a Jewish man’s obedience to the law (cf. Num 15:37-41). The woman thus touched the very part of Jesus’ clothing that indicated his ritual purity.

[9:20]  ²² tn Grk “garment,” but here ἱμάτιον (Jimation) denotes the outer garment in particular.

[9:21]  ²³ tn The imperfect verb is here taken iteratively, for the context suggests that the woman was trying to find the courage to touch Jesus’ cloak.

[9:21]  ²⁴ tn Grk “saved.”

[9:21]  sn In this pericope the author uses a term for being healed (Grk “saved”) that would have spiritual significance to his readers. It may be a double entendre (cf. parallel in Mark 5:28 which uses the same term), since elsewhere he uses verbs that simply mean “heal”: If only the reader would “touch” Jesus, he too would be “saved.”

[9:22]  ²⁵ tn Or “has delivered you”; Grk “has saved you.” This should not be understood as an expression for full salvation in the immediate context; it refers only to the woman’s healing.

[9:22]  ²⁶ tn Grk “saved.”

[9:27]  ²⁷ tn Grk “shouting, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[9:27]  ²⁸ sn Have mercy on us is a request for healing. It is not owed to the men. They simply ask for God’s kind grace.

[9:27]  ²⁹ sn There was a tradition in Judaism that the Son of David (Solomon) had great powers of healing (Josephus, Ant. 8.2.5 [8.42-49]).

[9:28]  ³⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:28]  ³¹ tn Grk “to him, and Jesus.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in Greek, but a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[9:31]  ³² tn For the translation of τὴν γῆν ἐκείνην (thn ghn ekeinhn) as “that region,” see L&N 1.79.