Markus 7:33-34

7:33 After Jesus ¹  took him aside privately, away from the crowd, he put his fingers in the man’s ²  ears, and after spitting, he touched his tongue. ³  7:34 Then ⁴  he looked up to heaven and said with a sigh, “Ephphatha” (that is, “Be opened”). ⁵ 

Markus 8:23-25

8:23 He took the blind man by the hand and brought him outside of the village. Then ⁶  he spit on his eyes, placed his hands on his eyes ⁷  and asked, “Do you see anything?” 8:24 Regaining his sight ⁸  he said, “I see people, but they look like trees walking.” 8:25 Then Jesus ⁹  placed his hands on the man’s ¹⁰  eyes again. And he opened his eyes, ¹¹  his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

[7:33]  ¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:33]  ² tn Grk “his”; the referent (the deaf man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:33]  ³ sn After spitting, he touched his tongue. It was not uncommon in Judaism of the day to associate curative powers with a person’s saliva. The scene as a whole reflects Jesus’ willingness to get close to people and have physical contact with them where appropriate. See W. L. Lane, Mark (NICNT), 267 n. 78.

[7:34]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[7:34]  ⁵ sn The author’s parenthetical note gives the meaning of the Aramaic word Ephphatha.

[8:23]  ⁶ tn Grk “village, and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[8:23]  ⁷ tn Grk “on him,” but the word πάλιν in v. 25 implies that Jesus touched the man’s eyes at this point.

[8:24]  ⁸ tn The verb ἀναβλέπω, though normally meaning “look up,” when used in conjunction with blindness means “regain sight.”

[8:25]  ⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:25]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “his”; the referent (the blind man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:25]  ¹¹ tn Or “he looked intently”; or “he stared with eyes wide open” (BDAG 226 s.v. διαβλέπω 1).