Matthew 9:27-34
New English Translation
Healing the Blind and Mute
27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men began to follow[a] him, shouting,[b] “Have mercy[c] on us, Son of David!”[d] 28 When[e] he went into the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus[f] said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then he touched their eyes saying, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” 30 And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about this!” 31 But they went out and spread the news about him throughout that entire region.[g]
32 As[h] they were going away,[i] a man who was demon-possessed and unable to speak[j] was brought to him. 33 After the demon was cast out, the man who had been mute began to speak.[k] The crowds were amazed and said, “Never has anything like this been seen in Israel!” 34 But the Pharisees[l] said, “By the ruler[m] of demons he casts out demons!”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 9:27 tn The aorist verb has been translated here as ingressive, stressing the beginning of the action. So Wallace: “The following verse makes it clear that an ingressive idea is meant, for the blind men are still following Jesus” (ExSyn 559).
- Matthew 9:27 tn Grk “shouting, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
- Matthew 9:27 sn Have mercy on us is a request for healing. Implicit in the request is the assumption that Jesus had the power to heal them and restore their sight.
- Matthew 9:27 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]). By extension this would apply to the ultimate royal Davidic descendant, the Messiah, as well. At this point in his narrative Matthew picks up again the theme of Jesus as Davidic descendant which had appeared in chaps. 1–2, but had not been developed further until now.
- Matthew 9:28 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
- Matthew 9:28 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.
- Matthew 9:31 tn For the translation of τὴν γῆν ἐκείνην (tēn gēn ekeinēn) as “that region,” see L&N 1.79; BDAG 196 s.v. γῆ 3.
- Matthew 9:32 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
- Matthew 9:32 tn Grk “away, behold, they brought a man to him.” 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).
- Matthew 9:32 tn Grk “a man mute, demon-possessed.” Some translations infer a causal relationship here (“was mute because he was demon-possessed”; cf. TEV, CEV). The present translation allows for this interpretation (“was demon-possessed and [thus] unable to speak”) without making it explicit.
- Matthew 9:33 tn The aorist verb has been translated here as ingressive, stressing the beginning of the action. The context clearly indicates an ingressive force here.
- Matthew 9:34 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
- Matthew 9:34 tn Or “prince.”
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