The Fallible Study Bible

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Mark2:1–12

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

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Mark 2:1–12 — Jesus Heals a Paralytic. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

1

A few days later Jesus went back to Capernaum. And when the people heard that He was home,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

hēmerōn di’ Kai eiselthōn palin eis Kapharnaoum ēkousthē hoti estin en oikō

Word by word12 · parsed
ἡμερῶνhēmerōn[A few] daysG2250
√ ἡμέρα — day, iNounGenitive Feminine Plural
δι’di’laterG1223
√ διά — through (in very wide applications, local, causal, or occasional)Preposition
diá: through, by reason of With the genitive of time it measures an interval traversed, not a point reached.
ΚαὶKaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
εἰσελθὼνeiselthōn[Jesus] went back toG1525
√ εἰσέρχομαι — to enter (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
eisérchomai: to enter Aorist participle, the circumstance under which the news breaks. Mark's whole first chapter had driven Jesus out to desert places because a healed leper published the word; the return to Capernaum is a return into exactly the pressure He had left.
πάλινpalin. . .G3825
√ πάλιν — (adverbially) anew, iAdverb
εἰςeis. . .G1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
ΚαφαρναοὺμKapharnaoumCapernaumG2584
√ Καπερναούμ — Capernaum (iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
Kapharnaoúm: Capernaum Mark alone names the town here, as Ellicott and Maclaren both observe; Matthew calls it only His own city. Geneva presses the point that Capernaum, not Nazareth, is the place He chose to dwell.
ἠκούσθηēkousthēAnd when [the people] heardG191
√ ἀκούω — to hear (in various senses)VerbAorist Indicative Passive3rd Person Singular
akoúō: to hear A passive with no agent: the report simply travels. Mark uses hearing this way as the engine of the crowds throughout these chapters; the word gets out whether or not Jesus seeks publicity, and Maclaren notes He does not refuse the eagerness even when it is shallow.
ὅτιhotithatG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
ἐστίνestinHe wasG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
eimí: to be Present tense preserved in indirect discourse, the idiom of a live rumour.
ἐνenvvvG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
οἴκῳoikōhomeG3624
√ οἶκος — a dwelling (more or less extensive, literal or figurative)NounDative Masculine Singular
oîkos: a house, dwelling Anarthrous in the best text (“in house,” that is, at home). Whose house is unrecoverable: Ellicott, JFB, Gill and Maclaren all say Peter's; Cambridge allows either Peter's or a house of His own with mother and brethren. The same noun returns in v11 when the healed man is sent to his house, closing the unit where it opened.
2

they gathered in such large numbers that there was no more room, not even outside the door, as Jesus spoke the word to them.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai synēchthēsan polloi hōste mēketi chōrein mēde ta pros tēn thyran kai elalei ton logon autois

Word by word16 · parsed
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
συνήχθησανsynēchthēsanthey gatheredG4863
√ συνάγω — to lead together, iVerbAorist Indicative Passive3rd Person Plural
synágō: to lead together, gather Aorist passive. The verb is the ordinary word for convening a congregation, and it is the same root behind the synagogue Jesus has just left in chapter 1: the crowd that a house cannot hold has become a gathering of its own.
πολλοὶpolloiin such large numbersG4183
√ πολύς — (singular) much (in any respect) or (plural) manyAdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
ὥστεhōstethat [there was]G5620
√ ὥστε — so too, iConjunction
μηκέτιmēketino moreG3371
√ μηκέτι — no furtherAdverb
mēkéti: no longer, no more Marks a limit newly reached, not a standing condition.
χωρεῖνchōreinroomG5562
√ χωρέω — to be in (give) space, iVerbPresent Infinitive Active
chōréō: to make room, to contain The verb of capacity. It is the hinge of the whole scene: because there is no space, a roof must be opened, and the man reaches Jesus by the only route left. JFB draws the consequence that had Jesus stepped outside instead, the bearers' faith would have had no occasion to show itself at all.
μηδὲmēdenot evenG3366
√ μηδέ — but not, not evenConjunction
τὰtaG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Plural
πρὸςprosoutsideG4314
√ πρός — a preposition of directionPreposition
τὴνtēntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
θύρανthyrandoorG2374
√ θύρα — a portal or entrance (the opening or the closure, literally or figuratively)NounAccusative Feminine Singular
thýra: a door, portal The blocked door here is the counterpart of the opened roof in v4: the ordinary entrance fails, an extraordinary one is dug.
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐλάλειelalei[as Jesus] spokeG2980
√ λαλέω — to talk, iVerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
laléō: to talk, to speak Imperfect: the teaching is in progress when the ceiling gives way. Pulpit takes this short clause as naming the real object of the ministry, with the miracles subordinated to it.
τὸνtontheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
λόγονlogonwordG3056
√ λόγος — something said (including the thought)NounAccusative Masculine Singular
lógos: something said, the word Poole insists on the article: not a word but the word, the gospel, the only word to be preached. Barnes glosses it as the revelation Jesus came to deliver. Mark uses the same absolute “the word” of the sown seed in the parable chapter, where its hearers divide exactly as the house divides here.
αὐτοῖςautoisto themG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
3

Then a paralytic was brought to Him, carried by four men.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai paralytikon erchontai pherontes pros auton airomenon hypo tessarōn

Word by word9 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiThenG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
παραλυτικὸνparalytikona paralyticG3885
√ παραλυτικός — as if dissolved, iAdjectiveAccusative Masculine Singular
paralytikós: as if dissolved, palsied A rare adjective (9 verses in all), and every occurrence is in Matthew or Mark. Gill's long clinical excursus argues from the man's total immobility that this is the complete or universal palsy, and reads him as an emblem of the sinner who has neither motion nor feeling toward Christ.
ἔρχονταιerchontaivvvG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Plural
érchomai: to come Historic present. Mark twice sets a plural “they come” against the crowd's immobility; the sentence moves because they do.
φέροντεςpheronteswas broughtG5342
√ φέρω — to "bear" or carry (in a very wide application, literally and figuratively, as follows)VerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
πρὸςprostoG4314
√ πρός — a preposition of directionPreposition
αὐτὸνautonHimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
αἰρόμενονairomenoncarriedG142
√ αἴρω — to lift upVerbPresent Participle Middle or PassiveAccusative Masculine Singular
aírō: to lift up, take up Here passive of the helpless man. The same verb becomes an imperative to him in v9 and v11 and a participle of his own act in v12: he who is lifted will lift. That reversal is carried by one Greek root, and English translation preserves it only by accident.
ὑπὸhypobyG5259
√ ὑπό — under, iPreposition
τεσσάρωνtessarōnfour [men]G5064
√ τέσσαρες — fourAdjectiveGenitive Masculine Plural
téssares: four Cambridge calls this the pictorial definiteness of the Evangelist; Maclaren treats it as the mark of an eyewitness, one bearer at each corner.
4

Since they were unable to get to Jesus through the crowd, they uncovered the roof above Him, made an opening, and lowered the paralytic on his mat.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai mē dynamenoi prosenenkai autō dia ton ochlon apestegasan tēn stegēn hopou ēn kai exoryxantes chalōsi ho paralytikos hopou katekeito ton krabatton

Word by word22 · parsed
καὶkaiSinceG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
μὴmēvvvG3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
δυνάμενοιdynamenoithey were unableG1410
√ δύναμαι — to be able or possibleVerbPresent Participle Middle or PassiveNominative Masculine Plural
dýnamai: to be able The participle of inability is the pivot of the narrative: being unable by the door, they become able by the roof.
προσενέγκαιprosenenkaito get toG4374
√ προσφέρω — to bear towards, iVerbAorist Infinitive Active
prosphérō: to bear towards, to bring to The word of presenting an offering or a patient. Its failure here (“not being able to bring him to Him”) is what all the ingenuity is for.
αὐτῷautō[Jesus]G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
διὰdiathroughG1223
√ διά — through (in very wide applications, local, causal, or occasional)Preposition
τὸνtontheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ὄχλονochloncrowdG3793
√ ὄχλος — a throng (as borne along)NounAccusative Masculine Singular
óchlos: a throng Mark's crowd is ambiguous throughout: drawn by the word, it is also the obstacle between the needy man and the Healer.
ἀπεστέγασανapestegasanthey uncoveredG648
√ ἀποστεγάζω — to unroofVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
apostegázō: to unroof A verb found nowhere else in the New Testament, formed on the noun that follows it. JFB concedes that without the exact plan of the house the method cannot be reconstructed, and Benson canvasses both a trap door and Shaw's account of a veil stretched over an inner court; Cambridge and Pulpit prefer broken tiling above an upper chamber. The commentators disagree, and the Greek does not settle it.
τὴνtēntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
στέγηνstegēnroofG4721
√ στέγη — a roofNounAccusative Feminine Singular
ὅπουhopouabove HimG3699
√ ὅπου — what(-ever) where, iAdverb
ἦνēn. . .G1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐξορύξαντεςexoryxantesmade an openingG1846
√ ἐξορύσσω — to dig out, iVerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
exorýssō: to dig out, gouge out Rare and physical. Whatever the architecture, Mark records property damage, and treats it as evidence rather than as impiety: it is precisely this that Jesus reads as faith in v5.
χαλῶσιchalōsi[and] loweredG5465
√ χαλάω — to lower (as into a void)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
chaláō: to lower into a void The same verb used of letting down nets and, in Acts, of letting a man down a wall in a basket. Downward motion toward Jesus is the shape of the whole scene.
ὁhotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
παραλυτικὸςparalytikosparalyticG3885
√ παραλυτικός — as if dissolved, iAdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
ὅπουhopouonG3699
√ ὅπου — what(-ever) where, iAdverb
κατέκειτοkatekeitoG2621
√ κατάκειμαι — to lie down, iVerbImperfect Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
τὸνton[his]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
κράβαττονkrabattonmatG2895
√ κράββατος — a mattressNounAccusative Masculine Singular
krábbatos: a mattress, pallet A humble Latin loanword in Greek dress, found in only 11 verses, and Ellicott notes that its distribution is itself a fact about the sources: Mark uses it, John 5 and Acts 5:15 and 9:33 use it, Matthew and Luke never do. The object named is the cheapest thing in the story, and Mark makes it the hinge of the reversal: it carries the man in v3, it is lowered through a hole in v4, it becomes a command in v9 and v11, and in v12 the man carries it out past everyone as the one piece of evidence he owns.
5

When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai ho Iēsous idōn autōn tēn pistin legei tō paralytikō Teknon sou hai hamartiai aphientai

Word by word15 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiWhenG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἸησοῦςIēsousJesusG2424
√ Ἰησοῦς — Jesus (iNounNominative Masculine Singular
ἰδὼνidōnsawG3708
√ ὁράω — by extension, to attend toVerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
horáō: to see, to attend to Aorist participle. Faith becomes visible only in what it costs somebody: four men on a roof with a spade.
αὐτῶνautōntheirG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
τὴνtēnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
πίστινpistinfaithG4102
√ πίστις — persuasion, iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
pístis: persuasion, faith The first occurrence of the noun in this unit, and the ground Jesus names for what follows. JFB describes it as a faith not to be defeated, victorious over difficulties; Maclaren makes the same point from the other side, that difficulties test and so increase faith. Mark records neither a petition nor a confession: the faith he reports is entirely an action.
λέγειlegeiHe saidG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
τῷtōto theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Singular
παραλυτικῷparalytikōparalyticG3885
√ παραλυτικός — as if dissolved, iAdjectiveDative Masculine Singular
ΤέκνονTeknonSonG5043
√ τέκνον — a child (as produced)NounVocative Neuter Singular
téknon: a child (as produced) A vocative of kinship offered to a stranger. Gill notes that Christ calls him son while he is still afflicted and, until this word, still unpardoned, and takes chastisement as an argument for sonship rather than against it.
σουsouyourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Singular
αἱhaiG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Feminine Plural
ἁμαρτίαιhamartiaisinsG266
√ ἁμαρτία — a sin (properly abstract)NounNominative Feminine Plural
hamartía: a sin Nominative plural, the subject of the passive verb: it is the sins that are acted upon, and the man who receives the action. Nothing in the narrative says he asked for this.
ἀφίενταίaphientaiare forgivenG863
√ ἀφίημι — an intensive form of , to go)VerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Plural
aphíēmi: to send away, remit A present passive with no agent named, which is exactly what makes the next scene possible: the scribes must decide who is doing the remitting. JFB argues that since Jesus goes on to found His whole argument on their reading of it, the saying must be a royal proclamation of pardon and not a pious wish.
6

But some of the scribes were sitting there and thinking in their hearts,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de tines tōn grammateōn Ēsan kathēmenoi ekei kai dialogizomenoi en autōn tais kardiais

Word by word13 · parsed
δέdeButG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
τινεςtinessomeG5100
√ τὶς — some or any person or objectInterrogative / Indefinite PronounNominative Masculine Plural
τῶνtōnof theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Plural
γραμματέωνgrammateōnscribesG1122
√ γραμματεύς — scribe, town-clerkNounGenitive Masculine Plural
grammateús: scribe, town-clerk The professional readers of the Law, appearing here as observers. Ellicott, JFB and Cambridge all import Luke 5:17, that they had come out of every village of Galilee and Judaea and from Jerusalem; Mark himself says only that some of them were present.
ἮσανĒsanwereG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
καθήμενοιkathēmenoisittingG2521
√ κάθημαι — and (to sitVerbPresent Participle Middle or PassiveNominative Masculine Plural
káthēmai: to sit Seated is the posture of the teacher and the judge alike, and here it is the posture of men who came to assess rather than to be taught.
ἐκεῖekeithereG1563
√ ἐκεῖ — thereAdverb
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
διαλογιζόμενοιdialogizomenoithinkingG1260
√ διαλογίζομαι — to reckon thoroughly, iVerbPresent Participle Middle or PassiveNominative Masculine Plural
dialogízomai: to reckon thoroughly, dispute Mark will repeat this verb twice in v8, first of them and then at them. The unspoken disputation is the real antagonist of the passage: no one accuses Jesus out loud in this house.
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
αὐτῶνautōntheirG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ταῖςtaisG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Feminine Plural
καρδίαιςkardiaisheartsG2588
√ καρδία — the heart, iNounDative Feminine Plural
kardía: the heart The hidden chamber. Poole marshals 1 Samuel 16:7, 1 Chronicles 28:9, 2 Chronicles 6:30, Psalm 7:9 and Jeremiah 17:10 to show that reading it is as exclusively divine as forgiving sin, which is why v8 answers v7 before v10 does.
7

“Why does this man speak like this? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Ti houtos lalei houtōs blasphēmei tis dynatai aphienai hamartias ei mē ho Theos heis

Word by word14 · parsed
ΤίTiWhyG5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounAccusative Neuter Singular
οὗτοςhoutos{does} this [man]G3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounNominative Masculine Singular
λαλεῖlaleispeakG2980
√ λαλέω — to talk, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
laléō: to talk, to speak The same verb that described Jesus speaking the word in v2 is now the object of complaint.
οὕτωςhoutōslike thisG3779
√ οὕτω — in this way (referring to what precedes or follows)Adverb
βλασφημεῖblasphēmeiHe is blasphemingG987
√ βλασφημέω — to vilifyVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
blasphēméō: to vilify, to speak impiously Benson, citing Macknight, distinguishes the profane sense (slander) from the scriptural: ascribing to God the infirmities of men, or to men the perfections and operations of God. Cambridge states the charge plainly, that a claim to forgive implied equality with God in one of His most incommunicable attributes. On their premise the charge is not absurd; Mark's point is that the premise is met, not refuted.
τίςtisWhoG5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounNominative Masculine Singular
δύναταιdynataicanG1410
√ δύναμαι — to be able or possibleVerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
dýnamai: to be able The verb of ability, repeated from the bearers' inability in v4. Two impossibilities stand in the chapter, one of access and one of authority, and both are answered.
ἀφιέναιaphienaiforgiveG863
√ ἀφίημι — an intensive form of , to go)VerbPresent Infinitive Active
ἁμαρτίαςhamartiassinsG266
√ ἁμαρτία — a sin (properly abstract)NounAccusative Feminine Plural
hamartía: a sin Accusative plural, the thing no creature may remit. Gill grants the maxim fully: sin is against God only, and no riches, repentance, faith or works procure its pardon; his complaint is against the inference, not the axiom.
εἰeibutG1487
√ εἰ — if, whether, that, etcConjunction
μὴmē. . .G3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ΘεόςTheosGodG2316
√ θεός — figuratively, a magistrateNounNominative Masculine Singular
εἷςheisaloneG1520
√ εἷς — oneAdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
heîs: one JFB says the second question expresses a great truth, and points to Isaiah 43:25, Micah 7:18 and Exodus 34:6 and 7. The scribes are quoting the confession of Israel at Jesus; the narrative answers by widening who “one” includes, not by loosening it.
8

At once Jesus knew in His spirit that they were thinking this way within themselves. “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?” He asked.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai ho euthys Iēsous epignous tō autou pneumati hoti dialogizontai houtōs en heautois Ti dialogizesthe tauta en hymōn tais kardiais legei autois

Word by word22 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
εὐθὺςeuthysAt onceG2112
√ εὐθέως — directly, iAdverb
euthéōs: directly, at once Mark's characteristic pacing, used in this unit at the moment of insight (v8) and at the moment of rising (v12).
ἸησοῦςIēsousJesusG2424
√ Ἰησοῦς — Jesus (iNounNominative Masculine Singular
ἐπιγνοὺςepignousknewG1921
√ ἐπιγινώσκω — to know upon some mark, iVerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
epiginṓskō: to recognise, know fully Not a guess read off the room. Pulpit reports that the Fathers argued from this verse against the Arians, since inspecting the heart is God's prerogative, and Poole had already assembled the texts that make the point. The demonstration of v10 to v12 is therefore the second proof in the passage, not the first.
τῷtōinG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Neuter Singular
αὐτοῦautouHisG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
πνεύματιpneumatispiritG4151
√ πνεῦμα — a current of air, iNounDative Neuter Singular
pneûma: breath, spirit A bare dative naming the faculty by which He knows, and the only place in this unit where Mark looks inside Jesus rather than at Him. The same noun in Mark's first chapter carries both the Spirit descending on Him and the unclean spirits that recognise Him; here it names His own interior as the instrument of a knowledge no one told Him. Ellicott takes the mention as bearing on the reality and completeness of His human nature, Cambridge and Gill take it for His divine nature: Mark supplies the phrase and not the psychology. The narrative function is plain either way, since this knowing is the first of the two proofs offered against the charge of v7, before any limb moves.
ὅτιhotithatG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
διαλογίζονταιdialogizontaithey were thinkingG1260
√ διαλογίζομαι — to reckon thoroughly, iVerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Plural
dialogízomai: to reckon thoroughly Present indicative: the debate is still running when He names it.
οὕτωςhoutōsthis wayG3779
√ οὕτω — in this way (referring to what precedes or follows)Adverb
ἐνenwithinG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
ἑαυτοῖςheautoisthemselvesG1438
√ ἑαυτοῦ — him- (her-, it-, them-, also (in conjunction with the personal pronoun of the other persons) my-, thy-, our-, your-) self (selves), etcReflexive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
heautoîs: themselves Reflexive, and paired with “in your hearts” at the close of the verse. The word twice insists on privacy, which is precisely what has just ended.
ΤίTiWhyG5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounAccusative Neuter Singular
διαλογίζεσθεdialogizestheare you thinkingG1260
√ διαλογίζομαι — to reckon thoroughly, iVerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive2nd Person Plural
dialogízomai: to reckon thoroughly (2nd person) The same verb turned on them. Their thought is quoted back to them before any miracle is worked, so the sign of v12 confirms a claim they have already had reason to weigh.
ταῦταtautathese thingsG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounAccusative Neuter Plural
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
ὑμῶνhymōnyourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Plural
ταῖςtaisG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Feminine Plural
καρδίαιςkardiaisheartsG2588
√ καρδία — the heart, iNounDative Feminine Plural
kardía: the heart Repeated from v6, closing the frame: what was said in the heart is answered in the heart's own words.
λέγειlegeiHe askedG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
αὐτοῖςautois. . .G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
9

“Which is easier: to say to a paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’?

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

ti estin eukopōteron eipein tō paralytikō sou hai hamartiai Aphientai ē eipein Egeire kai aron sou ton krabatton kai peripatei

Word by word20 · parsed
τίtiWhichG5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounNominative Neuter Singular
ἐστινestinisG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
εὐκοπώτερονeukopōteroneasierG2123
√ εὐκοπώτερος — better for toil, iAdjectiveNominative Neuter SingularComparative
eukopṓteros: better for toil, easier The comparative carries the argument. JFB reduces it to its logic: if the visible thing is done, the invisible one has been done. It is an argument from the lesser to the greater only if pronouncing pardon is in fact the harder claim to sustain.
εἰπεῖνeipeinto sayG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Infinitive Active
épō: to speak, to say Benson notes that this verb often means to command, so that the question is which saying effects what it says.
τῷtōG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Singular
παραλυτικῷparalytikōto a paralyticG3885
√ παραλυτικός — as if dissolved, iAdjectiveDative Masculine Singular
σουsouYourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Singular
αἱhaiG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Feminine Plural
ἁμαρτίαιhamartiaisinsG266
√ ἁμαρτία — a sin (properly abstract)NounNominative Feminine Plural
ἈφίενταίAphientaiare forgivenG863
√ ἀφίημι — an intensive form of , to go)VerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Plural
aphíēmi: to remit The words of v5 quoted exactly back into the debate, so that what was addressed to a sufferer is now offered as evidence.
ἢēorG2228
√ ἤ — disjunctive, orConjunction
εἰπεῖνeipeinto sayG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Infinitive Active
ἜγειρεEgeireGet upG1453
√ ἐγείρω — to waken (transitively or intransitively), iVerbPresent Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
egeírō: to waken, to raise Present imperative. The verb belongs to Mark's resurrection vocabulary as much as to his healings, and it returns as a passive in v12, where the man is raised rather than rises.
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἆρονaronpick upG142
√ αἴρω — to lift upVerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
aírō: to lift up Aorist imperative to the man who in v3 was himself being lifted.
σουsouyourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Singular
τὸνtonG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
κράβαττόνkrabattonmatG2895
√ κράββατος — a mattressNounAccusative Masculine Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
περιπάτειperipateiwalkG4043
√ περιπατέω — to tread all around, iVerbPresent Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
peripatéō: to tread all around, to walk Cambridge notes the same command given at the pool in John 5:8; the pairing of rise, take up your mat and walk is verbally the closest parallel to this scene anywhere outside the synoptics.
10

But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...” He said to the paralytic,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de hina eidēte hoti ho Huios tou anthrōpou echei exousian epi tēs gēs aphienai hamartias legei tō paralytikō

Word by word18 · parsed
δὲdeButG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ἵναhinaso thatG2443
√ ἵνα — compare G3588 (ὁ))Conjunction
εἰδῆτεeidēteyou may knowG1492
√ εἴδω — used only in certain past tenses, the others being borrowed from the equivalent G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι) and G3708 (ὁράω)VerbPerfect Subjunctive Active2nd Person Plural
eídō: to see, to know Perfect subjunctive, a settled knowing. The addressees are plural and hostile, and the sign is granted to them rather than withheld from them.
ὅτιhotithatG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
ὁhotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ΥἱὸςHuiosSonG5207
√ υἱός — a "son" (sometimes of animals), used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinshipNounNominative Masculine Singular
huiós: a son With G444 it forms the title that dominates Mark's self-designations. The scribes complained that “this one” is a man like themselves (v7); the answer accepts the humanity and claims the authority in the same breath.
τοῦtouG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ἀνθρώπουanthrōpouof ManG444
√ ἄνθρωπος — from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι))NounGenitive Masculine Singular
ánthrōpos: a human being Cambridge observes that the word means human being, not male, so the title names Him the second Adam, the head of the race, rather than the son of some particular man.
ἔχειecheihasG2192
√ ἔχω — to hold (used in very various applications, literally or figuratively, direct or remoteVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ἐξουσίανexousianauthorityG1849
√ ἐξουσία — privilege, iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
exousía: privilege, right, authority Mark has already used this noun of His teaching and of His word to unclean spirits in chapter 1; here it is extended to the remission of sins, which the scribes have just called God's alone. The claim is therefore not that Jesus is able but that He is entitled, and in Daniel 7:13 and 14 it is exactly authority that is given to one like a son of man.
ἐπὶepionG1909
√ ἐπί — properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etcPreposition
τῆςtēsG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
γῆςgēsearthG1093
√ γῆ — soilNounGenitive Feminine Singular
gê: soil, earth The place where the verdict is pronounced. The theological weight of the unit hangs on this preposition: a heavenly prerogative exercised at ground level, in a crowded house, over a man on a mat.
ἀφιέναιaphienaito forgiveG863
√ ἀφίημι — an intensive form of , to go)VerbPresent Infinitive Active
aphíēmi: to remit Third occurrence of the infinitive in six verses (v7, v9, v10), each time with sins as its object, so that the disputed act is named as often as it is denied.
ἁμαρτίαςhamartiassinsG266
√ ἁμαρτία — a sin (properly abstract)NounAccusative Feminine Plural
λέγειlegeiHe saidG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
τῷtōto theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Singular
παραλυτικῷparalytikōparalyticG3885
√ παραλυτικός — as if dissolved, iAdjectiveDative Masculine Singular
11

“I tell you, get up, pick up your mat, and go home.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

legō Soi egeire aron sou ton krabatton kai hypage eis sou ton oikon

Word by word13 · parsed
λέγωlegōI tellG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
ΣοὶSoiyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Singular
sý: thou Emphatic and singular, set against the plural “that ye may know” of v10. One sentence does both jobs: it answers a council and heals a man.
ἔγειρεegeireget upG1453
√ ἐγείρω — to waken (transitively or intransitively), iVerbPresent Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
egeírō: to raise, to waken Present imperative, the same form as in the test question of v9, so that the words offered as an argument are now spoken as a command.
ἆρονaronpick upG142
√ αἴρω — to lift upVerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
σουsouyourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Singular
τὸνtonG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
κράβαττόνkrabattonmatG2895
√ κράββατος — a mattressNounAccusative Masculine Singular
krábbatos: a pallet Cambridge calls it a portable mat of the commonest description, used by the poorest and for the service of the sick. Jesus commands the sign of the man's helplessness to become his luggage.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὕπαγεhypagegoG5217
√ ὑπάγω — to lead (oneself) under, iVerbPresent Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
hypágō: to lead oneself away, depart JFB observes that carrying the couch home was designed to prove the cure complete; Gill adds the homelier purpose, to show himself whole to his family and go about his business.
εἰςeisvvvG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
σουsouvvvG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Singular
τὸνtonvvvG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
οἶκόνoikonhomeG3624
√ οἶκος — a dwelling (more or less extensive, literal or figurative)NounAccusative Masculine Singular
oîkos: a house The word that began the unit (v1). Mark's scene is bracketed by houses: the crowded one that had to be broken open, and the man's own, to which he walks.
12

And immediately the man got up, picked up his mat, and walked out in front of them all. As a result, they were all astounded and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai euthys ēgerthē kai aras ton krabatton exēlthen enantion pantōn hōste pantas existasthai kai doxazein ton Theon legontas hoti oudepote eidomen Houtōs

Word by word22 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiAndG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
εὐθὺςeuthysimmediatelyG2112
√ εὐθέως — directly, iAdverb
euthéōs: immediately Mark's adverb again (v8), binding the cure's speed to the knowledge's speed. Cambridge sets the suddenness and completeness against the slower miracles of Elijah and Elisha.
ἠγέρθηēgerthē[the man] got upG1453
√ ἐγείρω — to waken (transitively or intransitively), iVerbAorist Indicative Passive3rd Person Singular
egeírō: to raise up Aorist passive, and the theological centre of the verse. Mark's account of the empty tomb uses this verb of Jesus Himself, so the paralytic's rising is told in the vocabulary that will later carry the resurrection. Pulpit notes that the best reading joins the rising and the lifting closely together.
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἄραςaraspicked upG142
√ αἴρω — to lift upVerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
τὸνton[his]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
κράβαττονkrabattonmatG2895
√ κράββατος — a mattressNounAccusative Masculine Singular
ἐξῆλθενexēlthen[and] walked outG1831
√ ἐξέρχομαι — to issue (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
exérchomai: to go out He leaves by the door that could not be entered. Cambridge observes the crowd now yielding and no longer blocking his path.
ἐναντίονenantionin front ofG1726
√ ἐναντίον — (adverbially) in the presence (view) ofPreposition
πάντωνpantōnthem allG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveGenitive Masculine Plural
ὥστεhōsteAs a resultG5620
√ ὥστε — so too, iConjunction
πάνταςpantasthey were allG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveAccusative Masculine Plural
ἐξίστασθαιexistasthaiastoundedG1839
√ ἐξίστημι — to put (stand) out of wits, iVerbPresent Infinitive Middle
exístēmi: to put out of one's wits The crowd's response is dislocation, not applause. Gill argues that these are the multitude rather than the scribes, since Mark never records the scribes glorifying God; the narrative indeed leaves their verdict unwritten, as Pulpit also admits.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
δοξάζεινdoxazeinglorifiedG1392
√ δοξάζω — to render (or esteem) glorious (in a wide application)VerbPresent Infinitive Active
doxázō: to glorify Present infinitive, ongoing. The praise goes to God, though the word was spoken and the deed done by the Son of Man: JFB notes the sharpest thing in their wonder, that they never marvelled at forgiving power as such, only that a man to all appearance like themselves should hold it.
τὸνtonG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ΘεὸνTheonGodG2316
√ θεός — figuratively, a magistrateNounAccusative Masculine Singular
λέγονταςlegontassayingG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveAccusative Masculine Plural
ὅτιhotiG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
οὐδέποτεoudepotevvvG3763
√ οὐδέποτε — not even at any time, iAdverb
εἴδομενeidomenWe have never seenG3708
√ ὁράω — by extension, to attend toVerbAorist Indicative Active1st Person Plural
horáō: to see Aorist with οὐδέποτε, “never did we see.” The unit began with hearing (v1) and ends with seeing, and the thing seen is still unnamed.
ΟὕτωςHoutōsanything like thisG3779
√ οὕτω — in this way (referring to what precedes or follows)Adverb

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The house that could not hold the word — 2:1 to 2:2

⚙ Mark's opening sentence has one finite verb, and it is not about Jesus: ἠκούσθη, it was heard. He enters Capernaum “through days” (δι’ ἡμερῶν), an interval Barnes refuses to number and Pulpit thinks considerable, and the town hears that He is in house. Ellicott and Maclaren both note that only Mark names the town; Ellicott, JFB, Gill and Maclaren identify the house as Peter's, while Cambridge allows that it may have been His own. That disagreement is worth keeping, because it is the only claim about ownership in the passage, and Mark makes none. What Mark does supply is capacity: χωρεῖν, to have room, fails. Geneva says flatly that neither the house nor the entry could hold them; Pulpit and Barnes fill the neuter plural “the things toward the door” with courtyard and porch. And through it all the imperfect ἐλάλει runs: He was speaking the word, continuously, until interrupted. Pulpit takes this short clause for the real object of the ministry, with the miracles subordinate to it, and Benson notes that at this stage most in Capernaum still received the word with joy. The crisis of the scene is therefore a mundane one: the word has drawn more people than the word can now reach through.

ii. Four men, a spade, and what Jesus called faith — 2:3 to 2:5

⚙ Mark's verbs turn vivid and present: ἔρχονται, they come, bearing (φέροντες) a man who is being carried (αἰρόμενον) by four. Ellicott, JFB, Barnes and Cambridge all mark the four as Mark's own detail; Benson puts one at each corner; Maclaren treats the number as the fingerprint of an eyewitness and reads the difficulty itself as the lesson, since “we cannot” is the coward's word. Then a verb found nowhere else in the New Testament: ἀπεστέγασαν τὴν στέγην, they unroofed the roof, and a rare violent one, ἐξορύξαντες, having gouged it out. Ellicott observes that the strong language of damage is peculiar to Mark. How it was physically done, nobody knows: Benson canvasses a fastened trap door and then Shaw's account of a veil over an inner court; Cambridge and Pulpit prefer broken tiling above an upper chamber; Gill builds an argument from rabbinic references to upper rooms; JFB concedes that without the plan of the house the method cannot be settled, and rests only on the conviction that both accounts come from an eyewitness. Geneva is content to say they could come before Christ in no other way. Into this hole Jesus looks and, Mark says, sees πίστιν αὐτῶν, their faith, plural. JFB notes that all three evangelists say “their,” and calls it a faith not to be defeated; Cambridge includes the bearers with the man; Pulpit reports that Jerome and Ambrose confined the faith to the bearers and sides with Chrysostom for both. Then the word that starts the trouble, and it is tender before it is forensic: Τέκνον, child, which Pulpit and Cambridge both note Mark preserves where Luke has “man,” and which Barnes calls an endearment meant to inspire confidence. Cambridge settles the grammar that the English versions blurred: ἀφίενταί is indicative, not optative, thy sins are, or have been, forgiven. JFB draws the necessary conclusion, that such a saying can only be a royal proclamation of pardon and is justifiable on no lower supposition.

iii. The unspoken charge and the answer that came first — 2:6 to 2:10

⚙ Everyone else in the house moves; the scribes sit. Mark's periphrastic imperfect ἦσαν καθήμενοι holds them there, διαλογιζόμενοι in their hearts, a verb Geneva glosses as disputing the matter and arguing both sides. Ellicott, JFB and Cambridge import Luke 5:17 to explain their presence, and Cambridge goes further, casting them as emissaries of a party at Jerusalem that had already decreed His death (John 5:18): a reconstruction Mark does not license, and JFB pointedly declines, saying their murderous feeling had not yet shown itself. Their verdict is one word, and the better manuscripts make it a verb: βλασφημεῖ, he blasphemes (so Ellicott and Pulpit on the text). Their premise is not wrong. Cambridge says the claim implied equality with God in one of His most incommunicable attributes; JFB calls their second question a great truth and points to Isaiah 43:25, Micah 7:18 and Exodus 34:6 and 7; Gill grants the maxim in full, that sin is against God only, and that no riches, repentance, faith or works can procure its pardon, while denying their inference; Benson, citing Macknight, defines blasphemy exactly as ascribing to men the perfections and operations of God. Note what answers them. Before any miracle, ἐπιγνοὺς: He knew upon the mark, in His own spirit, and quoted their verb back at them with a second-person ending. Poole, commenting on the whole block, had already seen that this is the hinge: if none but God can forgive sins, none but God can tell men their thoughts either (1 Samuel 16:7, 1 Chronicles 28:9, Jeremiah 17:10), so their own axiom convicts them twice. Pulpit records that the Fathers used this verse against the Arians for that reason. Ellicott and Cambridge then divide over the dative τῷ πνεύματι αὐτοῦ, Ellicott reading it as evidence for the completeness of His human nature, Cambridge and Gill for His divine faculty; Mark gives the phrase and not the psychology. The question of v9 is about speech, as Cambridge insists and Gill agrees: both sayings are easy to utter, neither is easy to effect, and only one can be audited. So the claim is stated in the vocabulary of right rather than strength, ἐξουσίαν, answering their δύναται, and it is claimed for “the Son of the Man” ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. Cambridge notes this is the title's first appearance in Mark, that it is never used of Him by anyone but Himself in the Gospels, and points to Daniel 7:13; Gill grounds it in Psalm 80:17 and insists that humiliation stripped Him of no prerogative; JFB puts it most concretely, that forgiving power dwells in the person of this man, going out and in with them.

iv. The bed that bore the man — 2:11 to 2:12

⚙ The sentence that answers a council lands on one man: Σοὶ λέγω, to thee I say, the pronoun first and singular after the plural “that ye may know.” Three bare imperatives follow, and the last, ὕπαγε, is a dismissal: take yourself away, into your own house, the very noun that opened the unit at v1. Then Mark's passive: ἠγέρθη, he was raised. The active imperative of v11 becomes a passive indicative in v12, and Mark's word for the rising of Jesus is the word for the rising of this man. The mat completes the same reversal: in v3 he was αἰρόμενον, being lifted; in v12 he is ἄρας, lifting. JFB hands on Bengel's line that the bed had borne the man and now the man bore the bed; Cambridge notes that the cure's suddenness and completeness outruns even Elijah's and Elisha's, and that the crowd which blocked the way now yields. The reaction is not applause but dislocation, ἐξίστασθαι, which Geneva renders as past themselves, out of their wit, and their confession has no object at all: “thus never did we see.” Ellicott records the older rendering and Luke's alternative, that they had seen strange things that day. Gill argues that these are the multitude and not the scribes, since Mark nowhere shows the scribes glorifying God; Pulpit concedes that we are simply not told what the scribes concluded. The unit therefore ends with an unfinished sentence and an unrecorded verdict, and JFB names the precise edge of the wonder: at forgiving power they did not marvel, only that a man apparently like themselves should hold it.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ Offered as our own fallible reading, to be tested against the text. The scribes ask the right question in Mark 2:7 and get the right answer, which is why the passage is so hard to domesticate. Nobody in this house is told that sin is a small thing, that pardon is cheap, or that God shares His court. The axiom stands: the remission of sins is God's, and God's alone. What moves is not the doctrine but the location. ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, on the earth, in a house too full to enter, over a man who never asked for anything and is not even reported speaking, the divine prerogative is exercised by lips the scribes could see moving. Two things in this unit are treated as proofs of the same thing, and only one of them is usually noticed: Jesus reads the unspoken argument in their hearts (v8) before He heals the body (v12), and Poole is right that on their own premises the first sign was as decisive as the second. It is also worth saying plainly what Mark does not say. He does not say the paralytic believed, only that Jesus saw “their” faith, which reached Him as a hole in a ceiling and four men on ropes. He does not say the man's sin caused his paralysis; Cambridge and Bede, as Pulpit reports, suspect it, and the text leaves it alone, healing the deeper thing first without explaining the link. He does not tell us what the scribes decided, and the silence is honest. Mark's one word for the crowd's response is ἐξίστασθαι, to stand outside oneself, and their sentence never finds its object: thus never did we see. That unfinished sentence is the right ending. Everything the passage claims has been demonstrated, and the demonstration has still not been assimilated, because the thing seen has no category yet. The category arrives only where the same verb does: ἠγέρθη, he was raised. Our reading, and it may be wrong, is that Mark is training his readers' eyes early. What authority on earth to forgive costs, and how it will finally be vindicated, is written in the passive voice of a paralytic's rising.

The door was blocked, so faith dug through the roof, and pardon came down through the hole it made.

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The same scene, three times told: Matthew 9 and Luke 5 verbal / quotation: confirmed

⚙ This is the closest link in the unit and the least mysterious: Matthew 9:2 to 9:6 and Luke 5:17 to 5:26 narrate the same event in the same Greek, and the Verifier's shared lexemes are the same words. Matthew 9:2 and 9:6 share the rare adjective παραλυτικός with Mark (only 9 verses in the New Testament, all in Matthew and Mark), plus προσφέρω and αἴρω; Matthew 9:5 and Luke 5:23 share ἁμαρτία and ἀφίημι in the identical test question. The commentators use the parallels constantly and openly: Barnes, Poole and Gill simply refer the reader to Matthew 9, JFB supplies from Luke 5:17 the Pharisees and doctors of the law gathered from every village, and Ellicott, Pulpit and Cambridge draw on Luke's “through the tiles” and his “Man” for Mark's “Child.” What is Mark's alone, as they all note, is the four bearers, the unroofing, the mat called κράβαττος and the mention of His spirit.

Matthew 9:2 · Matthew 9:5 · Matthew 9:6 · Luke 5:23

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G3885 παραλυτικός (rare, in 9 vv), G4374 προσφέρω (45 vv), G142 αἴρω (97 vv) at Matthew 9:2 and 9:6, and G266 ἁμαρτία with G863 ἀφίημι at Matthew 9:5 and Luke 5:23. Greek to Greek throughout. This is parallel narration of one event in shared wording, not one text quoting another

Take up your mat and walk: the Bethesda command verbal / quotation: confirmed

⚙ John 5:8 to 5:11 gives the only other place in the Gospels where the three words rise, lift your κράββατος, and walk stand together. The Verifier records the shared lexemes: κράββατος (11 verses) with αἴρω at John 5:8, 5:9, 5:10 and 5:11. Ellicott notes that this distinctive word for the poor man's pallet occurs in Mark, in John 5 and in Acts, and never in Matthew or Luke; Cambridge explicitly cross-refers Mark 2:9 to John 5:8. The two scenes differ where it matters, and the difference is instructive rather than embarrassing: at Bethesda no faith is mentioned and the sin is addressed afterward (John 5:14), while in Capernaum faith is seen first and pardon precedes the cure. We claim shared vocabulary and a shared command, not a literary source.

John 5:8 · John 5:9 · John 5:11

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G2895 κράββατος (distinctive, in 11 vv) and G142 αἴρω at John 5:8, 5:9, 5:10 and 5:11. Greek to Greek. A genuine verbal link in the wording of the command; no quotation or dependence is claimed in either direction

Who can forgive sins but God alone: the premise the scribes are quoting structural / thematic: confirmed

⚙ The scribes' question in v7 is not an innovation but a citation of Israel's own confession, and the commentators name the texts. JFB says the second question expresses a great truth and refers it to Isaiah 43:25, Micah 7:18 and Exodus 34:6 and 7; Gill quotes Micah 7:18 and Isaiah 43:25 as God's challenged and exclusive prerogative, and adds the Chaldee paraphrase of Job 14:4 and the rabbinic denial that even the angel of Exodus 23:20 may pardon; Benson traces their charge to Isaiah 43:25 as an incommunicable prerogative. The link is real and load-bearing for the argument of the whole unit, but it cannot be a verbal one here: Mark's Greek and Isaiah's Hebrew share no Strong's number, and Mark records no formal quotation, only a premise held in common.

Exodus 34:6 · Exodus 34:7 · Isaiah 43:25 · Isaiah 44:22 · Micah 7:18

basis: Cross-Testament, so no shared Strong's lexeme is possible (Greek to Hebrew): tiered structural, not verbal. The recorded basis is the commentators' own citation of these texts as the scribes' premise, JFB at Mark 2:7 (Isaiah 43:25, Micah 7:18, Exodus 34:6 and 7) and Gill at Mark 2:7 (Micah 7:18, Isaiah 43:25). No formal quotation appears in the Gospel text

Authority given to one like a son of man structural / thematic: confirmed

⚙ Cambridge, on the first occurrence of the title in Mark, sends the reader to Daniel 7:13, and the connection is more than titular: what Daniel 7:13 and 14 describe being given to one like a son of man is precisely ἐξουσία, dominion and authority, which is the noun Jesus uses in v10 to answer the scribes' “who is able.” Gill, reading the title as a plain designation of true humanity, grounds it instead in Psalm 80:17, and both readings can stand: the phrase names a man, and in Daniel a man is the one to whom the authority is handed. This is the strongest Old Testament link in the unit, and it is still not a verbal one. Mark's Greek and Daniel's Aramaic and Hebrew cannot share a Strong's number, and Jesus quotes nothing here; the tie is the pattern of authority conferred on a human figure, which Mark's Gospel will make explicit only later.

Daniel 7:13 · Daniel 7:14 · Psalm 80:17

basis: Cross-Testament refs, so shared Strong's numbers are impossible and a verbal tier is excluded on principle, not for lack of evidence. Recorded basis: Cambridge at Mark 2:10 cites Daniel 7:13 for the title, Gill at Mark 2:10 cites Psalm 80:17; the shared structure is authority (ἐξουσία, G1849) held by a human figure

Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases structural / thematic: confirmed

⚙ The order of events in this unit, pardon first and healing second as its evidence, is the order of Psalm 103:3, where forgiving and healing are named in one breath as the same God's benefits, and of Psalm 32:1 to 5, where an unconfessed sin wastes the body and confession brings remission. Matthew Henry reads Mark 2 in exactly these terms: sin is the cause of all our pains and sicknesses, the way to remove the effect is to take away the cause, and pardon of sin strikes at the root of all diseases. Pulpit reports Bede making the same inference from the order of Jesus' words. We record this as a shared pattern in the Psalter's own theology, not as a citation, and we note the limit: Mark never says this man's paralysis was punishment for his sin, and Cambridge's suggestion that his sufferings may have been due to sinful excesses is a guess.

Psalm 32:1 · Psalm 32:5 · Psalm 103:3 · Psalm 130:3 · Psalm 130:4

basis: Cross-Testament (Greek to Hebrew), so no shared Strong's lexeme is available and verbal is excluded. Basis is a shared pattern, forgiveness joined to healing and pardon as the ground of standing, with Henry at Mark 2:1 to 12 as the commentator who reads the Gospel scene this way

Two roofs: the centurion's and the paralytic's structural / thematic: confirmed

⚙ The noun στέγη, roof, occurs in only three verses in the New Testament, and two of them are these: Mark 2:4, where friends tear a roof open to get a man under the same roof as Jesus, and Luke 7:6, where a centurion sends word that he is not worthy for Jesus to come under his roof. The Verifier records the shared lexeme along with εἰσέρχομαι and ὑπό; Matthew 8:8 gives the parallel of the centurion's message. Read together they set two faiths side by side that Jesus commends for opposite reasons, one that will break a roof to reach Him and one that will not trouble Him to cross a threshold. We tier this structural rather than verbal deliberately: the word is genuinely rare and genuinely shared, but the connection we are drawing is thematic, and no text here quotes another.

Luke 7:6 · Matthew 8:8

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G4721 στέγη (rare, in only 3 vv) at Luke 7:6, with G1525 εἰσέρχομαι and G5259 ὑπό; Matthew 8:8 shares G1525, G3056 and G5259. Greek to Greek, so a verbal tier would be permitted by the rarity, but the link asserted here is a contrast of motifs, not a quotation, so it is under-claimed as structural

The same pallet in Acts: what the apostles carried forward structural / thematic: confirmed

⚙ Mark's distinctive word for the mat reappears in the apostolic mission. Acts 9:33 finds Aeneas at Lydda lying paralysed on his κράββατος for eight years, sharing with Mark 2 both that noun and κατάκειμαι, the verb Mark uses of the paralytic lying on his mat; Acts 5:15 has the sick carried out on their mats into the streets. The Verifier gives the lexemes. The theological point is not in the vocabulary but in the difference of agency: in Acts the healing is announced in the name of Jesus Christ, whereas in Mark 2:11 the authority is exercised in the first person, “to thee I say.” That is the distinction the whole unit exists to establish, and Gill draws it out at v7, that ministers may remit sins only ministerially and declaratively.

Acts 9:33 · Acts 5:15

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G2895 κράββατος (in 11 vv) and G2621 κατάκειμαι (in 12 vv) at Acts 9:33, and G2895 with G5620 ὥστε at Acts 5:15. Greek to Greek, so the lexical basis is real; the claim made here is about a contrast in agency, a thematic connection rather than a quotation

Were the scribes already a commission from Jerusalem? flagged: verify source

⚙ Cambridge tells the scene as a stage in a campaign: emissaries from a hostile party at Jerusalem where the Lord's death had already been decreed, citing John 5:18, carrying out a settled plan of collecting charges. Ellicott and JFB more modestly supply Luke 5:17, that Pharisees and doctors of the law had come from every village of Galilee and Judaea and from Jerusalem, and JFB expressly says their venomous and murderous feeling had not yet shown itself. We flag this because the reconstruction depends on placing John 5 before Mark 2, a question of Gospel chronology that is disputed and that no text in this unit settles. Mark himself reports only that some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts.

Luke 5:17 · John 5:18

basis: Provenance contested: the link rests on Cambridge's harmonisation at Mark 2:6 of Luke 5:17 with John 5:18 and on a disputed relative chronology of John 5 and Mark 2. No shared lexeme is recorded by the Verifier, and JFB at Mark 2:6 reads the same scene as not yet hostile in intent

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

A divine prerogative exercised at ground level ancient/widely-held

⚙ The redemptive centre of the unit is a preposition. The scribes place the remission of sins in heaven, with the one God, and they are not corrected; Jesus places its exercise ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, on the earth, in the hands of the Son of Man, and proves the placement. Cambridge states the antithesis exactly, that this power is not exercised only in heaven by God but also by the Son of Man on earth. JFB makes it concrete: forgiving power dwells in the person of this man and goes out and in with them. Gill presses the christological point that humiliation did not strip Him of His perfections, power and prerogative as God, and that if He had this authority on earth there can be no doubt of it now He is in heaven. Pulpit, following the Fathers against the Arians, argues from His reading of hearts in v8 that the prerogative claimed is truly divine, and insists that His word here is absolution and not a conditional announcement, because He alone can read the heart He absolves. This is the apostolic and catholic reading, recorded here by Ellicott, JFB, Gill, Geneva, Cambridge and Pulpit alike, and the scribes' own axiom is what makes it inescapable: if only God forgives, and this man forgave, the question of who He is has been put beyond the reach of a compliment.

Mark 2:7 · Mark 2:10 · Isaiah 43:25 · Micah 7:18

The visible cure as the sign of the invisible absolution ancient/widely-held

⚙ Jesus stakes an unverifiable claim on a verifiable one, and the commentators read the method uniformly. JFB compresses it: if I do the one which you can see, know that I have done the other, which you cannot. Cambridge frames the question precisely, that what is contrasted is not two deeds but two claims, and that by doing what can be put to proof He vindicates His right to do what in its nature cannot be proved. Henry draws the figure out to its root, that curing diseases was a figure of pardoning sin, since sin is the disease of the soul and when it is pardoned it is healed. Gill weighs the two and judges pardon the greater blessing though the cure the more sensible proof. The order matters and is deliberate: pardon first, healing second, the lesser thing serving as evidence for the greater. Pulpit reports Bede's inference that by forgiving first the Lord showed the man his suffering was ultimately due to sin, and here we would go more slowly than Bede, because Mark never says so of this man.

Mark 2:5 · Mark 2:9 · Mark 2:12 · Psalm 103:3

He was raised: the passive that waits for the tomb novel

⚙ Here is our own reading, offered as fallible and marked novel in its emphasis, though built entirely on sourced grammar. Mark tells the cure in the passive: ἠγέρθη, he was raised, answering the active imperative ἔγειρε of v11, and this is the verb Mark's Gospel uses for the rising of Jesus Himself. The narrative of the mat carries the same reversal in a single root: in v3 the man is αἰρόμενον, being lifted, and in v12 he is ἄρας, lifting, which JFB records in Bengel's aphorism that the bed had borne the man and now the man bore the bed. Read forward, the passage is a miniature of the gospel it opens: a man who contributes nothing but a body and other people's faith is pardoned by a word, raised by a word, and sent home carrying the evidence of what used to carry him. The commentators see the pattern in the pardoned sinner (Pulpit's intemperate man become sober, Gill's paralytic as the emblem of one who has neither motion nor feeling toward Christ); the extension we add is that Mark's grammar points not only from the mat to the soul but from this rising to the one that vindicates the authority claimed in v10, and we hold it loosely, since Mark 2 says nothing explicit about it.

Mark 2:3 · Mark 2:11 · Mark 2:12

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
  • Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (c. 1905)
  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
  • Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

⚙ Text and translation. The BSB text and the Berean interlinear are the base; the interlinear's word indices follow English display order, not Greek word order, so the literal renderings above restore the Greek sequence (for example v1 reads Καὶ εἰσελθὼν πάλιν εἰς Καφαρναοὺμ δι’ ἡμερῶν ἠκούσθη ὅτι ἐν οἴκῳ ἐστίν, while the indices begin with ἡμερῶν). Two variants are reported by our own commentators: at v7 Ellicott and Pulpit both note that the better manuscripts read the verb βλασφημεῖ where the older printed text had the noun βλασφημίας, which changes “why does this man speak blasphemies” into “why does this man speak thus? He blasphemes”; at v12 Pulpit gives ἠγέρθη καὶ εὐθὺς ἄρας as the most approved reading. We have followed both.

⚙ What is uncertain. The identity of the house (Peter's, per Ellicott, JFB, Gill and Maclaren; possibly His own, per Cambridge) is not stated by Mark. The architecture of the roof is genuinely unsettled: Benson offers a fastened trap door and then Shaw's account of a veil over an inner court, Cambridge and Pulpit prefer broken tiling over an upper chamber, Gill argues from rabbinic upper-room references, and JFB frankly concedes that without the plan of the house the method cannot be determined. Whether the paralysis was itself the penalty of particular sin is suggested by Cambridge and by Bede as reported in Pulpit, and is not said by Mark. The reference of “their faith” in v5 was disputed in antiquity, Pulpit reporting Jerome and Ambrose for the bearers only and Chrysostom for the bearers with the man. Ellicott and Cambridge read the dative “in his spirit” in v8 in opposite directions, human and divine respectively; we have left the ambiguity standing rather than choosing.

⚙ Sources. Voices are verbatim public-domain commentary, cited by tag: Ellicott (1878), Maclaren (c. 1905), Benson (1810s), Henry (1706), Barnes (1834), JFB (1871), Poole (1685), Gill (1746 to 1763), Geneva (1599), Cambridge (1880s), Pulpit (1880s). Henry's note covers the whole block Mark 2:1 to 12 and is repeated by the source at each verse; Barnes's note at verses 5 to 12 is likewise one repeated block, so both are cited at a single verse only. Maclaren's exposition of the entire unit sits under v1 and is capped in our brief at about 11,000 further characters, as are long entries of Gill at v3 and v4 and v7 and Benson at v5; quotations here come only from the text before the cap, and nothing beyond it has been assumed. Poole comments on Mark 2:1 to 12 as one block under v1 and refers the reader to his notes on Matthew 9, which we have not consulted. Several commentators supply from Luke 5:17 the presence of Pharisees and lawyers; that detail is Luke's, not Mark's.

⚙ One thread deliberately not made. The Verifier flags Galatians 4:15 for the rare verb ἐξορύσσω (G1846, only 2 verses in the New Testament), where Paul says the Galatians would have dug out their own eyes for him. The lexeme is genuinely rare and genuinely shared, but no motif, quotation or literary relation joins the two passages, and building a thread on the coincidence would be an overclaim. It is recorded here instead. Mark 6:55 (κράββατος) and Matthew 4:24 and 8:6 (παραλυτικός) are likewise real lexical matches within Mark and Matthew's shared healing vocabulary rather than distinct threads. No formal Old Testament quotation occurs anywhere in this unit, so every Old Testament link above is tiered structural, never verbal.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)