1 And he entered again Capernaum after some days and it was heard that he was in the house. 2 And immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even at the door. And he spoke the word i to them. 3 And they came to him bringing a paralytic, carried by four. ii 4 And not being able to come near to him because of the crowd, they unroofed the roof where he was, and when they had tore through, they let down the bed upon which the paralytic was lying. 5 And when Joshua saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Child, iii your sins are forgiven you.”
6 And there were some scribes sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this one speak blasphemies like this? Who is able to forgive sins except God alone?” iv
8 And immediately, Joshua recognizing v in his spirit that they reasoned like this in themselves, he said to them, “Why do you reason these things in your hearts? 9 What is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ vi or to say, ‘Rise up and take up your bed and walk?’ vii 10 But that you might know that the son of the man has authority on earth to forgive sins” - he says to the paralytic, 11 “I say to you, rise up and take up your bed and go to your house.” 12 And immediately he rose up and took up the bed and went out before all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” viii
13 And he went out again by the sea, and the whole crowd came to him, and he taught them. 14 And when he passed by, he saw Levi, that of Alphaeus, sitting in the tax office, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose up and followed him.
15 And so it was, when he was reclining in his house, that many tax collectors and sinners reclined together with Joshua and his disciples, for there were many and they followed him. 16 And the scribes and the Pharisees, seeing him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 And when Joshua heard it, he said to them, “Those who are healthy have no need for a Physician, ix but those who have it badly. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” x
18 And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. And they came and said to him, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”
19 And Joshua said to them, “Are the sons of the wedding hall xi able to fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they are not able to fast. 20 But the day will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then in those days they will fast.” xii
21 “And no one sews a piece of new patch on an old garment, lest the new that filled it take up from the old, and a worse tear happens. xiii 22 And no one puts new wine into old wine skins, lest the new wine bursts the wine skins and the wine be poured out and the wine skins be ruined. But new wine must be put into new wine skins.” xiv
23 And it came to pass, he went through the grainfields on the Sabbaths, xv and his disciples began to make way xvi picking the heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why do they do on the Sabbaths xv what is not lawful?”
25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him? 26 How he went into the house of God in the time of xvii Abiathar xviii the chief priest, xix and he ate the loaves xx of purpose, xxi which is not lawful xxii to eat except for the priests; and he gave it also to those who were together with him?” xxiii 27 And he was saying to them, “The Sabbath xxiv was made for the man, not the man for the Sabbath. xxv 28 Therefore, the son of the man is also Lord of the Sabbath.” xxvi
Translated by Darwin Fish. See original pdf. xxvii
- λογον (logon) ^
- τεσσαρων (tessarôn) - “four” - Just the word for four is here (in the masculine plural). There is no word for men (as NKJV translates). ^
- τεκνον (teknon) - “child” ^
- Does the Old Testament teach that only God forgives sins? See Psalm 51:4; 62:2, 6; 103:3; 130:4; Daniel 9:9. ^
- 2 Chronicles 6:30 ^
- The Majority Text and Critical Text have “your” sins (σου). The Received Text has forgiven “you” (σοι). ^
- Obviously, the first is easier to say than the second. ^
- I.e. someone claim to be able to forgive sins, and then back it up with an awesome miracle. ^
- In Jeremiah 8:21-22 the Lord likewise equates a physician with one who needs help, yet, physicians are not always the answer either (Mark 5:26; Luke 8:43; 1 Timothy 5:23). Asa did not seek the Lord, but the physicians (2 Chronicles 16:12). Job spoke of worthless physicians (Job 13:4). ^
- Luke 15:1-10, then Joshua illustrates that joy in the following verses, 11-32. ^
- οι υιοι του νυμφωνος (oi uioi tou numphônos) - “sons of the wedding hall” - same word as used in Matthew 9:15 (NKJV footnote, “Lit. sons of the bridechamber”) and Luke 5:34. A few manuscripts use this word in Matthew 22:10 instead of γαμος (gamos), the word for marriage or wedding (see footnote in Critical Text). ^
- Acts 13:2-3; 14:23; 1 Corinthians 7:5 ^
- The old covenant does not fit with the new (Hebrews 8:7-13). ^
- Romans 10:4 ^
- σαββασιν (sabbasin) – “sabbaths” plural form ^ ^
- οδον ποιειν (odon poiein) - “make way” ^
- ἐπὶ (epi) “in the time of” NAS; “in the days of” NKJV, KJV; “at” YLT - ἐπὶ (epi) used in the same sense as here in e.g. Luke 4:27. ^
- Interesting, Joshua mentions Ahimelech's son, Abithar, as the reference, even though David went to Ahimelech (1 Samuel 21:1). Abithar is the one who escaped the slaughter in 1 Samuel 22:20. ^
- αρχιερεως (archiereôs) - "chief priest" - See footnote for John 11:49. ^
- αρτους (artous) - "loaves" - plural ^
- See footnote for Matthew 12:4. ^
- Leviticus 24:5-9 ^
- 1 Samuel 21:1-6 ^
- σαββατον (sabbaton) – "sabbath" singular form ^
- σαββατον (sabbaton) – "sabbath" singular form; see also Genesis 2:2-3; Exodus 20:8-11; 1 John 5:3 ^
- σαββατου (sabbatou) – "sabbath" singular form; see also John 5:16-17. ^
- Mirrored here. ^