Matthew 9:5

9:5 Which is easier, ¹  to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’?

Luke 13:11-13

13:11 and a woman was there ²  who had been disabled by a spirit ³  for eighteen years. She ⁴  was bent over and could not straighten herself up completely. ⁵  13:12 When ⁶  Jesus saw her, he called her to him ⁷  and said, “Woman, ⁸  you are freed ⁹  from your infirmity.” ¹⁰  13:13 Then ¹¹  he placed his hands on her, and immediately ¹²  she straightened up and praised God.

Acts 9:34

9:34 Peter ¹³  said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ ¹⁴  heals you. Get up and make your own bed!” ¹⁵  And immediately he got up.

¹ 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.

² tn Grk “and behold, a woman.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

³ tn Grk “a woman having a spirit of weakness” (or “a spirit of infirmity”).

⁴ tn Grk “years, and.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

⁵ tn Or “and could not straighten herself up at all.” If εἰς τὸ παντελές (ei" to pantele") is understood to modify δυναμένη (dunamenh), the meaning is “she was not able at all to straighten herself up”; but the phrase may be taken with ἀνακύψαι (anakuyai) and understood to mean the same as the adverb παντελῶς (pantelws), with the meaning “she was not able to straighten herself up completely.” See BDAG 754 s.v. παντελής 1 for further discussion. The second option is preferred in the translation because of proximity: The phrase in question follows ἀνακύψαι in the Greek text.

⁶ tn The participle ἰδών (idwn) has been taken temporally. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁷ tn The verb προσεφώνησεν (prosefwnhsen) has been translated as “called (her) to (him),” with the direct object (“her”) and the indirect object (“him”) both understood.

⁸ sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.

⁹ tn Or “released.”

¹⁰ tn Or “sickness.”

¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹² sn The healing took place immediately.

¹³ tn Grk “And Peter.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

¹⁴ tc ‡ Several variants occur at this juncture. Some of the earliest and best witnesses (Ì⁷⁴ א B* C Ψ 33^vid Did^pt) read “Jesus Christ” (᾿Ιησοῦς Χριστός, Ihsou" Cristo"); others ([A] 36 1175 it) have “the Lord Jesus Christ” (ὁ κύριος ᾿Ιησοῦς Χριστός, Jo kurio" Ihsou" Cristo"); a few read simply ὁ Χριστός (614 1241 1505); the majority of mss (B² E 1739 Ï Did^pt) have “Jesus the Christ” ( ᾿Ιησοῦς ὁ Χριστός). Although the pedigree of this last reading is relatively weak, it draws strength from the fact that (a) the other readings are much more natural and thus more predictable, and (b) there are several variants for this text. It seems hardly likely that scribes would intentionally change a more common expression into a title that is used nowhere else in the NT (although 1 John 2:22; 5:1 come close with “Jesus is the Christ”), nor would they unintentionally change a frequently used designation into an unusual one. Thus, in spite of the external evidence (which is nevertheless sufficient to argue for authenticity), ᾿Ιησοῦς ὁ Χριστός is the reading that best explains the rise of the others.

¹⁵ tn The translation “make your own bed” for στρῶσον σεαυτῷ (strwson seautw) is given by BDAG 949 s.v. στρωννύω 1. Naturally this involves some adaptation, since a pallet or mat would not be ‘made up’ in the sense that a modern bed would be. The idea may be closer to “straighten” or “rearrange,” and the NIV’s “take care of your mat” attempts to reflect this, although this too probably conveys a slightly different idea to the modern English reader.