Luke 18:38-39

18:38 So ¹  he called out, ²  “Jesus, Son of David, ³  have mercy ⁴  on me!” 18:39 And those who were in front ⁵  scolded ⁶  him to get him to be quiet, but he shouted ⁷  even more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

[18:38]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the blind man learning that Jesus was nearby.

[18:38]  ² tn Grk “called out, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[18:38]  ³ sn Jesus was more than a Nazarene to this blind person, who saw quite well that Jesus was Son of David. He understood what Luke 7:22-23 affirms. 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]).

[18:38]  ⁴ sn Have mercy on me is a request for healing (cf. 17:13). It is not owed the man. He simply asks for God’s kind grace.

[18:39]  ⁵ sn That is, those who were at the front of the procession.

[18:39]  ⁶ tn Or “rebuked.” The crowd’s view was that surely Jesus would not be bothered with someone as unimportant as a blind beggar.

[18:39]  ⁷ sn Public opinion would not sway the blind man from getting Jesus’ attention. The term shouted is strong as it can be used of animal cries.