[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.
