Mark 2:9-10

2:9 Which is easier, ¹  to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up, take your stretcher, and walk’? 2:10 But so that you may know ²  that the Son of Man ³  has authority on earth to forgive sins,” – he said to the paralytic ⁴  –

Isaiah 53:11

53:11 Having suffered, he will reflect on his work,

he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done. ⁵ 

“My servant ⁶  will acquit many, ⁷ 

for he carried their sins. ⁸ 

Matthew 9:2

9:2 Just then ⁹  some people ¹⁰  brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. ¹¹  When Jesus saw their ¹²  faith, he said to the paralytic, “Have courage, son! Your sins are forgiven.” ¹³ 

Luke 5:20

5:20 When ¹⁴  Jesus ¹⁵  saw their ¹⁶  faith he said, “Friend, ¹⁷  your sins are forgiven.” ¹⁸ 

Luke 7:47-50

7:47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which were many, are forgiven, thus she loved much; ¹⁹  but the one who is forgiven little loves little.” 7:48 Then ²⁰  Jesus ²¹  said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” ²²  7:49 But ²³  those who were at the table ²⁴  with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 7:50 He ²⁵  said to the woman, “Your faith ²⁶  has saved you; ²⁷  go in peace.”

Acts 5:31

5:31 God exalted him ²⁸  to his right hand as Leader ²⁹  and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. ³⁰ 

Acts 5:2

5:2 He ³¹  kept back for himself part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge; he brought ³²  only part of it and placed it at the apostles’ feet.

Colossians 2:10

2:10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

Colossians 3:13

3:13 bearing with one another and forgiving ³³  one another, if someone happens to have ³⁴  a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others. ³⁵ 

[2:9]  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.

[2:10]  ² sn Now Jesus put the two actions together. The walking of the man would be proof (so that you may know) that his sins were forgiven and that God had worked through Jesus (i.e., the Son of Man).

[2:10]  ³ sn The term Son of Man, which is a title in Greek, comes from a pictorial description in Dan 7:13 of one “like a son of man” (i.e., a human being). It is Jesus’ favorite way to refer to himself. Jesus did not reveal the background of the term here, which mixes human and divine imagery as the man in Daniel rides a cloud, something only God does. He just used it. It also could be an idiom in Aramaic meaning either “some person” or “me.” So there is a little ambiguity in its use here, since its origin is not clear at this point. However, the action makes it clear that Jesus used it to refer to himself here.

[2:10]  ⁴ sn Jesus did not finish his sentence with words but with action, that is, healing the paralytic with an accompanying pronouncement to him directly.

[53:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “he will be satisfied by his knowledge,” i.e., “when he knows.” The preposition is understood as temporal and the suffix as a subjective genitive. Some take בְּדַעְתּוֹ (bÿda’to, “by his knowledge”) with what follows and translate “by knowledge of him,” understanding the preposition as instrumental and the suffix as objective.

[53:11]  ⁶ sn The song ends as it began (cf. 52:13-15), with the Lord announcing the servant’s vindication and exaltation.

[53:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “he will acquit, a righteous one, my servant, many.” צַדִּיק (tsadiq) may refer to the servant, but more likely it is dittographic (note the preceding verb יַצְדִּיק, yatsdiq). The precise meaning of the verb (the Hiphil of צָדַק, tsadaq) is debated. Elsewhere the Hiphil is used at least six times in the sense of “make righteous” in a legal sense, i.e., “pronounce innocent, acquit” (see Exod 23:7; Deut 25:1; 1 Kgs 8:32 = 2 Chr 6:23; Prov 17:15; Isa 5:23). It can also mean “render justice” (as a royal function, see 2 Sam 15:4; Ps 82:3), “concede” (Job 27:5), “vindicate” (Isa 50:8), and “lead to righteousness” (by teaching and example, Dan 12:3). The preceding context and the next line suggest a legal sense here. Because of his willingness to carry the people’s sins, the servant is able to “acquit” them.

[53:11]  ⁸ tn The circumstantial clause (note the vav [ו] + object + subject + verb pattern) is understood as causal here. The prefixed verb form is either a preterite or an imperfect used in a customary manner.

[9:2]  ⁹ tn Grk “And behold, they were bringing.” Here καὶ ἰδού (kai idou) has been translated as “just then” to indicate the somewhat sudden appearance of the people carrying the paralytic. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1), especially in conjunction with the suddenness of the stretcher bearers’ appearance.

[9:2]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “they”; the referent (some unnamed people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:2]  ¹¹ tn Traditionally, “on a bed,” but this could be confusing to the modern reader who might envision a large piece of furniture. In various contexts, κλίνη (klinh) may be translated “bed, couch, cot, stretcher, or bier” (in the case of a corpse). See L&N 6.106.

[9:2]  ¹² sn The plural pronoun their makes it clear that Jesus was responding to the faith of the entire group, not just the paralyzed man.

[9:2]  ¹³ sn The passive voice here is a divine passive (ExSyn 437). It is clear that God does the forgiving.

[5:20]  ¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[5:20]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:20]  ¹⁶ sn The plural pronoun their makes it clear that Jesus was responding to the faith of the entire group, not just the paralyzed man.

[5:20]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Man,” but the term used in this way was not derogatory in Jewish culture. Used in address (as here) it means “friend” (see BDAG 82 s.v. ἄνθρωπος 8).

[5:20]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” Luke stresses the forgiveness of sins (cf. 1:77; 3:3; 24:47). In 5:20 he uses both the perfect ἀφέωνται and the personal pronoun σοι which together combine to heighten the subjective aspect of the experience of forgiveness. The σοι has been omitted in translation in light of normal English style.

[7:47]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “for she loved much.” The connection between this statement and the preceding probably involves an ellipsis, to the effect that the ὅτι clause gives the evidence of forgiveness, not the ground. For similar examples of an “evidentiary” ὅτι, cf. Luke 1:22; 6:21; 13:2. See discussion in D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:703-5. Further evidence that this is the case here is the final statement: “the one who is forgiven little loves little” means that the one who is forgiven little is thus not able to love much. The REB renders this verse: “her great love proves that her many sins have been forgiven; where little has been forgiven, little love is shown.”

[7:48]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[7:48]  ²¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:48]  ²² sn Jesus showed his authority to forgive sins, something that was quite controversial. See Luke 5:17-26 and the next verse.

[7:49]  ²³ tn Grk “And”; here καί (kai) has been translated as an adversative (contrastive).

[7:49]  ²⁴ tn Grk “were reclining at table.”

[7:50]  ²⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[7:50]  ²⁶ sn On faith see Luke 5:20; 7:9; 8:25; 12:28; 17:6; 18:8; 22:32.

[7:50]  ²⁷ sn The questioning did not stop Jesus. He declared authoritatively that the woman was forgiven by God (your faith has saved you). This event is a concrete example of Luke 5:31-32.

[5:31]  ²⁸ tn Grk “This one God exalted” (emphatic).

[5:31]  ²⁹ tn Or “Founder” (of a movement).

[5:31]  ³⁰ tn Or “to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.”

[5:2]  ³¹ tn Grk “And he.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[5:2]  ³² tn The participle ἐνέγκας (enenka") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[3:13]  ³³ tn For the translation of χαριζόμενοι (carizomenoi) as “forgiving,” see BDAG 1078 s.v. χαρίζομαι 3. The two participles “bearing” (ἀνεχόμενοι, anecomenoi) and “forgiving” (χαριζόμενοι) express the means by which the action of the finite verb “clothe yourselves” is to be carried out.

[3:13]  ³⁴ tn Grk “if someone has”; the term “happens,” though not in the Greek text, is inserted to bring out the force of the third class condition.

[3:13]  ³⁵ tn The expression “forgive others” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. It is included in the translation to make the sentence complete and more comprehensible to the English reader.