Mark 7:31-35

Context

Healing a Deaf Mute

7:31 Then¹ Jesus² went out again from the region of Tyre³ and came through Sidon⁴ to the Sea of Galilee in the region of the Decapolis.⁵ 7:32 They brought to him a deaf man who had difficulty speaking, and they asked him to place his hands on him. 7:33 After Jesus⁶ took him aside privately, away from the crowd, he put his fingers in the man’s⁷ ears, and after spitting, he touched his tongue.⁸ 7:34 Then⁹ he looked up to heaven and said with a sigh, “Ephphatha” (that is, “Be opened”).¹⁰ 7:35 And immediately the man’s¹¹ ears were opened, his tongue loosened, and he spoke plainly.

[7:31] ¹tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[7:31] ²tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:31] ³map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[7:31] ⁴map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[7:31] ⁵sn The Decapolis refers to a league of towns (originally consisting of ten; the Greek name literally means “ten towns”) whose region (except for Scythopolis) lay across the Jordan River.

[7:33] ⁶tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:33] ⁷tn Grk “his”; the referent (the deaf man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:33] ⁸sn After spitting, he touched his tongue. It was not uncommon in Judaism of the day to associate curative powers with a person’s saliva. The scene as a whole reflects Jesus’ willingness to get close to people and have physical contact with them where appropriate. See W. L. Lane, Mark (NICNT), 267 n. 78.

[7:34] ¹¹tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[7:34] ¹²sn The author’s parenthetical note gives the meaning of the Aramaic word Ephphatha.

[7:35] ¹⁶tn Grk “his”; the referent (the man who had been a deaf mute) has been specified in the translation for clarity.