Matthew 9:20-38

9:20 But ¹  a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage ²  for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge ³  of his cloak. ⁴  9:21 For she kept saying to herself, ⁵  “If only I touch his cloak, I will be healed.” ⁶  9:22 But when Jesus turned and saw her he said, “Have courage, daughter! Your faith has made you well.” ⁷  And the woman was healed ⁸  from that hour. 9:23 When Jesus entered the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the disorderly crowd, 9:24 he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but asleep.” And they began making fun of him. ⁹  9:25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and gently took her by the hand, and the girl got up. 9:26 And the news of this spread throughout that region. ¹⁰ 

Healing the Blind and Mute

9:27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, shouting, ¹¹  “Have mercy ¹²  on us, Son of David!” ¹³  9:28 When ¹⁴  he went into the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus ¹⁵  said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” 9:29 Then he touched their eyes saying, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” 9:30 And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about this.” 9:31 But they went out and spread the news about him throughout that entire region. ¹⁶ 

9:32 As ¹⁷  they were going away, ¹⁸  a man who could not talk and was demon-possessed was brought to him. 9:33 After the demon was cast out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, “Never has anything like this been seen in Israel!” 9:34 But the Pharisees ¹⁹  said, “By the ruler ²⁰  of demons he casts out demons.” ²¹ 

Workers for the Harvest

9:35 Then Jesus went throughout all the towns ²²  and villages, teaching in their synagogues, ²³  preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and sickness. ²⁴  9:36 When ²⁵  he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were bewildered and helpless, ²⁶  like sheep without a shepherd. 9:37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 9:38 Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest ²⁷  to send out ²⁸  workers into his harvest.”

[9:20]  ¹ tn Grk “And behold a woman.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[9:20]  ² sn Suffering from a hemorrhage. The woman was most likely suffering from a vaginal hemorrhage which would make her ritually unclean.

[9:20]  ³ sn The edge of his cloak refers to the kraspedon, the blue tassel on the garment that symbolized a Jewish man’s obedience to the law (cf. Num 15:37-41). The woman thus touched the very part of Jesus’ clothing that indicated his ritual purity.

[9:20]  ⁴ tn Grk “garment,” but here ἱμάτιον (Jimation) denotes the outer garment in particular.

[9:21]  ⁵ tn The imperfect verb is here taken iteratively, for the context suggests that the woman was trying to find the courage to touch Jesus’ cloak.

[9:21]  ⁶ tn Grk “saved.”

[9:22]  ⁷ tn Or “has delivered you”; Grk “has saved you.” This should not be understood as an expression for full salvation in the immediate context; it refers only to the woman’s healing.

[9:22]  ⁸ tn Grk “saved.”

[9:24]  ⁹ tn Grk “They were laughing at him.” The imperfect verb has been taken ingressively.

[9:26]  ¹⁰ tn For the translation of τὴν γῆν ἐκείνην (thn ghn ekeinhn) as “that region,” see L&N 1.79.

[9:27]  ¹¹ tn Grk “shouting, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[9:27]  ¹² sn Have mercy on us is a request for healing. It is not owed to the men. They simply ask for God’s kind grace.

[9:27]  ¹³ sn 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]).

[9:28]  ¹⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:28]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “to him, and Jesus.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in Greek, but a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[9:31]  ¹⁶ tn For the translation of τὴν γῆν ἐκείνην (thn ghn ekeinhn) as “that region,” see L&N 1.79.

[9:32]  ¹⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:32]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “away, behold, they brought a man to him.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[9:34]  ¹⁹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[9:34]  ²⁰ tn Or “prince.”

[9:34]  ²¹ tc Although codex Cantabrigiensis (D), along with a few other Western versional and patristic witnesses, lacks this verse, virtually all other witnesses have it. The Western text’s reputation for free alterations as well as the heightened climax if v. 33 concludes this pericope explains why these witnesses omitted the verse.

[9:35]  ²² tn Or “cities.”

[9:35]  ²³ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.

[9:35]  ²⁴ tn Grk “and every [kind of] sickness.” Here “every” was not repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[9:36]  ²⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:36]  ²⁶ tn Or “because they had been bewildered and helpless.” The translational issue is whether the perfect participles are predicate (as in the text) or are pluperfect periphrastic (the alternate translation). If the latter, the implication would seem to be that the crowds had been in such a state until the Great Shepherd arrived.

[9:38]  ²⁷ sn The phrase Lord of the harvest recognizes God’s sovereignty over the harvest process.

[9:38]  ²⁸ tn Grk “to thrust out.”