Section 10:46–52

Jesus healed a blind man named Bartimaeus

As Jesus and his disciples continued their journey to Jerusalem, they came to Jericho. When they left that city, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, asked Jesus to heal him and make him able to see. Jesus healed Bartimaeus and told him that the reason Bartimaeus could now see was because he had believed in Jesus.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.

Here are some other headings for this section:

Jesus Gives Sight to Bartimaeus (God’s Word)
-or-
Jesus Heals a Blind Man (New Century Version)

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 9:27–31, 20:29–34 and Luke 18:35–43.

Paragraph 10:46–52

10:46

This verse introduces a new section. It gives background information about what was happening before the first action of the story begins in 10:47. Be sure to express this background information in the order and way that is natural in your language. See the General Comment on 10:46a–c after 10:46c for suggestions.

10:46a–b

Next: The events in this section probably happened soon after the events in the preceding section. The Berean Standard Bible introduces this story with the word Next.

Here are some other ways to introduce this section:

Then (New International Version)
-or-
Soon after that
-or-
After that

In some languages, a time word or phrase is not necessary. Introduce this story in a natural way in your language.

they came to Jericho. And as Jesus and His disciples were leaving Jericho: In this verse Jesus and his disciples came to Jericho and then left it. The events in this story happened while they were leaving the city of Jericho. Be sure that this is clear in your translation.

they: Since this is a new section, you may need to make clear to whom the pronoun they refers. For example:

Jesus and his disciples

Notice that Jesus and his disciples are specifically mentioned in 10:46b. If you use a phrase to refer to them here, you may not need to repeat the whole phrase again in 10:46b.

Jericho: Jericho is a town or city that is between Jerusalem and the Jordan River. It is located about 24 kilometers (12.5 miles) northeast of Jerusalem. Since this is the only time that Jericho is mentioned in the book of Mark, you may need to identify it more clearly. For example, The New Century Version has:

the town of Jericho

His disciples: This is the same word as in 10:23a.

10:46c

a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus: This long phrase introduces an important person in this section. It gives information about him. You may need to put some of this information in separate sentences. For example:

A blind man named Bartimaeus was there. He was the son of Timaeus.

See the following notes for other examples.

the son of Timaeus: The Greek says literally “the son of Timaeus Bartimaeus.” There are two ways to interpret the phrase here:

(1) It identifies Bartimaeus as the son of Timaeus. For example, the Revised Standard Version says:

a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus

(Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, Good News Bible, King James Version, God’s Word, New American Standard Bible, New Century Version, Contemporary English Version, English Standard Version, NET Bible)

(2) It explains the meaning of the Aramaic name Bartimaeus. For example, the New International Version says:

(that is, the Son of Timaeus)

(New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, Revised English Bible, New Living Translation)

Both interpretations have good support in versions and commentaries. There is not a great difference of meaning between them. It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), as the majority of English versions do.

a blind beggar named Bartimaeus…was sitting beside the road: There is a textual issue here. It concerns whether the text describes Bartimaeus as a beggar or as a person begging (as an action at that time). There is not a great difference in meaning. You should refer to Bartimaeus and what he was doing at the beginning of this story in a way that is natural in your language. For example:

There was a blind man named Bartimaeus sitting beside the road. He was begging.
-or-
Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting beside the road.

beggar: The word beggar indicates here that Bartimaeus was humbly requesting something. In some languages it is necessary to indicate what he was requesting and whom he was requesting it from. For example:

a blind man named Bartimaeus, the Son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road and was begging the people who passed by on the road to give him money/something.

General Comment on 10:46a–c

Languages have different ways to express background information at the beginning of a story and to introduce new people. Use a natural way in your language to do this here.

Here is one way to do this in English:

46aJesus and his disciples came to the city of Jericho. 46bWhen they left the city, there was a large crowd with them. As they walked along, 46cthey saw a man sitting by the roadside. His name was Bartimaeus, and he was the son of Timaeus. He was a blind man, so he sat and begged the people who passed by to give him money.

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