9:6a

But: There is some contrast here. The contrast is between the easy thing to say and the hard thing to say. The easy thing to say is “Your sins are forgiven” (in 9:5). In 9:6, Jesus also did the hard thing. He healed the paralyzed man.

Some English versions show this contrast with the conjunction But. Other English versions do not have a conjunction here.

so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…: This clause expresses Jesus’ purpose for healing the paralytic. He wanted the scribes and everyone else to know that he had the authority to forgive sins.

In Greek, as in the Berean Standard Bible, this is not a complete sentence. The Berean Standard Bible uses a an ellipsis (…) to show that this is not a complete sentence.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

• Translate this purpose as a complete sentence. For example:

I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. (God’s Word)
-or-
I will show you that the Son of Man has the right to forgive sins here on earth. (Contemporary English Version)

• Add some implied information to make it a complete sentence. For example:

But ⌊now I will say the other/hard thing⌋ so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins

the Son of Man: Jesus used the phrase the Son of Man to refer to himself. In some languages it may be necessary to add the pronoun “I” to show that Jesus was referring to himself. For example:

⌊I,⌋ the Son of Man

This phrase also occurs in 8:20b. You should translate it here as you did there. See also Son of Man in Key Biblical Terms for more information.

has authority: The words has authority refer to having the right and the power to do something. God gave Jesus the right and the power to forgive sins.

Here are some other ways to translate these words:

has the right (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
has the power

on earth: The phrase on earth indicates that Jesus had the authority to forgive sins while he lived on earth. It was not only at a future time of judgment in heaven that he would have that authority.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

here on earth (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
even on earth

9:6b

Get up: This is the same word as in 9:5c. You should translate it here as you did there.

pick up your mat: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as mat is the same word as in 9:2a. It can mean “sleeping mat” or even “stretcher” for carrying sick people.

Here are some other ways to translate this command:

Pick up your mat (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
take your mat (New Century Version)

go home: Jesus told the man to go back to his home. Jesus wanted to show that the man was healed and could walk. He was not implying that he was annoyed or bothered by the man.

Here are some other ways to translate this command:

return home

-or-

⌊you may⌋ go home ⌊now⌋

© 2023 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.