Section 18:35–43

Jesus healed a blind beggar

As Jesus and his disciples continued their journey to Jerusalem, they came to Jericho. A blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. He asked Jesus to make him able to see again. Luke does not mention the beggar’s name, but Mark mentions that his name was Bartimaeus. Jesus healed him and told him that the reason he could now see was because he believed in Jesus.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Some other possible headings for this section are:

Jesus Heals a Blind Man (New Century Version)
-or-
Jesus gives sight to a blind man

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 9:27–31, 20:29–34 and Mark 10:46–52.

Paragraph 18:35–39

18:35a

As Jesus drew near to Jericho: This verse begins with a Greek word that means “it came about.” It introduces this new event. Here is another way to translate this:

Now it happened that as he drew near to Jericho (New Jerusalem Bible)

The Berean Standard Bible and many other English versions do not translate this word. The word may indicate that the events in this section did not happen immediately after those of the preceding section. Introduce the section in a natural way in your language.

The context shows that Jesus was not traveling alone. His disciples were with him, and other people were also traveling with them. In some languages it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

Jesus ⌊and those who were with him⌋ were coming near Jericho

Jericho: Jericho was a city that was between Jerusalem and the Jordan River. It was located about twenty four kilometers (12.5 miles) northeast of Jerusalem. It was mentioned in 10:30. Herod the Great had built several huge public buildings there before Jesus was born. Here is another way to translate this:

the city of Jericho (New Century Version)

18:35b

a blind man was sitting beside the road, begging: In this verse the blind man was sitting by the road because many people traveled on this road on their way to Jerusalem. It was a good place to beg people for help. Here is another way to translate this:

a blind man sat begging beside the road (Contemporary English Version)

begging: The word begging indicates here that the blind man was humbly requesting something. In New Testament times, blind people sometimes had to ask people for food or money in order to stay alive. In some languages it is necessary to indicate what he was requesting and from whom he was requesting it. For example:

The blind man was begging ⌊the people who passed by on the road⌋ ⌊to give him money/something⌋.

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