18:36a

When he heard the crowd going by: The blind man could hear people in the crowd talking and the sound of their footsteps. Another way to translate this is:

When the blind person heard ⌊the noise of⌋ the many people who were passing

18:36b

he asked what was happening: The blind man wanted to know what had caused so many people to be passing by. Another way to translate this is:

the blind man asked ⌊the crowd⌋ what this ⌊noise/occasion⌋ was

In some languages it may be more natural to translate this clause as direct speech. For example:

“What is happening?” he asked ⌊people in the crowd⌋.

This story contains both direct and indirect speech. See the General Comment on 18:36–43 at the end of 18:43c for more information.

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