Section 8:22–26

Jesus healed a blind man at Bethsaida

Jesus and his disciples left the Pharisees at the region of Dalmanutha and got back into their boat. In this section, they had crossed the Sea of Galilee and landed at the village of Bethsaida on the northeast shore of the lake. As soon as they arrived, some people brought a blind man to Jesus so that Jesus would heal him.

The main people in this story are Jesus and the blind man. The meaning lines of the Display sometimes use the nouns “Jesus” and “the man,” sometimes the pronouns “he” or “him,” to refer to them. In some languages it may be more natural to refer to them in different ways in some of these situations. Refer to Jesus and the blind man in a way that is natural in your language.

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

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

The healing of a blind man at Bethsaida
-or-
A blind man healed at Bethsaida

There are no direct parallel passages for this section. Some similar terms are used in John 9:6–7.

Paragraph 8:22–24

8:22a

The events in 8:22–26 happened sometime after the events in 8:14–21 ended. The Greek text does not indicate how much time passed between these two stories. In some languages, it is natural to begin a story with a time word or phrase. If your language is like that, use an expression here that is not too specific. For example:

Sometime later
-or-
After that

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

When they arrived: The pronoun they refers to Jesus and his disciples.

at Bethsaida: Bethsaida was the name of a village on the northeast shore of the Sea of Galilee. See how you translated Bethsaida in 6:45.

8:22b

some people: The Greek form that the Berean Standard Bible translates as some people is literally “they.” Mark did not say who these people were. They were apparently residents of Bethsaida. In many languages it will be helpful to supply a general subject like some people, as the Berean Standard Bible does.

brought a blind man: In this context the verb brought indicates that people led, escorted or accompanied a blind man to the place where Jesus was. Use an expression in your language that is appropriate for guiding someone who is blind.

8:22c

begged Jesus to touch him: The people wanted Jesus to touch the blind man in order to heal him. In some languages it may be necessary to make that information explicit. For example:

begged Jesus to touch him and heal him
-or-
begged Jesus to touch him so that he would be healed

begged: The word begged means “pleaded” for something. It indicates that the people earnestly desired the request they were making. See how you translated begged in 7:32c.

to touch him: The text does not say which part of the man’s body Jesus was asked to touch. If your translation requires you to provide this information, you could say:

touch his eyes

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