Then points back to verse 15. Translators can also say “After that.”

A blind and dumb demoniac is translated “a man who was blind and could not talk because he had a demon” by Good News Translation. The causal relation is clearly indicated in the Greek sentence structure, and it should be made equally clear in translation. Demon possession is not a third illness, to be distinguished from the other two; it is in fact the cause of the man’s blindness and of his inability to speak. As in 9.32, Good News Translation avoids the use of dumb, because in American English it often means “stupid.”

The Greek participle translated demoniac was first used in 4.24; see also 8.16, 28, 33; 9.32; 15.22. The idea may be expressed in a number of ways. New English Bible has “a man who was possessed,” and New American Bible renders “A possessed man.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “an evil spirit ruled him.”

Good News Translation provides an excellent model for a blind and dumb demoniac: “a man who was blind and could not talk because he had a demon.” The phrase can also be restructured, as in “a man who had an evil spirit (in him) that made him so he was blind and could not speak.”

Was brought to him, a passive formation in Greek, is translated “some people brought to Jesus” by Good News Translation. Several other translations also shift to the active: “they brought to him” (New Jerusalem Bible) and “they brought him” (New English Bible). Him, of course, is Jesus.

And he healed him: the healing of the man is narrated briefly and without detail. Good News Translation says “Jesus healed the man.” Matthew’s primary concern is not with the miracle but with the accusation which the Pharisees level against Jesus (verse 24).

So that the dumb man spoke and saw sounds inconsistent to English speakers. If the man is dumb (unable to talk), how could he speak? “So that he was able to talk and see” of Good News Translation resolves the difficulty. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is even better (“Jesus healed him, and he was able to speak and see again”). New English Bible resolves the problem in yet another way: “Jesus cured him, restoring both speech and sight.” A slightly different way avoids “again”: “Jesus healed him, and he was thus able to speak and see.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .