Matthew 9:2 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Matthew 9:2
And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
to bear towards · verb — imperfect active indicative, 3rd person plural
him
αὐτῷautō
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative singular masculine
palsy
παραλυτικὸνparalutikon
G3885
as if dissolved · adjective — accusative singular masculine
lying
βεβλημένον.beblēmenon
G906
to throw (in various applications · verb — perfect passive participle, accusative singular masculine
on
ἐπὶepi
G1909
properly · preposition
bed
κλίνηςklinēs
G2825
a couch (for sleep · noun — genitive singular feminine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
Jesus
ἸησοῦςIēsous
G2424
Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua) · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
seeing
ἰδὼνidōn
G1492
used only in certain past tenses · verb — second aorist active participle, nominative singular masculine
their
αὐτῶνautōn
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive plural masculine
faith
πίστινpistin
G4102
persuasion · noun — accusative singular feminine
said
εἶπενeipen
G2036
to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
palsy
παραλυτικῷ·paralutikō
G3885
as if dissolved · adjective — dative singular masculine
Son
τέκνον,teknon
G5043
a child (as produced) · noun — vocative singular neuter
be of good cheer
θάρσειtharsei
G2293
to have courage · verb — present active imperative, 2nd person singular
thy
σοῦsoû
G4675
of thee
sins
ἁμαρτίαι.hamartiai
G266
a sin (properly abstract) · noun — nominative plural feminine
be forgiven
ἀφίενταίaphientai
G863
an intensive form of · verb — present passive indicative, 3rd person plural
thee
σοίsoí
G4671
to thee
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Mark 2:1-12 And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.
Luke 5:18-26 And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.
Jeremiah 31:33-34 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inwar…
Matthew 9:22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was ma…
Psalms 32:1-2 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Luke 7:47-50 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth littl…
Colossians 1:12-14 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Matthew 9:1-8
The first words of this chapter oblige us to look back to the close of that which precedes it, where we find the Gadarenes so resenting the loss of their swine, that they were disgusted with Christ's company, and besought him to depart out of their coasts. Now here it follows, He entered into a ship, and passed over. They bid him begone, and he took them at their word, and we never read that he came into their coasts again. Now here observe, 1. His justice - that he left them. Note, Christ will not tarry long where he is not welcome. In righteous judgment, he forsakes those places and persons that are weary of him, but abides with those that covet and court his stay. If the unbeliever will d…
And behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy,.... That is, some of the inhabitants of Capernaum, four men of that city particularly; for Mark says, Mark 2:3 he "was borne of four": these brought him to Jesus,
lying on a bed, or couch, he being so enfeebled by the disease upon him, his nerves so weak, and the members of his body in such a tremor, that he was not able to walk himself, nor even to be carried by others in any other way than this.
And Jesus seeing their faith; the faith of the bearers of him, his friends, who brought out a man to be healed, who was otherwise incurable; and though they could not, for the multitude, bring him directly to Christ, they were not discourag…
Matthew 9:1-8
Matthew 9:1-8
Mark 2:1-12
Luke 5:17-26
1. And entering into a ship, he passed over, and came into his own city. 2. And, lo, they brought to him a paralytic lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, Take courage, my son, thy sins are forgiven thee. 3. And, lo, some of the scribes said among themselves, This man blasphemeth. 4. And when Jesus saw their thoughts, he said, Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5. For whether is it easier to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? 6. But that you may know that the Son of man hath authority on earth to forgive sins, (then he saith to the paralytic,) Arise, take up thy bed, and…
The Church Fathers
In this paralytic the whole Gentile world is offered for healing, he is therefore brought by the ministration of Angels; he is called Son, because he is God's work; the sins of his soul which the Law could not remit are remitted him; for faith only justifies. Lastly, he shows the power of the resurrection, by taking up his bed, teaching that all sickness shall then be no more found in the body.
Note in this regard, my brothers, that God does not inquire into the wants of those who are deliriously ill. He does not wait to see the faith of the ignorant or probe the senseless wishes of the sick. Yet he does not refuse to help the faith of another, so that by grace alone he confers whatever is proper of the divine will. In fact, my brothers, when does a doctor ever inquire into or examine the wishes of those who are ailing, for a patient is prone to be of a contrary mind in his wishes and demands?
(ubi sup.) Of how great power with God must a man's own faith be, when that of others here availed to heal a man both within and without. The paralytic hears his pardon pronounced, in silence uttering no thanks, for he was more anxious for the cure of his body than his soul. Christ therefore with good reason accepts the faith of those that bare him, rather than his own hardness of heart. (ubi sup.) The Lord requires not in this world the will of those who are without understanding, but looks to the faith of others; as the physician does not consult the wishes of the patient, when his malady requires other things.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Bed — (Heb. mittah), for rest at night (Ex. 8:3; 1 Sam. 19:13, 15, 16, etc.); during sickness (Gen. 47:31; 48:2; 49:33, etc.); as a sofa for rest (1 Sam. 28:23; Amos 3:12). Another Hebrew word (er’es) so…
Custom — A tax imposed by the Romans. The tax-gatherers were termed publicans (q.v.), who had their stations at the gates of cities, and in the public highways, and at the place set apart for that purpose,…
Palsy — A shorter form of “paralysis.” Many persons thus afflicted were cured by our Lord (Matt. 4:24; 8:5-13; 9:2-7; Mark 2:3-11; Luke 7:2-10; John 5:5-7) and the apostles (Acts 8:7; 9:33, 34).
Blasphemy · Charged upon Christ — Charged upon Christ
Capernaum · Miracles of Jesus performed at — Miracles of Jesus performed at
Diseases · Mentioned in scripture: Palsy — Mentioned in scripture: Palsy
Paralysis · .By Jesus — .By Jesus
Pardon · Exemplified: The Paralytic — Exemplified: The Paralytic
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Controversy ensued among Jesus’ opponents, the teachers of religious law and Pharisees (9:1-13), and among the disciples of John the Baptist (9:14-17).
9:1 His own town was Capernaum (Mark 2:1), where he apparently relocated from Nazareth after being rejected there (Matt 4:13; Luke 4:16-31).
