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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Mark C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16
Mark 2 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28
OET (OET-LV) Why is_ this man _speaking thus?
He_is_slandering.
Who is_able to_be_forgiving sins, except not/lest one, the god?
OET (OET-RV) “Why’s he talking like that? He’s seriously insulting God. There’s only one who can forgive sins, and that’s God himself.”
In this section, some people brought a paralyzed man to Jesus. They hoped that Jesus would heal him. First, Jesus told the man that his sins were forgiven. Then Jesus proved that God had given him authority to both heal and forgive sins by healing the paralyzed man.
When Jesus said, “your sins,” he was referring to the sins that the man had done in his life. He was not implying that the man had offended him personally. The Jews thought that only God could forgive all of the sins that a person had done. They were offended that Jesus also claimed to have that authority.
You should translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
Jesus showed that he has authority to forgive people’s sins
Jesus healed a paralyzed man
There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 9:1–8 and Luke 5:17–26.
In this section the teachers of the law reacted to Jesus’ statement that the sins of the paralytic were forgiven. They thought that Jesus was an ordinary person who could not be the Messiah.
Each part of this verse expresses something that the religious leaders were thinking.
“Why does this man speak like this?
“How could he say that this paralyzed man’s sins are forgiven?
“Why should this man think that he can forgive sins?
“This man should not say that!
Why does this man speak like this?: This is a rhetorical question that the teachers of the law were asking in their minds. It expresses their disapproval of what Jesus had said. There are two ways to express this rhetorical question:
As a rhetorical question. For example:
Why would he say such a thing? (CEV)
How does he dare talk like this? (GNT)
As a statement. For example:
This man/fellow should not say that!
Use a natural form in your language to express surprise and disapproval. Translate in a way that would not imply that the question was spoken out loud.
this man: The Greek word that the BSB translates as this man indicates that the teachers of the law felt disrespect or even contempt for Jesus.
speak like this: The words speak like this refer to Jesus’ words to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven.”
He is blaspheming!
He is dishonoring God!
He is doing a terrible thing by acting as if he is God.
It is blasphemy! (RSV)
blaspheming: The Greek word the BSB translates as blaspheming often means “speaking against God” or “dishonoring God in a serious way.” In this context it refers to claiming to do something that only God had the authority to do. So the NCV says:
speaking as if he were God (NCV)
Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Who except God can forgive sins?”
Only God has the authority/power to forgive sins.”
God can forgive sins but a person cannot.”
Who can forgive sins but God alone?: This is a rhetorical question. The teachers of the law believed that God is the only one who has authority to forgive sins. They used the rhetorical question to express this belief in a very emphatic way. There are two ways to translate this rhetorical question:
As a question. For example:
Doesn’t he know that only God can forgive sins?
As an emphatic statement:
No one except God can forgive sins!
Only God can forgive sins. (NCV)
Jesus is just a man. He cannot forgive sins. Only God can forgive sins.
Use whichever form is most natural in your language to emphasize a belief. Do not imply that the teachers of the law were speaking aloud.
forgive: In this context the word forgive refers to canceling sins so that a person will not be punished for them. It is another form of the same word that was used in 2:5c. You should translate in a similar way here.
sins: See the note on 2:5c.
God: The Greek word that the BSB translates as God refers here to the eternal spirit who created everything. He is more powerful than any other spirit, and he is perfectly good and wise. He deserves to be worshipped. Here are some ways to translate God:
Use a name or title for God that people in your culture already use.
Use a descriptive term that fits the truth about God that is revealed in the Bible. For example:
Creator
Great Spirit
Ruler of the universe
See how you translated God in 1:1. For more detailed information, see God in the Glossary.
In some languages it may be more natural to express the parts of this verse in a different order. For example:
7aIt is blasphemy for a person 7bto say that a man’s sins are forgiven! 7cNo one can forgive a person’s sins except God.
7cNo one can forgive a person’s sins except God. 7bThis person is blaspheming 7aby saying that the paralytic’s sins are forgiven.
7cGod can forgive sins, but a person cannot. 7aWhen this man says he forgives the paralytic man’s sins, 7bhe is blaspheming against God.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion
τί οὗτος οὕτως λαλεῖ?
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τί οὗτος οὕτως λαλεῖ Βλασφημεῖ Τίς δύναται ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας εἰ μή εἱς ὁ Θεός)
The scribes are using the question form to show that they disapprove of how Jesus was speaking. If you would not use the question form for this purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or an exclamation. Alternate translation: [It is not right for this one to speak in this way.] or [This one should not be speaking in this way!]
Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-exceptions
τίς δύναται ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας, εἰ μὴ εἷς ὁ Θεός
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τί οὗτος οὕτως λαλεῖ Βλασφημεῖ Τίς δύναται ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας εἰ μή εἱς ὁ Θεός)
If, in your language, it would appear that the scribes were making a statement here and then contradicting it, you could reword this to avoid using an exception clause. Alternate translation: [Only one, God, is able to forgive sins, right?] or [Who is able to forgive sins? It is only God, right?]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion
τίς δύναται ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας, εἰ μὴ εἷς ὁ Θεός?
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τί οὗτος οὕτως λαλεῖ Βλασφημεῖ Τίς δύναται ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας εἰ μή εἱς ὁ Θεός)
The scribes are using the question form to indicate that they are confident that only God can forgive sins. If you would not use the question form for this purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or an exclamation. Alternate translation: [No one is able to forgive sins except one, God.] or [No one can ever forgive sins except one, God!]
OET (OET-LV) Why is_ this man _speaking thus?
He_is_slandering.
Who is_able to_be_forgiving sins, except not/lest one, the god?
OET (OET-RV) “Why’s he talking like that? He’s seriously insulting God. There’s only one who can forgive sins, and that’s God himself.”
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
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