OET interlinear MARK 2:9

2:9

In this verse Jesus asked the teachers of the law a rhetorical question. He asked it because he wanted people to think carefully about his authority. He did not ask it to get information from them. There are two main ways to translate this rhetorical question.

• As a question. For example:

  I have said to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven.” Would it be easier to tell him, “Rise, take your mat, and walk?”

• As a statement. For example:

  Think about this: I have told the paralytic that his sins are forgiven. Consider whether it would be easier to tell him to get up and walk.

Use a form that will express the meaning most clearly in your language.

2:9a

“Which is easier: to say…?: The phrase Which is easier: to say… introduces a rhetorical question that compares two sayings. These sayings represent two actions: forgiving the paralytic’s sins and healing the paralytic.

Both of these actions require God’s power. Forgiving sins requires great authority, so in that way, it is harder to do. However, the teachers could not see whether Jesus could really pardon the paralytic’s sins against God. They could see that he healed the paralytic if the paralytic really got up from his mat and walked.The majority view about the answer seems to be that saying “your sins are forgiven” is easier because there was no way for people to prove whether it had happened. However, there are other opinions. Some believe that Jesus’ question was a trick question because both actions that he mentioned were equally difficult. The question made the teachers of the law think and realize that both these things were impossible for men to do in their own power or authority. A third opinion is that Jesus and his audience would understand healing the man to be the easier of the two actions, since people who had power (from God) to heal were known, but God alone could forgive sins. Following the majority view, Deibler fills out the implied information in the argument in this way:It is easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven’ [because people won’t be able to tell if you are a fake or not]. [It is far more risky] to say ‘Rise up and walk’ [because people can see if it happens]. [I will do something that you consider to be God’s prerogative, but which can be easily verified], so that you may know that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins, [which you consider to be God’s prerogative, but which cannot be visibly verified.]

Consider the way that people in your language would ask such a question. If they do not use comparatives, you may need to express it in a different way. For example:

Is it easy for me to…? Or is easy for me to…?

Which is easy and which is hard…?

to say to a paralytic: The Greek words which the BSB translates as to say to a paralytic introduce a quote within a quote. Jesus was telling the teachers of the law what he had said to the paralytic. See the General Comment on 2:9a–b for an example of using indirect speech here.

paralytic: A paralytic is a person who cannot move some or all of his body. This particular paralytic could not walk. See the note on 2:3.

Your sins are forgiven: In 2:5 Jesus had already told the paralytic that his sins were forgiven. See the note on 2:5c.

2:9b

or to say: The phrase or to say introduces different words that Jesus could say to the paralytic. See the note on 2:9a.

‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’: This sentence is expressed as a command (or as three commands). If the man obeyed these commands, everyone would be able to see that Jesus had healed him.

mat: The mat refers to the thin mattress or stretcher on which the man was lying. See the note on 2:4c.