Mark 2 · Verse 5

Mark 2:5

When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
Mark 2:5, King James Version

Mark 2:5 in other translations

BSBWhen Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
WEBJesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
ASVAnd Jesus seeing their faith saith unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins are forgiven.
YLTand Jesus having seen their faith, saith to the paralytic, ‘Child, thy sins have been forgiven thee.'
DARBYBut Jesus, seeing their faith, says to the paralytic, Child, thy sins are forgiven thee.
BBEAnd Jesus, seeing their faith, said to him, Son, you have forgiveness for your sins.
WebsterWhen Jesus saw their faith, he said to the sick with the palsy, Son, thy sins are forgiven thee.

What does Mark 2:5 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
5. When Jesus saw their faith--It is remarkable that all the three narratives call it "their faith" which Jesus saw. That the patient himself had faith, we know from the proclamation of his forgiveness, which Jesus made before all; and we should have been apt to conclude that his four friends bore him to Jesus merely out of benevolent compliance with the urgent entreaties of the poor sufferer. But here we learn, not only that his bearers had the same faith with himself, but that Jesus marked it as a faith which was not to be defeated--a faith victorious over all difficulties. This was the faith for which He was ever on the watch, and which He never saw without marking, and, in those who needed anything from Him, richly rewarding. he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son--"be of good cheer" (Mt 9:2). thy sins be forgiven thee--By the word "be," our translators perhaps meant "are," as in Luke (Lu 5:20). For it is not a command to his sins to depart, but an authoritative proclamation of the man's pardoned state as a believer. And yet, as the Pharisees understood our Lord to be dispensing pardon by this saying, and Jesus not only acknowledges that they were right, but founds His whole argument upon the correctness of it, we must regard the saying as a royal proclamation of the man's forgiveness by Him to whom it belonged to dispense it; nor could such a style of address be justified on any lower supposition. (See on Lu 7:41, &c.).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verse 5. Their faith. Their confidence, or belief, that he could heal him.

Son. Literally, child. The Hebrews used the words son and child with a great latitude of signification. They were applied to children, to grandchildren, to adopted children, to any descendants, to disciples, followers, young people, and to dependents. Mt 1:1. In this place, it denotes affection, or kindness. It was a word of consolation:--an endearing appellation, applied by the Saviour to the sick man, to show his compassion, to inspire confidence, and to assure him that he would heal him.

(g) "saw their faith" Acts 14:9, Eph 2:8

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Mark 2:1-12

It was this man's misery that he needed to be so carried, and shows the suffering state of human life; it was kind of those who so carried him, and teaches the compassion that should be in men, toward their fellow-creatures in distress. True faith and strong faith may work in various ways; but it shall be accepted and approved by Jesus Christ. Sin is the cause of all our pains and sicknesses. The way to remove the…

Read the full comment on Mark 2:1-12 →

Mark 2:5 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ἰδὼνidōnhaving seenG1492
ὁho<the>G3588
ἸησοῦςIēsousJesusG2424
τὴνtēntheG3588
πίστινpistinfaithG4102
αὐτῶνautōnof themG846
λέγειlegeiHe saysG3004
τῷtōto theG3588
παραλυτικῷ·paralutikōparalytic;G3885
τέκνον,teknonSon,G5043
ἀφίενταίaphientaiare forgivenG863
σουsouof youG4771
αἱhaitheG3588
ἁμαρτίαιhamartiaisinsG266

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Mark 2:5

  • 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.

  • James 5:15

    And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

  • Mark 2:9-10

    Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)

  • 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 little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

  • Luke 5:20

    And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

  • Acts 5:31

    Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

  • 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 made whole from that hour.

  • Ephesians 2:8

    For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

  • Colossians 3:13

    Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

  • Psalms 32:1-5

    A Psalm of David, Maschil. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. …

  • Psalms 90:7-9

    For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled. Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.

  • John 5:14

    Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
saw.
Ge 22:12; Joh 2:25; Ac 11:23; 14:9; Eph 2:8; 1Th 1:3,4; Jas 2:18-22
he said.
9,10; Isa 53:11; Mt 9:2; Lu 5:20; 7:47-50; Ac 5:31; 2Co 2:10
Col 3:13
Son.The Jews believed that not only death but all disease was the consequence of sin. "There is no death without sin, nor any chastisement without iniquity;" and that "no diseased person could be healed of his disease till his sins were blotted out." Our Lord, therefore, as usual, appeals to their received opinions, and asserts his high dignity, by first forgiving the sins, and then healing the body of the paralytic.
5:34; Mt 9:22; Lu 8:48
sins.
Job 33:17-26; Ps 32:1-5; 90:7-9; 103:3; Isa 38:17; Joh 5:14
1Co 11:30; Jas 5:15

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Mark 2:4

    And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.

  • Mark 2:5

    When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.

  • Mark 2:6

    But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,

Read all of Mark 2

Mark 2:5 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y viendo Jesús la fe de ellos, dice al paralítico: Hijo, tus pecados te son perdonados.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Jésus, voyant leur foi, dit au paralytique: Mon enfant, tes péchés sont pardonnés.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Als Jesus aber ihren Glauben sah, spricht er zu dem Gelähmten: Kind, deine Sünden sind vergeben.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Cum autem vidisset Jesus fidem illorum, ait paralytico: Fili, dimittuntur tibi peccata tua.