Then a paralytic was brought to Him, carried by four men.
Parallel translations
- WEB Four people came, carrying a paralytic to him.
- KJV And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.
- NKJV Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.
- NASB And some people *came, bringing to Him a man who was paralyzed, carried by four men.
- NLT four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Four men come carrying a paralyzed man to Jesus. Their determined love brings the helpless to the Healer.
Overview
The paralytic could not come on his own, but his friends bring him. This pictures how genuine faith acts on behalf of others in need. Their effort sets up one of the clearest demonstrations of Jesus' authority to forgive and heal.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Luke 5:18–26Just then some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They tried to bring him inside to set him before Jesus,
- Matt 9:1–8Jesus got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own town.
- Matt 4:24News about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering acute pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed—and He healed them.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 2:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.