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four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat.
Mark 2:3 · New Living Translation
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.
  • BSB Then a paralytic was brought to Him, carried by four men.
  • 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.

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 5:18–26Behold, men brought a paralyzed man on a cot, and they sought to bring him in to lay before Jesus.
  • Matt 9:1–8He entered into a boat, and crossed over, and came into his own city.
  • Matt 4:24The report about him went out into all Syria. They brought to him all who were sick, afflicted with various diseases and torments, possessed with demons, epileptics, and paralytics; and he healed them.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Mark videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Mark 2:3YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MarkMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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.