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Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Be opened!”
Mark 7:34 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB Looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!”
  • KJV And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.
  • BSB And looking up to heaven, He sighed deeply and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means, “Be opened!”).
  • NKJV Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”
  • NASB and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He *said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!”

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

Jesus looks to heaven, sighs, and commands 'Be opened!'—healing with divine authority while grieving creation's brokenness. His word alone accomplishes the cure.

Overview

Looking to heaven shows that Jesus' power comes from the Father, and the sigh expresses his compassionate sorrow over a world marred by sin and suffering. The Aramaic word 'Ephphatha' is preserved by Mark to convey the immediacy and authority of Jesus' command. As the Word made flesh, Jesus speaks and creation responds, foreshadowing the new creation he brings through the gospel.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 19

  • John 11:41So they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, “Father, I thank you that you listened to me.
  • Mark 5:41Taking the child by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha cumi!” which means, being interpreted, “Girl, I tell you, get up!”
  • Acts 9:40Peter sent them all out, and knelt down and prayed. Turning to the body, he said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.
  • John 11:33When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews weeping who came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,
  • Acts 9:34Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed!” Immediately he arose.
  • Mark 6:41He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves, and he gave to his disciples to set before them, and he divided the two fish among them all.
  • John 11:43When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
  • Mark 8:12He sighed deeply in his spirit, and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Most certainly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
  • Isa 53:3He was despised, and rejected by men; a man of suffering, and acquainted with disease. He was despised as one from whom men hide their face; and we didn’t respect him.
  • Mark 1:41Being moved with compassion, he stretched out his hand, and touched him, and said to him, “I want to. Be made clean.”
  • Luke 7:14He came near and touched the coffin, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!”
  • Luke 18:42Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight. Your faith has healed you.”
  • John 17:1Jesus said these things, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may also glorify you;
  • John 11:35Jesus wept.
  • Mark 15:34At the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is, being interpreted, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
  • Luke 19:41When he came near, he saw the city and wept over it,
  • John 11:38Jesus therefore, again groaning in himself, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone lay against it.
  • Heb 4:15For we don’t have a high priest who can’t be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin.
  • Ezek 21:6–7“Sigh therefore, you son of man. You shall sigh before their eyes with a broken heart and with bitterness.

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 7:34YouTube · 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 7:34 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.