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Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.
Mark 8:22 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB He came to Bethsaida. They brought a blind man to him, and begged him to touch him.
  • KJV And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.
  • BSB When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
  • NASB And they *came to Bethsaida. And some people *brought a man who was blind to Jesus and *begged Him to touch him.
  • NLT When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus, and they begged him to touch the man and heal him.

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

At Bethsaida a blind man is brought to Jesus with a plea for healing touch. The scene begins a uniquely staged miracle.

Overview

This account, found only in Mark, is placed deliberately between the disciples' partial understanding and Peter's confession. The friends' faith in bringing the man to Jesus models intercession. The healing that follows becomes a living parable of how spiritual sight comes by Christ's hand, often in stages.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 12

  • Matt 11:21“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
  • Luke 10:13“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
  • Mark 6:45Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat, and to go ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he himself sent the multitude away.
  • Mark 2:3Four people came, carrying a paralytic to him.
  • John 12:21These, therefore, came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”
  • John 1:44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter.
  • Matt 9:29Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.”
  • Matt 8:15He touched her hand, and the fever left her. She got up and served him.
  • Mark 5:27–29having heard the things concerning Jesus, came up behind him in the crowd, and touched his clothes.
  • Matt 8:3Jesus stretched out his hand, and touched him, saying, “I want to. Be made clean.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
  • Luke 9:10The apostles, when they had returned, told him what things they had done. He took them, and withdrew apart to a deserted place of a city called Bethsaida.
  • Mark 6:55–56and ran around that whole region, and began to bring those who were sick, on their mats, to where they heard he was.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

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 8:22YouTube · 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 8:22 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.