The man looked around. “Yes,” he said, “I see people, but I can’t see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around.”
Parallel translations
- WEB He looked up, and said, “I see men; for I see them like trees walking.”
- KJV And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
- BSB The man looked up and said, “I can see the people, but they look like trees walking around.”
- NKJV And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.”
- NASB And he looked up and said, “I see people, for I see them like trees, walking around.”
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
The man sees only partially—people look like walking trees. His sight is real but incomplete.
Overview
This first stage of healing is the only miracle Jesus performs in two steps, and Mark surely intends it as a parable. It mirrors the disciples, who truly see something of Jesus yet not clearly. It assures believers that even partial, growing faith is genuine and that Christ will complete what he begins.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Isa 29:18In that day, the deaf will hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind will see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
- Isa 32:3The eyes of those who see will not be dim, and the ears of those who hear will listen.
- 1 Cor 13:9–12For we know in part, and we prophesy in part;
- Judg 9:36When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Behold, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains.” Zebul said to him, “You see the shadow of the mountains as if they were men.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 8:24 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.