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The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Matthew 11:5 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.
  • BSB The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
  • NKJV The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
  • NASB those who are blind receive sight and those who limp walk, those with leprosy are cleansed and those who are deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
  • NLT the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.”

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 lists His healings and gospel preaching, echoing Isaiah's portrait of the Messiah. These works confirm that the promised age has dawned in Him.

Overview

Jesus' summary deliberately echoes Isaiah 35:5-6 and 61:1, prophecies of God's saving reign. The healing of the blind, lame, deaf, and lepers, the raising of the dead, and good news to the poor signal that the Messiah has come. The climactic note that 'the poor have good news preached to them' shows the kingdom's heart of grace.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 36

  • Isa 35:4–6Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
  • Isa 61:1–3The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
  • Isa 42:6–7I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
  • Luke 4:18The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
  • Isa 29:18And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.
  • Luke 7:21–22And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight.
  • John 14:11–12Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.
  • Jas 2:5Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
  • Matt 15:30–31And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them:
  • Matt 21:14And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.
  • Acts 14:8–10And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked:
  • John 11:43–44And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
  • Acts 3:2–8And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
  • Ps 146:8The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous:
  • John 10:25Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.
  • John 5:36But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.
  • Isa 43:8Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears.
  • John 10:38But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
  • Acts 4:9–10If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole;
  • Matt 9:30And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.
  • Matt 9:24–25He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.
  • 2 Kgs 5:14Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
  • Ps 22:26The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.
  • 2 Kgs 5:7And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.
  • Luke 7:14–16And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.
  • Isa 66:2For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
  • Ps 72:12–13For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
  • Mark 7:37And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.
  • Matt 8:1–4When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
  • John 2:23Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.
  • John 3:2The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
  • Mark 9:25When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
  • Matt 10:8Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
  • Matt 5:3Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
  • Zech 11:7And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.
  • Acts 2:22Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Matthew videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

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

  • VideoWatch teaching on Matthew 11:5YouTube · 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 MatthewMatthew 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

Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'

How Matthew 11:5 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.