Suddenly a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak.
Parallel translations
- WEB Behold, a woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years came behind him, and touched the fringe of his garment;
- KJV And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:
- NKJV And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment.
- NASB And behold, a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind Him, and touched the border of His cloak;
- NLT Just then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind him. She touched the fringe of his robe,
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
A woman suffering twelve years of bleeding touches the edge of Jesus' garment. Her quiet, desperate faith reaches out for healing.
Overview
The woman's condition made her ceremonially unclean and socially isolated for twelve years. In faith she touches the fringe of Jesus' cloak, believing even that contact can heal her. Her approach reveals genuine, if timid, trust that Christ's power is sufficient for the most chronic affliction.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Luke 8:43–56including a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had spent all her money on physicians, but no one was able to heal her.
- Mark 6:56And wherever He went—villages and towns and countrysides—they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged Him just to let them touch the fringe of His cloak. And all who touched Him were healed.
- Matt 14:36and begged Him just to let them touch the fringe of His cloak. And all who touched Him were healed.
- Mark 5:25–43And a woman was there who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years.
- Deut 22:12You are to make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear.
- Acts 5:15As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.
- Lev 15:25–33When a woman has a discharge of her blood for many days at a time other than her menstrual period, or if it continues beyond her period, she will be unclean all the days of her unclean discharge, just as she is during the days of her menstruation.
- Matt 23:5All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
- Num 15:38–39“Speak to the Israelites and tell them that throughout the generations to come they are to make for themselves tassels for the corners of their garments, with a blue cord on each tassel.
- Acts 19:12so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and the diseases and evil spirits left them.
- Mark 8:22When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 9:20 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.