Behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, you son of David!”
Parallel Translations
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Behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, you son of David!”
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And beholde two blinde men sittinge by the waysyde when they hearde Iesus passe by cryed sayinge: Thou Lorde the sonne of David have mercy on vs.
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And beholde, two blinde men, sitting by the way side, when they heard that Iesus passed by, cryed, saying, O Lord, the Sonne of Dauid, haue mercie on vs.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (3)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (19)
Passages linked to Matthew 20:30 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Mark 10:46 They came to Jericho. As he went out from Jericho, with his disciples and a great multitude, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road.
- Isaiah 42:16 I will bring the blind by a way that they don’t know. I will lead them in paths that they don’t know. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. I will do these things, and I will not forsake them.
- Matthew 12:22-23 Then one possessed by a demon, blind and mute, was brought to him and he healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. All the multitudes were amazed, and said, “Can this be the son of David?”
- Matthew 21:9 The multitudes who went in front of him, and those who followed, kept shouting, “Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
- Matthew 21:14 The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.
- Matthew 22:42 saying, “What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “Of David.”
- Psalms 146:8 Yahweh opens the eyes of the blind. Yahweh raises up those who are bowed down. Yahweh loves the righteous.
- Isaiah 29:18 In 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.
- Isaiah 35:5-6 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame man will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing; for waters will break out in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.
- Isaiah 42:18 “Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see.
- Isaiah 59:10 We grope for the wall like the blind. Yes, we grope as those who have no eyes. We stumble at noon as if it were twilight. Among those who are strong, we are like dead men.
- Isaiah 61:1-2 The Lord Yahweh’s Spirit is on me, because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to those who are bound, to proclaim the year of Yahweh’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
- Matthew 9:27-31 As Jesus passed by from there, two blind men followed him, calling out and saying, “Have mercy on us, son of David!” When he had come into the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They told him, “Yes, Lord.” Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” Their eyes were opened. Jesus strictly commanded them, saying, “See that no one knows about this.” But they went out and spread abroad his fame in all that land.
- Matthew 15:22 Behold, a Canaanite woman came out from those borders, and cried, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, you son of David! My daughter is severely possessed by a demon!”
- Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed,
- Luke 7:21 In that hour he cured many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits; and to many who were blind he gave sight.
- John 9:1-12 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “This man didn’t sin, nor did his parents; but, that the works of God might be revealed in him. I must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” When he had said this, he spat on the ground, made mud with the saliva, anointed the blind man’s eyes with the mud, and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So he went away, washed, and came back seeing. The neighbors therefore, and those who saw that he was blind before, said, “Isn’t this he who sat and begged?” Others were saying, “It is he.” Still others were saying, “He looks like him.” He said, “I am he.” They therefore were asking him, “How were your eyes opened?” He answered, “A man called Jesus made mud, anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went away and washed, and I received sight.” Then they asked him, “Where is he?” He said, “I don’t know.”
- Acts 2:30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,
- Romans 1:3-4 concerning his Son, who was born of the offspring of David according to the flesh, who was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 30 And, behold, two blind men sitting by the…
30 And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David.
Ver. 30. When they heard that Jesus passed by] Happy it was for them that, though blind, yet they were not deaf. For as death came in by the ear, so doth life. "Hear, and your soul shall live," Isa 55:3; a heavy ear is a singular judgment, Isa 6:11; a hearing ear a special favour, Pro 20:12. When God struck Zacharias, Luk 1:22, he made him dumb, but not deaf. When God struck Saul, he made him blind but not deaf. When God struck Mephibosheth, he made him lame, but not deaf. There is a deaf devil, Mar 9:25, and a deaf adder, Psa 58:4, and a deaf man, that yet want for no ears, Isa 43:8. But "he that heareth instruction is in the way of life," saith Solomon. These two blind beggars had heard of Christ by the hearing of the ear, but that satisfied them not, unless their eyes also might see him, Job 42:5. They waylay therefore the Lord of light, who gives them upon their suit, both sight and light, irradiates both organ and object, cures them of their both outward and inward blindness at once.
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Thou Son of David] They knew and acknowledged Christ to be the true Messiah. Few such knowing blind beggars today. They are commonly more blind in mind than body, loose and lawless vagrants; such as are neither of any church nor commonwealth; but as the baser sort of people in Swethland, who do always break the sabbath, saying, that it is only for gentlemen to sanctify it; or rather as the poor Brazilians, who are said to be sine rege, lege, fide, without any government, law, or religion.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And the multitude rebuked them,.... Who were either the…
And the multitude rebuked them,.... Who were either the friends or enemies of Christ: if his friends, they might rebuke them, that they might not be so troublesome to him, and judging it unworthy of him to have anything to do with such mean persons, and supposing that their business was only to ask alms of him; or if they were his enemies, or not so well affected to him, they might chide them for giving him such high characters, as Lord, and Son of David; and therefore being displeased with such encomiums, reproved them,
because they should hold their peace; be silent, and say no more of that kind, lest others should take up the same notion of him, and it should prevail among the people,
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But they cried the more, saying, have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. They lifted up their voice higher, and cried the more loudly, that their voice might be above the noise of the people, and be heard by Christ; and renewed their request with more eagerness and importunity, repeating the characters they before gave him, being not in the least intimidated by the rebukes of the people: their faith in Jesus, as the Messiah, being more increased, and their desires of his pity and compassion being more enlarged, they grew bolder, and more resolute, as faith often does by opposition, and trials.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Behold two blind men cried out - St. Mark…
Behold two blind men cried out - St. Mark and St. Luke mention only one of them, blind Bartimeus. He was far the more eminent of the two, and, as it seems, spoke for both.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 30. Two blind men] Mr 10:46, and Lu…
Verse 30. Two blind men] Mr 10:46, and Lu 18:35, mention only one blind man, Bartimeus. Probably he was mentioned by the other evangelists, as being a person well known before and after his cure. Blindness of heart is a disorder of which, men seldom complain, or from which they desire to be delivered; and it is one property of this blindness, to keep the person from perceiving it, and to persuade him that his sight is good.
Sitting by the way side] In the likeliest place to receive alms, because of the multitudes going and coming between Jerusalem and Jericho.
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Cried out] In the midst of judgments God remembers mercy. Though God had deprived them, for wise reasons, of their eyes, he left them the use of their speech. It is never so ill with us, but it might be much worse: let us, therefore, be submissive and thankful.
Have mercy on us] Hearing that Jesus passed by, and not knowing whether they should ever again have so good an opportunity of addressing him, they are determined to call, and call earnestly. They ask for mercy, conscious that they deserve nothing, and they ask with faith-Son of David, acknowledging him as the promised Messiah.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Two blind men. St. Mark, (x. 46.) when he…
Two blind men. St. Mark, (x. 46.) when he seems to relate the same passage, mentions but one, called Bartimeus; perhaps because he was the more famous of the two. (Witham) --- These were very opportunely presented to our Lord, that they might go up to Jerusalem with him, after they had received sight from his divine hands, and appear there as witnesses of the divinity of his mission. (St. John Chrysostom, hom. lxvi, in Matt.) --- We may here consider, if the blindness of the body be looked upon as a very great misfortune, how much greater must be the darkness of the soul. The former is only a privation of the light of day, the other is a privation of the light of grace and glory. The light of this world, though a great blessing, is enjoyed in common with the brute creation; it serves only to distinguish material objects. The light which Christ communicates to the soul, enables us to know God and his sacred truths, as revealed to his holy Catholic Church; it elevates us above all inferior creatures, it dissipates the spiritual darkness caused by sin and our unruly passions, and conducts us to the true light of eternal glory. Oh what unspeakable joy must then fill and overwhelm the elect, when in the light of God they see light itself, the bright countenance of their loving and beloved Father!!!
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 30. Behold, two blind men — Mark mentions but…
30. Behold, two blind men — Mark mentions but one, and tells us his name. He was Bartimeus; and the very fact that he so names him seems to indicate that he was a well-known person at the time. As his was the case of special interest, whose cure Mark wishes to narrate, so he omits to state that another man was healed at the same time. It is very possible that Mark was not informed of that fact. Inspiration does not imply omniscience. One inspired writer may be more fully informed than another. Both may be perfectly true, so far as they go. But the naturalness of the picture of the two blind men, sitting by the road side, leaves but little doubt that Matthew, who was a disciple, (as Mark was not,) wrote as an eye-witness of the miracle. Heard — Of course they could only learn the fact from hearing and not from sight. That Jesus passed by — The “prophet of Galilee,” the raiser of Lazarus from the dead, the teacher and miracle worker of Perea, is not unknown by fame to these poor men. To the sufferers throughout the land that name would have a special interest. Its report would have a rapid circulation among the sons and daughters of affliction. They would somehow know more about him, and have more inclination for faith in him, than anybody else. Son of David — Modern commentators have much difficulty with the genealogy of our Saviour in the first chapter of Matthew, by which he is shown to be the son of David; but these two blind men have not. They confess his pedigree. They believe that the true descendant of the ancient king of Israel is now approaching, and that he is the promised one for whom Israel is looking.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (30) Behold, two blind men sitting.—Two difficulties present themselves…
(30) Behold, two blind men sitting.—Two difficulties present themselves on comparing this narrative with the accounts of the same or a similar event in St. Mark and St. Luke. (1.) The former agrees with St. Matthew as to time and place, but speaks of one blind man only, and gives his name as “Bartimseus, the son of Timaeus.” (2.) The latter speaks of one only, and fixes the time of the miracle at our Lord’s entry into Jericho. The probable explanation of (1) is, that of the two men, the one whom St. Mark names was the more conspicuous and better known, and of (2), that St. Luke, visiting the scene and having the spot pointed out to him outside the gates of the city, was left to conjecture, or was misinformed, as to the work having been done when our Lord drew nigh unto it. The fact that St. Luke alone records the incident connected with Zacchæus (Luk_19:1-10) indicates either that he had been on the spot as an inquirer, or had sought for local sources of information. The assumption that he recorded a different miracle from St. Matthew and St. Mark is possible, but hardly probable, and certainly needless, except on a very rigid and a priori theory of inspiration. It is possible, again, that St. Luke’s local inquiries may have made his narrative more accurate than the recollection on which St. Matthew’s and St. Mark’s rested.
O Lord, thou son of David.—The blind men probably echoed the whispered murmurs of the crowd that was sweeping by, or, in any case, used (as did the woman of Canaan, Mat_15:22) the most popular and widely diffused of the names of the Messiah. They were beggars, and they appealed to the pity of the King.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Two blind men. St. Matthew is doubtless accurate in…
Two blind men. St. Matthew is doubtless accurate in this statement. Tradition might easily drop one of the sufferers in the course of time, but it is not likely to have multiplied one into two. These sufferers had heard of the miracles of healing performed by Jesus in his various circuits, and especially of the late cure at Jerusalem of one born blind, and they were ready to believe in his power and to profit by his mercy. Heard. The beggars, (Mar_10:46) debarred from sight, had their attention aroused by the tread of numerous feet, and the voices of the excited crowd, and naturally asked the bystanders to tell them what it all meant. When they heard that Jesus was there, the hope of relief immediately rushed into their mind. Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David! "O Lord" is only the usual respectful address of an inferior to one in higher station; but to call on Jesus as "Son of David" was virtually to acknowledge him to be the Messiah, who, as old prophets foretold, was to open the eyes of the blind. (Isa_29:18 Isa_35:5) The same cry had been raised by the blindmen who were cured earlier in the ministry, (Mat_9:27) and by the Syro-Phoenician woman, (Mat_15:22, where see note) How these men had learned the truth we know not; they could not see or read for themselves; their faith must have come by hearing, and the inward illumination of the Holy Spirit.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 30. Two blind men. Mark and Luke name only…
30. Two blind men. Mark and Luke name only one, blind Bartimæus, probably well known and hence named.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain two blind men
two blind men
A discrepancy has been imagined between this account and those in Mar 10:46; Luk 18:35. Matthew and Mark obviously refer to a work of healing as Jesus departed from Jericho. Bartimaeus, the active one of the two, the one who cried, "Jesus, thou Son of David," is specifically mentioned by Mark. Of the other one of the "two," we know nothing. The healing described by Luk 18:35 occurred before Jesus entered Jericho. As to the form of appeal, "Son of David" (cf); Mat 9:27; Mat 15:22; Mat 21:9. Jesus must have been so addressed constantly. The narratives therefore supplement, but in no way contradict each other.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.