Mark 7:32

“And they bring to him a deaf man who could hardly speak, and they beg him to lay his hand on him.”
Mark 7:32 · direct translation from the Greek

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With the Greek beneath

Andκαὶthey bringφέρουσινto himαὐτῷa deaf manκωφὸνwho could hardly speak,καὶ μογιλάλονandκαὶthey begπαρακαλοῦσινhimαὐτὸνtoἵναlayἐπιθῇhis handτὴν χεῖραon him.αὐτῷ

Allusion · Isaiah 35:6

Go to Isaiah 35:6

“Who could hardly speak” (μογιλάλος) is a very rare word: in the Greek Bible it is found only here and in the Septuagint of Isaiah 35:6, which announces that the mute will sing.

They share words that are rare in the original, without a quotation.

Words of the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the OT (Isaiah 35:6 in the Septuagint numbering; Swete's text, CC BY-SA 4.0):

μογιλάλονmogilalonG3424μογιλάλων,mogilalōnLXX“stammerer”

Mark 7:32, word by word

they bringφέρουσινpherousin

bring

To carry or bring something or someone.

Where else “pherousin” appears

a deaf manκωφὸνkōphon

deaf

Someone who cannot hear.

Where else “kōphon” appears

who could hardly speakμογιλάλονmogilalon

speech impaired

Speaking with difficulty, stammering.

Where else “mogilalon” appears

they begπαρακαλοῦσινparakalousin

beg

To call someone to your side, implore them.

Where else “parakalousin” appears

layἐπιθῇepithēi

lay hands

To rest one's hands on someone to heal or bless them.

Where else “epithēi” appears

his handχεῖραcheira

hand

The part of the body at the end of the arm, used to hold and touch.

Where else “cheira” appears

Translation note

The Greek word for “who could hardly speak” appears only here and in Isaiah 35:6 in the ancient Greek translation, where it is announced that he will speak.

Parallel passages

Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.

Healings by the Sea of Galilee

Matthew 15:29-31

It is discussed whether Mark and Matthew tell the same healings.

See them side by side

Mark 7:31-37

³¹And again going out from the region of Tyre, he came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the midst of the region of the Decapolis. ³²And they bring to him a deaf man who could hardly speak, and they beg him to lay his hand on him. ³³And taking him aside from the crowd he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting, he touched his tongue; ³⁴and looking up to heaven, he sighed and says to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” ³⁵And his ears were opened, and the binding of his tongue was loosed, and he was speaking plainly. ³⁶And he ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more they proclaimed it. ³⁷And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well; he even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Matthew 15:29-31

²⁹And moving on from there, Jesus came beside the Sea of Galilee; and going up onto the mountain, he was sitting there. ³⁰And many crowds came to him, having with them the mute, blind, lame, maimed, and many others, and they set them at his feet; and he healed them, ³¹so that the crowd was amazed seeing the mute speaking, the maimed whole, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

The context

31And again going out from the region of Tyre, he came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the midst of the region of the Decapolis.

32 · This verse (above)

33And taking him aside from the crowd he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting, he touched his tongue;

Read all of Mark 7

To study Mark 7 in a group

1. What it says
What do the Pharisees and scribes criticize Jesus' disciples for, and how does he respond (vv. 5–8)?
2. What it means
Why does Jesus say that what comes out of the heart is what makes a person unclean (vv. 20–23)?
3. How I live it
The woman asked help for her little daughter and Jesus listened (vv. 25–30). Whom can you listen to with real attention today?

How to use it