3 They came to him bringing a paralytic,av carried by four of them. 4 Since they were not able to bring him toF Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and after digging through it, they lowered the mat on which the paralytic was lying. 5 Seeing their faith,aw Jesus told the paralytic, “Son, your sinsax are forgiven.”ay

6 But some of the scribesaz were sitting there, questioningba in their hearts: 7 “Why does he speak like this? He’s blaspheming!bb Who can forgivebc sinsbd but God alone?”be

8 Right awaybf Jesus perceived in his spiritbg that they were thinking like this within themselves and said to them, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier:bh to say to the paralytic,bi ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat, and walk’?bj 10 But so that you may know that the Son of Manbk has authoritybl on earth to forgive sins”bm—he told the paralytic—