^18:35As¹⁰⁴ Jesus¹⁰⁵ approached¹⁰⁶ Jericho,¹⁰⁷ a blind man was sitting by the road begging. ^18:36When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was going on. ^18:37They¹⁰⁸ told him, “Jesus the Nazarene is passing by.” ^18:38So¹⁰⁹ he called out,¹¹⁰ “Jesus, Son of David,¹¹¹ have mercy¹¹² on me!” ^18:39And those who were in front¹¹³ scolded¹¹⁴ him to get him to be quiet, but he shouted¹¹⁵ even more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

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Footnotes

104 Grk “Now it happened that as.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
105 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
106 The phrase is “he drew near to” (19:29; 24:28). It is also possible the term merely means “is in the vicinity of.” Also possible is a reversal in the timing of the healing and Zacchaeus events for literary reasons as the blind man “sees” where the rich man with everything did not.
107 For location see ; ; ; ; ; .
108 Here δέ (de) has not been translated. “They” could refer to bystanders or people in the crowd.
109 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the blind man learning that Jesus was nearby.
110 Grk “called out, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
111 Jesus was more than a Nazarene to this blind person, who saw quite well that Jesus was Son of David. He understood what Luke 7:22–23 affirms. There was a tradition in Judaism that the Son of David (Solomon) had great powers of healing (Josephus, 8.2.5 [8.42–49]).
112 Have mercy on me is a request for healing (cf. 17:13). It is not owed the man. He simply asks for God’s kind grace.
113 That is, those who were at the front of the procession.
114 Or “rebuked.” The crowd’s view was that surely Jesus would not be bothered with someone as unimportant as a blind beggar.
115 Public opinion would not sway the blind man from getting Jesus’ attention. The term shouted is strong as it can be used of animal cries.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”

He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. Hearing a crowd passing by, he inquired what was happening. “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,” they told him.

So he called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Then those in front told him to keep quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

NLTNew Living Translation

As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road. When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. They told him that Jesus the Nazarene was going by. So he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

“Be quiet!” the people in front yelled at him.

But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Now it happened that as he drew near to Jericho, a certain blind man was sitting on the side of the road begging. And when he heard a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. And they told him, “Jesus the Nazarene is passing by.” And he called out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And those who were in front rebuked him, that he should be silent, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

KJV 1900King James Version

And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging: And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.

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