Section 32 of 777:31-37Mark

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King James VersionMark 7:31-37

And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.

And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him.

And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue;

And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.

And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.

And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it;

And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.

Scripture text: King James Version, Standardized 1769 text. Public domain in the United States.About this Bible text

Mark 7:31-37

Jesus Opens a Deaf Man's Ears and Speech

He takes a deaf man aside and opens what was closed

Through Sidon toward the Sea of Galilee and the Decapolis, people bring a man who is deaf and has a speech difficulty, and they beg Jesus to lay his hand on him. He takes him aside from the crowd, puts his fingers in his ears, spits, touches his tongue, looks up, sighs, and says "Ephphatha"—be opened. The man's ears are opened, the bond of his tongue is released, and he speaks plainly. Jesus charges them to tell no one; the more he charges, the more they proclaim. They are astonished beyond measure: he has done all things well, making the deaf hear and the mute speak.

The story foregrounds restoration and private attention. It does not make Deaf people, sign language, or speech differences spiritually inferior, and it does not treat Deaf identity only as a defect to erase. The physical gestures are descriptive of this scene, not a ritual recipe, not guaranteed therapy, and not a warrant for nonconsensual touch. The healing does not promise cure for every disability. Medicine, interpreters, and Deaf community remain good gifts.

How this should shape us

Give people with hearing or speech differences privacy, consent, and honor, not a public fix. Learn from Deaf neighbors rather than treating sign language as a lesser life, and do not copy Jesus' spit and touch as a technique you have a right to try on someone else's body.

Go deeper

The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.

Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties

Where do careful interpreters differ?

Best judgment: The story foregrounds restoration and private attention, yet modern readers must not treat Deaf identity or speech difference only as defect. The physical gestures are descriptive, not a ritual recipe.

How certain? probable

Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.

Mark 7:31-37, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition

Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and material variants checked independently of the KJV.

Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Mark.txt, 7:31-37

STEP Bible Data

Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.

STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT Matthew–Acts data, rows for 7:31-37

NET Bible — Mark with translators' and textual notes

Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, older-English clarification, variants, background, and alternatives.

NET Bible Mark PDF, printed pp. 1868–1901, 7:31-37 and attached translator/textual notes

Mark, Second Edition

Supports: Narrative boundaries, plot, characterization, kingdom, Christology, discipleship, conflict, Passion, and ending.

Broadhead, Mark, printed pp. 55–73, Mark 6.6b–8.27a; subsection covering 7:31-37

Mark course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world

Supports: Authorship/date limits, whole-book movement, secrecy, disciple failure, Passion, Sonship, and reader-first context.

Enter the Bible Mark course, Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, and related passage index; applied to 7:31-37

Mark

Supports: A complete confessional evangelical interpretation used as one traditioned voice, not consensus.

McKinley, “Mark,” Introduction and commentary heading covering Mark 7:31-37

Sources for This Section

These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.

Exact location: Mark 7:31-37, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

Open source ↗

Greek textual evidence

The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition

Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos

Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010

Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and material variants checked independently of the KJV.

Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Mark.txt, 7:31-37

Open the Mark Greek text file ↗

Lexical and grammatical evidence

STEP Bible Data

Tyndale House Cambridge

Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026

Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.

Exact location: STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT Matthew–Acts data, rows for 7:31-37

Open source ↗

Translation and textual notes

NET Bible — Mark with translators' and textual notes

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition

Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, older-English clarification, variants, background, and alternatives.

Exact location: NET Bible Mark PDF, printed pp. 1868–1901, 7:31-37 and attached translator/textual notes

Open the official NET Mark PDF ↗

modern scholarly narrative commentary

Mark, Second Edition

Edwin K. Broadhead

Sheffield Phoenix Press; distributed online by the Society of Biblical Literature, 2009

Supports: Narrative boundaries, plot, characterization, kingdom, Christology, discipleship, conflict, Passion, and ending.

Exact location: Broadhead, Mark, printed pp. 55–73, Mark 6.6b–8.27a; subsection covering 7:31-37

Open Broadhead's complete Mark commentary ↗

modern scholarly book introduction

Mark course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world

Paul S. Berge; revised by Kristofer Phan Coffman

Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, 2023 revision; current online course inspected 2026

Supports: Authorship/date limits, whole-book movement, secrecy, disciple failure, Passion, Sonship, and reader-first context.

Exact location: Enter the Bible Mark course, Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, and related passage index; applied to 7:31-37

Open the Enter the Bible Mark course ↗

modern open confessional commentary

Mark

Mike McKinley

The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023 online edition

Supports: A complete confessional evangelical interpretation used as one traditioned voice, not consensus.

Exact location: McKinley, “Mark,” Introduction and commentary heading covering Mark 7:31-37

Open McKinley's Mark commentary ↗