Mark 8:24

He looked up, and said, “I see men; for I see them like trees walking.”

World English Bible

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Other translations

WEBBE

He looked up, and said, “I see men, but I see them like walking trees.”

BSB

The man looked up and said, “I can see the people, but they look like trees walking around.”

KJV

And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.

ASV

And he looked up, and said, I see men; for I behold [them] as trees, walking.

BBE

And looking up, he said, I see men; I see them like trees, walking.

Original Greek

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καὶ kai And G2532 ἀναβλέψας anablepsas having looked up G308 ἔλεγεν elegen he was saying G3004 βλέπω blepō I see G991 τοὺς tous the G3588 ἀνθρώπους anthrōpous men G444 ὅτι hoti for G3754 ὡς hōs as G5613 δένδρα dendra trees G1186 ὁρῶ horō I see [them] G3708 περιπατοῦντας peripatountas walking G4043

The early church

(ubi sup.) Seeing indeed the shapes of bodies amongst the shadows, but unable to distinguish the outlines of the limbs, from the continued darkness of his sight; just as trees standing thick together are wont to appear to men who see them from afar, or by the dim light of the night, so that it cannot easily be known whether they be trees or men.

Bede · d. 735Catena Aurea (Aquinas, 1274)

But the reason why he did not see at once perfectly, but in part, was, that he had not perfect faith; for healing is bestowed in proportion to faith.

Theophylact of Ohrid · d. 1107Catena Aurea (Aquinas, 1274)

Or else, he sees men as trees, because he thinks all men higher than himself.

Pseudo-Jerome · d. 9999Catena Aurea (Aquinas, 1274)

(Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.) He spat indeed, and put His hand upon the blind man, because He wished to show that wonderful are the effects of the Divine word added to action; for the hand is the symbol of working, but the spittle, of the word proceeding out of the mouth. Again He asked him whether he could see any thing, which He had not done in the case of any whom He had healed, thus showing that by the weak faith of those who brought him, and of the blind man himself, his eyes could not altogether be opened. Wherefore there follows: And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees walking; because he was still under the influence of unfaithfulness, he said that he saw men obscurely.

Pseudo-Chrysostom · d. 500Catena Aurea (Aquinas, 1274)

Commentary

Matthew Henry · Verses 22–26

Here is a blind man brought to Christ by his friends. Therein appeared the faith of those that brought him. If those who are spiritually blind, do not pray for themselves, yet their friends and relations should pray for them, that Christ would be pleased to touch them. The cure was wrought gradually, which was not usual in our Lord's miracles. Christ showed in what method those commonly are healed by his grace, who by nature are spiritually blind. At first, their knowledge is confused; but, like the light of the morning, it shines more and more to the perfect day, and then they see all things clearly. Slighting Christ's favours is forfeiting them; and he will make those who do so know the worth of privileges by the want of them.

Read Matthew Henry on Mark 8 →

Cross-references

Cross-references: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. Hebrew and Greek data from STEPBible.org (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0. Library: sources.