Devine Scripture

Luke 5:20

What does Luke 5:20 mean?

A plain-English look at Luke 5:20 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What Luke 5:20 means

Seeing their faith, Jesus tells the paralyzed man, ‘Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.’ Jesus connects the friends’ faith with the deeper need of the paralytic: forgiveness rather than mere physical healing. The statement reveals Jesus’ concern for the whole person—spiritual restoration first, then bodily. It also asserts Jesus’ authority to pronounce forgiveness, a prerogative the religious leaders reserved for God. The verse invites readers to see illness as sometimes linked to deeper moral and spiritual brokenness, and it prepares for controversy from scribes and Pharisees.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

And seeing their faith, he said, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

KJV

King James Version · 1611

And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

And seeing their faith, he said, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

And seeing their faith he said, Man, you have forgiveness for your sins.

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

and he having seen their faith, said to him, `Man, thy sins have been forgiven thee.'

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

Whose faith when he saw, he said: Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

And seeing their faith, he said, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

Context

This declaration immediately follows the dramatic lowering of the man and precedes the scribes’ reaction. By emphasizing ‘seeing their faith,’ Luke links the friends’ trust to Jesus’ offer of forgiveness, shifting the focus from a spectacle of healing to a claim about divine authority. The verse sets up the confrontation in which religious leaders challenge Jesus’ right to forgive sins, allowing Jesus to demonstrate authority by healing the man physically as well.

v.19And not finding by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went up to the housetop, and let him down through the tiles with his couch into the midst before Jesus.

v.20This passage

v.21And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this that speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • Matthew 9:2

    And behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer; thy sins are forgiven.

  • Acts 11:23

    who, when he was come, and had seen the grace of God, was glad; and he exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord:

  • 2 Corinthians 2:10

    But to whom ye forgive anything, I forgive also: for what I also have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, for your sakes have I forgiven it in the presence of Christ;

  • Psalms 107:17

    Fools because of their transgression, And because of their iniquities, are afflicted.

  • Mark 2:5

    And Jesus seeing their faith saith unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins are forgiven.

  • Colossians 3:13

    forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, if any man have a complaint against any; even as the Lord forgave you, so also do ye:

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