What Does Matthew 9:32 Mean in the King James?
As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Being unable to speak does not make someone unreachable: others carry the mute man into the presence of Jesus.
THE MEANING
The scene places you within reach while your voice is still absent: others can bring you before Jesus before you can speak for yourself. Being unable to call out does not make you unseen.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that you must be able to name your need before anyone can bring you within reach.
THE ROOT
δαιμονιζόμενον
daimonizomenon
GROWS FROM
δαιμον-
daimon-
Demon or spirit; this word describes someone under demonic influence.
“possessed” in this verse is daimonizomenon. The Greek participle comes from δαίμων (daimōn, demon or spirit), a different word-family from διάβολος (diabolos, the Slanderer). That distinction gives the verse a more specific texture: it describes the man as being demonized.
ALSO GROWS
daimōn: Demon or spirit
δαίμων
This noun is the seed behind the participle describing the man’s condition.
daimonion: Demon or spirit-being
δαιμόνιον
This related form names the source of the influence described in the verse.
προσήνεγκαν
prosēnenkan
GROWS FROM
φέρω
pherō
To bear, carry, or bring.
The verb is a form of προσφέρω (prospherō, bring or carry toward), with φέρω (pherō, carry or bear) at its center. The same verb-family can describe presenting an offering, giving “brought” the added shade of placing someone before another’s attention.
ALSO GROWS
pherō: Bear, carry, bring
φέρω
The base verb holds the carrying inside the act of bringing the man to Jesus.
prosphora: Offering, presentation
προσφορά
This related noun connects bringing with presenting something before another.
THE PATTERN
Scripture marks the restoration of a silenced person by the return of speech.
Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered.THE THREAD
And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.The next verse uses the same Greek word, κωφός (kōphos, mute or deaf), for the man who now speaks. The word for the person without speech stays attached to him even as his voice returns.
This reading is from Selah Verse.
You can read any verse this way in the app, keep it as a card, and send it on.
A Bible app where you send verses from your keyboard and in Messages, and every verse has a Deep Dive.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us