Matthew 9:21

New Living Translation

for she thought, "If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
for she said to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I’ll be made well.”

King James Version (1611)
For she said within her selfe, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.

King James Version
For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.

English Standard Version
for she said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I will be made well."

New American Standard Bible
for she was saying to herself, "If I only touch His cloak, I will get well."

New Century Version
She was thinking, "If I can just touch his clothes, I will be healed."

Amplified Bible
for she had been saying to herself, "If I only touch His outer robe, I will be healed."

Geneva Bible (1587)
For shee saide in her selfe, If I may touche but his garment onely, I shalbe whole.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
for she was saying to herself, "If I only touch His garment, I will get well."

Legacy Standard Bible
for she was saying to herself, "If I only touch His garment, I will be saved from this."

Berean Standard Bible
She said to herself, "If only I touch His cloak, I will be healed."

Contemporary English Version
She had said to herself, "If I can just touch his clothes, I will get well."

Complete Jewish Bible
For she said to herself, "If I can only touch his robe, I will be healed."

Darby Translation
for she said within herself, If I should only touch his garment I shall be healed.

Easy-to-Read Version
She was thinking, "If I can touch his coat, I will be healed."

George Lamsa Translation
For she was saying to herself, If I can only touch his garment, I will be healed.

Good News Translation
She said to herself, "If only I touch his cloak, I will get well."

Lexham English Bible
for she said to herself, "If only I touch his cloak I will be healed."

Literal Translation
For she said within herself, If only I shall touch His robe, I will be cured.

American Standard Version
for she said within herself, If I do but touch his garment, I shall be made whole.

Bible in Basic English
Because, she said to herself, if I may but put my hand on his robe, I will be made well.

Hebrew Names Version
for she said within herself, "If I just touch his garment, I will be made well."

International Standard Version
For she had been saying to herself, "If I just touch his robe, I will get well."

Etheridge Translation
For she was saying within herself, If I touch but his garment, I shall be healed.

Murdock Translation
for she had said in her mind, If I but touch his garment I shall be cured.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
For she sayde within her selfe: If I may touche but euen his vesture only, I shalbe safe.

English Revised Version
for she said within herself, If I do but touch his garment, I shall be made whole.

World English Bible
for she said within herself, "If I just touch his garment, I will be made well."

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
For she said within herself, if I but touch his garment, I shall be whole.

Weymouth's New Testament
for she said to herself, "If I but touch His cloak, I shall be cured."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For sche seide with ynne hir self, Yif Y touche oonli the cloth of hym, Y schal be saaf.

Update Bible Version
for she said to herself, If I do but touch his garment, I shall be made whole.

Webster's Bible Translation
For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.

New English Translation
For she kept saying to herself, "If only I touch his cloak, I will be healed."

New King James Version
For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well."

New Life Bible
She said to herself, "If I only touch the bottom of His coat, I will be healed."

New Revised Standard
for she said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
For she kept saying within herself, - If only I touch his mantle, I shall be made well!

Douay-Rheims Bible
For she said within herself: If I shall touch only his garment, I shall be healed.

Revised Standard Version
for she said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I shall be made well."

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
For she sayd in her silfe: yf I maye toche but even his vesture only I shalbe safe.

Young's Literal Translation
for she said within herself, `If only I may touch his garment, I shall be saved.'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
For she sayde in her silfe: yf I maye touche but euen his vesture only, I shalbe safe.

Mace New Testament (1729)
for she said within her self, if I do but touch his garment, I shall be cured:

Simplified Cowboy Version
She told herself, "I know I will be healed if I can touch him. Even if it's the edge of his shirt."

Contextual Overview

¹⁸ As Jesus was saying this, the leader of a synagogue came and knelt before him. "My daughter has just died," he said, "but you can bring her back to life again if you just come and lay your hand on her." ¹⁹ So Jesus and his disciples got up and went with him. ²⁰ Just then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind him. She touched the fringe of his robe, ²¹ for she thought, "If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed." ²² Jesus turned around, and when he saw her he said, "Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well." And the woman was healed at that moment. ²³ When Jesus arrived at the official's home, he saw the noisy crowd and heard the funeral music. ²⁴ "Get out!" he told them. "The girl isn't dead; she's only asleep." But the crowd laughed at him. ²⁵ After the crowd was put outside, however, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she stood up! ²⁶ The report of this miracle swept through the entire countryside.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

If: Mark 5:26-33, Luke 8:45-47, Acts 19:12

Reciprocal: Leviticus 6:27 - touch Matthew 14:36 - only Luke 6:19 - sought Acts 5:15 - they brought

Cross-References

Genesis 6:9
This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.

Genesis 9:3
I have given them to you for food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables.

Genesis 9:4
But you must never eat any meat that still has the lifeblood in it.

Genesis 9:15
and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life.

Genesis 9:16
When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth."

Proverbs 20:1
Wine produces mockers; alcohol leads to brawls. Those led astray by drink cannot be wise.

Ecclesiastes 7:20
Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins.

Romans 13:13
Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don't participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy.

1 Corinthians 10:12
If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.

Galatians 5:21
envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For she said within herself,.... That is, she thought within herself, she reasoned the matter in her mind, she concluded upon it, and firmly believed it; being strongly impressed and influenced by the Spirit of God, and encouraged by instances of cures she had heard were performed by persons only touching him; see Luke 6:19

if I may but touch his garment. The Arabic version reads it, "the hem of his garment", as before; but is not supported by any copy, nor by any other version: her faith was, that if she might be allowed, or if she could by any means come at him, to touch any part of his garment, she should have a cure:

I shall be whole, or "I shall be saved"; that is, from her disease, from which she could have no deliverance, by the advice and prescriptions of all her former physicians, and by all the means she had made use of.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The account contained in these verses is also recorded, with some additional circumstances, in Mark 5:22-43, and Luke 8:41-56.

Matthew 9:18

There came a certain ruler - Mark and Luke say that his name was Jairus, and that he was a “ruler of the synagogue;” that is, one of the elders to whom was committed the care of the synagogue.

See the notes at Matthew 4:23.

And worshipped him - That is, fell down before him, or expressed his respect for him by a token of profound regard. See the notes at Matthew 2:2.

My daughter is even now dead - Luke says that this was his only daughter, and that she was twelve years of age. Mark and Luke say that she was “at the point of death,” and that information of her actual death was brought to him by one who was sent by the ruler of the synagogue, while Jesus was going. Matthew combined the two facts, and stated the representation which was made to Jesus, without stopping particularly to exhibit the manner in which it was done. In a summary way he says that the ruler communicated the information. Luke and Mark, dwelling more particularly on the circumstances, state at length the way in which it was done; that is, by himself stating, in a hurry, that she was “about to die,” or “was dying,” and then in a few moments sending word that “she was dead.” The Greek word, rendered “is even now dead,” does not of necessity mean, as our translation would express, that she had actually expired, but only that she was “dying” or about to die. Compare Genesis 48:21. It is likely that a father, in these circumstances, would use a word as nearly expressing actual death as would be consistent with the fact that she was alive. The passage may be expressed thus: “My daughter was so sick that she must be by this time dead.”

Come and lay thy hand upon her - It was customary for the Jewish prophets, in conferring favors, to lay their hand on the person benefited. Jesus had probably done so also, and the ruler had probably witnessed the fact.

Matthew 9:20

And, behold, a woman ... - This disease was by the Jews reckoned unclean Leviticus 15:25, and the woman was therefore unwilling to make personal application to Jesus, or even to touch his person. The disease was regarded as incurable. She had expended all her property, and grew worse, Mark 5:26.

Touched the hem of his garment - This garment was probably the square garment which was thrown over the shoulders. See notes at Matthew 5:40. This was surrounded by a border or “fringe;” and this “fringe,” or the loose threads hanging down, is what is meant by the “hem.” The Jews were commanded to wear this, in order to distinguish them from other nations. See Numbers 15:38-39; Deuteronomy 22:12.

Mark says that “the woman, fearing and trembling,” came and told him all the truth. Perhaps she feared that, from the impure nature of her disease, he would be offended that she touched him.

Matthew 9:22

But Jesus tutored him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort - Jesus silenced her fears, commended her faith, and sent her away in peace.

He used an endearing appellation, calling her “daughter,” a word of tenderness and affection, and dismissed her who had been twelve long and tedious years labouring under a weakening and offensive disease, now in an instant made whole. Her faith, her strong confidence in Jesus, had been the means of her restoration. It was the “power” of Jesus that cured her; but that power would not have been exerted but in connection with faith. So in the salvation of a sinner. No one is saved who does not believe; but faith is the instrument, and not the power, that saves.

Matthew 9:23

And widen Jesus came into the ruler’s house ... - Jesus permitted only three of his disciples, Peter, James, and John the brother of James, and the father and mother of the damsel, to go in with him where the corpse lay, Mark 5:37-40

It was important that there should be “witnesses” of the miracle, and he chose a sufficient number. “Five” witnesses were enough to establish the fact. The witnesses were impartial. The fact that she was dead was established beyond a doubt. Of this the mourners, the parents, the messengers, the people, were satisfied. If she was presented to the people “alive,” the proof of the miracle was complete. The presence of more than the “five” witnesses would have made the scene tumultuous, and have been less satisfactory evidence of the fact of the restoration of the child. Five sober witnesses are always better than the confused voices of a rabble. These were the same disciples that were with him on the Mount of Transfiguration and in the Garden of Gethsemane, Mark 9:2; Mark 14:33; 2 Peter 1:17-18.

And saw the minstrels and the people making a noise - Minstrels” are persons who play on instruments of music. The people of the East used to bewail the dead by cutting the flesh, tearing the hair, and crying bitterly. See Jeremiah 9:17; Jeremiah 16:6-7; Ezekiel 24:17. The expressions of grief at the death of a friend, in Eastern countries, are extreme. As soon as a person dies, all the females in the family set up a loud and doleful cry. They continue it as long as they can without taking breath, and the shriek of wailing dies away in a low sob. Nor do the relatives satisfy themselves with these expressions of violent grief. They hire persons of both sexes, whose employment it is to mourn for the dead in the like frantic manner. See Amos 5:16; Jeremiah 9:20. They sing the virtues of the deceased, recount his acts, dwell on his beauty, strength, or learning; on the comforts of his family and home, and in doleful strains ask him why he left his family and friends.

To all this they add soft and melancholy music. They employ “minstrels” to aid their grief, and to increase the expressions of their sorrow. This violent grief continues, commonly, eight days. In the case of a king, or other very distinguished personage, it is prolonged through an entire month. This grief does not cease at the house; it is exhibited in the procession to the grave, and the air is split with the wailings of real and of hired mourners. Professor Hackett (“Illustrations of Scripture,” pp. 121, 122) says: “During my stay at Jerusalem I frequently heard a singular cry issuing from the houses in the neighborhood of the place where I lodged, or from those on the streets through which I passed. It was to be heard at all hours - in the morning, at noonday, at evening, or in the deep silence of night. For some time I was at a loss to understand the cause of this strange interruption of the stillness which, for the most part, hangs so oppressively over the lonely city. Had it not been so irregular in its occurrence, I might have supposed it to indicate some festive occasion; for the tones of voice (yet hardly tones so much as shrieks) used for the expression of different feelings sound so much alike to the unpracticed ear, that it is not easy always to distinguish the mournful and the joyous from each other.

I ascertained, at length, that this special cry was, no doubt, in most instances, the signal of the death of some person in the house from which it was heard. It is customary, when a member of the family is about to die, for the friends to assemble around him and watch the ebbing away of life, so as to remark the precise moment when he breathes his last, upon which they set up instantly a united outcry, attended with weeping, and often with beating upon the breast, and tearing out the hair of the head. This lamentation they repeat at other times, especially at the funeral, both during the procession to the grave and after the arrival there, as they commit the remains to their last resting-place.”

The Jews were forbidden to tear their hair and cut their flesh. See Leviticus 19:28; Deuteronomy 14:1. They showed their grief by howling, by music, by concealing the chin with their garment, by rending the outer garment, by refusing to wash or anoint themselves, or to converse with people, by scattering ashes or dust in the air, or by lying down in them, Job 1:20; Job 2:12; 2 Samuel 1:2-4; 2 Samuel 14:2; 2 Samuel 15:30; Mark 14:63. The expressions of grief, therefore, mentioned on this occasion, though excessive and foolish, were yet strictly in accordance with Eastern customs.

Matthew 9:24

The maid is not dead, but sleepeth - It cannot be supposed that our Lord means “literally” to say that the child was not dead.

Every possible evidence of her death had been given, and he acted on that himself, and conveyed to the people the idea that he raised her “from the dead.” He meant to speak in opposition to their opinions. It is not unlikely that Jairus and the people favored the opinions of the Sadducees, and that “they” understood by her being dead that she had “ceased to be,” and that she would never be raised up again. In opposition to this, the Saviour used the expression “she sleepeth;” affirming mildly both that the “body” was dead, and “implying” that “her spirit” still lived, and that she would be raised up again. A similar mode of speaking occurs in John 11:11 “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth.” The sacred writers often spoke of the pious dead as “sleeping,” 2 Peter 3:4; Acts 7:60; 1 Corinthians 15:6, 1Co 15:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15. The meaning of this passage, then, is, the maid has not ceased to “exist;” but, though her body is dead, yet her spirit lives, and she sleeps in the hope of the resurrection.

Laughed him to scorn - Derided him; ridiculed him.

Matthew 9:25

He went in - With the father, and mother, and three disciples, Mark 5:37-40.

The maid arose - She returned to life.

There could be no deception here. “Parents” could not be imposed on in such a case, nor could such a multitude be deceived. The power of Jesus was undoubtedly shown to be sufficient to raise the dead.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Matthew 9:21. She said within herself, If I may but touch his garment — Her disorder was of that delicate nature that modesty forbade her to make any public acknowledgment of it; and therefore she endeavoured to transact the whole business in private. Besides, the touch of such a person was by the law reputed unclean. By faith in Christ Jesus, little things are often rendered efficacious to our salvation. What more simple than a morsel of bread, and a few drops of wine, in the Lord's Supper! And yet, they who receive them by faith in the sacrifice they represent, are made partakers of the blessings purchased by the crucified body and spilled blood of the Lord Jesus!