Greek word · G3885

παραλυτικός

paralytikos

paralytic

Paralyzed, disabled, "loosened" in the limbs (from paralyō, "to loosen at the side, disable"). It covers various conditions that left someone unable to walk.

Appears 10 times in 9 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

παρα-λυτικός, -ή, -όν

(παραλύω),

paralytic: Matthew 4:24 8:6 9:2, 6, Mark 2:3-5, 9-10 Luke 5:24 (Rec., WH, mg.).†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Mark 2:5

Range of meaning

Paralyzed, disabled, "loosened" in the limbs (from paralyō, "to loosen at the side, disable"). It covers various conditions that left someone unable to walk.

Against the English

The KJV's "sick of the palsy" was accurate in 1611, when "palsy" meant paralysis. Today it suggests tremors (as in "cerebral palsy" or shaking). "Paralytic" (BSB, WEB) or "paralyzed man" is clearer.

How it drifted

In modern English "palsy" has narrowed to mean conditions involving tremors.

Used elsewhere in the period

Greek medical writers use the word for loss of motor function. In the New Testament it appears in Matthew and Mark for the man in this story and for the centurion's servant (Matt 8:6).

From the study of Mark 2:3

Range of meaning

An adjective, used here as a noun: someone affected by paralysis (παράλυσις, literally a "loosening" or "disabling" of the limbs). It means the loss of motor function, being unable to move or walk. Ancient writers did not separate stroke, spinal injury and other causes the way modern medicine does. The word describes what the person could not do, not a diagnosis.

Against the English

Most modern versions say "paralytic" or "paralyzed man", which is accurate. The KJV says "one sick of the palsy". In 1611 "palsy" simply meant paralysis; the English word comes from paralysis through Old French paralisie. Today "palsy" calls up tremor or shaking.

How it drifted

Since the 1600s "palsy" has narrowed in everyday English toward shaking and tremor, and it now survives mostly in set phrases like "cerebral palsy" and "Bell's palsy". Readers of the KJV can picture a trembling invalid rather than a man who cannot move.

Used elsewhere in the period

Matthew 9:2–7 uses the same word in the parallel account. Luke 5:18, 24 prefers the participle παραλελυμένος ("one who has been paralyzed"), the form found in Greek medical writing. The related verb παραλύω is also used in the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) for hands "going slack" from fear or weakness (e.g., Isaiah 35:3, Hebrews 12:12 quoting it).

From the study of Matthew 8:6

Range of meaning

From paralyō, 'to loosen at the side, disable, enfeeble'. It describes someone whose limbs are useless: paralysis, partial or complete loss of motor control, sometimes after a stroke or injury. Ancient medicine did not separate causes the way modern medicine does.

Against the English

KJV 'sick of the palsy' was accurate in 1611, when 'palsy' (a shortened form of 'paralysis') meant paralysis. Modern readers link 'palsy' to trembling (e.g. 'shaking palsy') or to cerebral palsy, which narrows or changes the picture.

How it drifted

'Palsy' shifted in English toward tremor and specific named conditions, and it has largely dropped out of everyday speech.

Used elsewhere in the period

The adjective is almost entirely limited to the Gospels (Matthew 4:24, 8:6, 9:2–6; Mark 2). Luke prefers the participle paralelymenos (Luke 5:18, 24), which is closer to medical usage. Greek medical writers use the paraly- word group for paralysis.

Similar words

Where it appears

Matthew · 5

  1. Matthew 4:24 παραλυτικούς· those paralytic;

    News about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering acute pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and He healed them.

    Here: People whose limbs or bodies were disabled or lame and could not move. They were the ones who most obviously had to be carried.

  2. Matthew 8:6 παραλυτικὸς paralyzed

    “Lord, my servant lies at home, paralyzed and in terrible agony.”

    Here: Literally 'loosened at the side', meaning unable to move his limbs. It is the same word Matthew uses for the man let down on a mat in 9:2–6.

  3. Matthew 9:2 παραλυτικὸν παραλυτικῷ· a paralytic, paralytic;

    Just then some men brought to Him a paralytic lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”

    Here: A man disabled by paralysis, unable to walk. The word covers a range of disabling conditions with loss of movement; it does not specify a cause.

  4. Matthew 9:6 παραλυτικῷ· paralytic;

    But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...” Then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your mat, and go home.”

    Here: Someone 'loosened', who cannot use his limbs; he had to be carried in (v.2). It does not mean a tremor, despite the KJV's 'palsy'.

Mark · 5

  1. Mark 2:3 παραλυτικὸν a paralytic

    Then a paralytic was brought to Him, carried by four men.

    Here: A man who cannot move his body or legs and so cannot walk. He becomes "the paralytic" for the rest of the story. The cause of his paralysis is not given.

  2. Mark 2:4 παραλυτικὸς paralytic

    Since they were unable to get to Jesus through the crowd, they uncovered the roof above Him, made an opening, and lowered the paralytic on his mat.

  3. Mark 2:5 παραλυτικῷ· paralytic;

    When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

    Here: A man who could not walk and had to be carried on a mat. Jesus does not speak to the friends who showed the faith. He turns to the helpless man himself.

  4. Mark 2:9 παραλυτικῷ· paralytic;

    “Which is easier: to say to a paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’?

    Here: A paralysed man, unable to walk, who had to be carried by four others (v. 3). The word comes from paralyō, 'to loosen' or 'disable', and was used by Greek medical writers for paralysis.

  5. Mark 2:10 παραλυτικῷ· paralytic;

    But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...” He said to the paralytic,

    Here: A man who cannot walk and was carried in on a mat (v. 3). His body becomes the public test of the unseen claim.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.