2 ¹ When after some days he returned to Capernaum, the news went round that he was at home; 2 ² and such a crowd collected that the space in front of the door was not big enough to hold them. And while he was proclaiming the message to them, 2 ³ a man was brought who was paralysed. 2 ⁴ Four men were carrying him, but because of the crowd they could not get him near. So they opened up the roof over the place where Jesus was, and when they had broken through they lowered the stretcher on which the paralysed man was lying. 2 ⁵ When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralysed man, 'My son, your sins are forgiven.'
2 ⁶ Now there were some lawyers sitting there and they thought to themselves, 2 ⁷ 'Why does the fellow talk like that? This is blasphemy! Who but God alone can forgive sins?' 2 ⁸ Jesus knew in his own mind that this was what they were thinking, and said to them: 'Why do you harbour thoughts like these? 2 ⁹ Is it easier to say to this paralysed man, "Your sins are forgiven", or to say, "Stand up, take your bed, and walk"? 2 ¹⁰ But to convince you that the Son of Man has the right on earth to forgive sins'—he turned to the paralysed man— 2 ¹¹ 'I say to you, stand up, take your bed, and go home.' 2 ¹² And he got up, took his stretcher at once, and went out in full view of them all, so that they were astounded and praised God. 'Never before', they said, 'have we seen the like.'