Bible Strands
Mark 8:24
The man looked up and said, “I can see the people, but they look like trees walking around.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The blind man speaks to Jesus immediately after Jesus spits on his eyes, lays hands on him, and asks if he can see anything.
The words — ἀναβλέψας (anablepsas) translates literally as "having looked up," and ὡς (hōs) means "as" or "like," structuring the man's report of distorted sight.
The thread — The verse's partial perception parallels the limited knowledge described in 1 Corinthians 13:9 and points toward the complete restoration foretold in Isaiah 29:18.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that divine healing can be progressive and that human perception remains incomplete until full restoration occurs.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 29:18 On that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of the deep darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
- Isaiah 32:3 Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.
- 1 Corinthians 13:9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
- Judges 9:36 When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the mountains!” But Zebul replied, “The shadows of the mountains look like men to you.”