New King James Version
Mark 2:17
17When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Mark 2:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
- New International Version (NIV)On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."
- New Living Translation (NLT)When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
Context of Mark 2:17
15Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. 16And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” 18The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” 19And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.
Read all of Mark 2Mark 2:17 word by word
Καὶ ἀκούσας ὁ Ἰησοῦς λέγει αὐτοῖς· ὅτι οὐ χρείαν ἔχουσιν οἱ ἰσχύοντες ἰατροῦ ἀλλ᾽ οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες· οὐκ ἦλθον καλέσαι δικαίους ἀλλ᾽ ἁμαρτωλούςRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- ·καίkai · andG2532
- Whenἀκούωakouō · to hearG191
- JesusἸησοῦςIēsous · JesusG2424
- he saithλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- unto themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- They that are wholeἰσχύωischuō · be strongG2480
- haveἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
- noοὐou · noG3756
- needχρείαchreia · needG5532
- of the physicianἰατρόςiatros · physicianG2395
- butἀλλάalla · butG235
- sickκακῶςkakōs · badlyG2560
- I cameἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
- to callκαλέωkaleō · to call: callG2564
- the righteousδίκαιοςdikaios · justG1342
- sinnersἁμαρτωλόςhamartōlos · sinfulG268
- toεἰςeis · towardG1519
- repentanceμετάνοιαmetanoia · repentanceG3341
Cross-references for Mark 2:17
- Matthew 9:12When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
- Luke 5:31Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
- Luke 15:7I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
- Luke 16:15And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
- John 9:34They answered and said to him, “You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?” And they cast him out.
- Isaiah 1:18“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.
- Isaiah 55:7Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.
- Matthew 18:11For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.
- Luke 15:10Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
- Luke 19:10for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
- Acts 20:21testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Acts 26:20but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.
- Romans 5:6For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
- 1 Corinthians 6:9Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,
- 1 Timothy 1:15This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
Commentaries on Mark 2:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17To repentance - This is omitted by ABDKL, twenty-seven others; both the Syriac, Persic, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Gothic, Vulgate; six copies of the Itala; Euthymius and Augustin. Griesbach has left it out of the text; Grotius, Mill, and Bengel approve of the omission. See on Matthew 9:13; (note). I leave it as in the parallel place above quoted. Properly speaking, the righteous cannot be called to repentance. They have already forsaken sin, mourned for…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-17Verses 13-17 Matthew was not a good character, or else, being a Jew, he would never have been a publican, that is, a tax-gatherer for the Romans. However, Christ called this publican to follow him. With God, through Christ, there is mercy to pardon the greatest sins, and grace to change the greatest sinners, and make them holy. A faithful, fair-dealing publican was rare. And because the Jews had a particular hatred to an office which proved that they were…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17Jesus answered his opponents with a well-known proverb. He compared himself to a doctor and sinners to sick people. Salvation is for those who know they are sinners, not for those who think they are righteous (Luke 16:15; 18:9; Romans 3:23).Read the comment
Topics related to Mark 2:17
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Mark 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Catena Aurea
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- John Lightfoot Commentary
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries