Mark 8:26

Modern

Jesus sent him home and said, “Do not go back into the village.”

Traditional

And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.

Literal

And He sent him to his house, saying, “Do not enter into the village.”

Latin

Et misit illum in domum suam, dicens: Vade in domum tuam: et si in vicum introieris, nemini dixeris.

Greek

English

Jesus sent him home and said, “Do not go back into the village.”

The story ends with Jesus telling the healed man to keep the event a secret (see 3:11–12).

Earlier, Jesus and the disciples tried to go to Bethsaida but did not succeed (6:45). Here, they arrive, and Jesus heals a blind man. Only Mark describes this two-part healing. It might connect to how the disciples came to a new spiritual understanding in the next story (8:27–38).
John 1:44 says Bethsaida is the home of Peter, Andrew, James, and John (see also John 12:21). This small fishing village was officially part of Gaulanitis. But people usually considered it part of Galilee (John 12:21). It was relocated and given status as a city by Philip the Tetrarch (Josephus, Antiquities 18.2.1).

Theme notes and profiles

Matthew 8:4
Then Jesus instructed him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift prescribed by Moses, as a testimony to them.”
Matthew 12:16
…warning them not to make Him known.
Mark 7:36
Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more He ordered them, the more widely they proclaimed it.
Mark 8:23
So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then He spit on the man’s eyes and placed His hands on him. “Can you see anything?” He asked.
Matthew 9:30
And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one finds out about this!”
Mark 5:43
Then Jesus gave strict orders that no one should know about this, and He told them to give her something to eat.