# Matthew 20.34

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-05-06 | updated: 2026-05-06 -->

**Book:** [Matthew](/codex/matthew-the-apostle/) · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 32. And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, <span class="rl-speech">What will ye that I should do unto you?</span> 33. They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened.
>
> **34. And Jesus, being moved with compassion, touched their eyes; and straightway they received their sight, and followed him.** (Matthew 20:32-34, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 32. Jesus stood still, and called them, and asked, <span class="rl-speech">“What do you want me to do for you?”</span> 33. They told him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.”
>
> **34. Jesus, being moved with compassion, touched their eyes; and immediately their eyes received their sight, and they followed him.** (Matthew 20:32-34, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 32. And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, <span class="rl-speech">What will ye that I shall do unto you?</span> 33. They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened.
>
> **34. So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.** (Matthew 20:32-34, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 32. And having stood, Jesus called them, and said, <span class="rl-speech">'What will ye [that] I may do to you?'</span> 33. they say to him, 'Sir, that our eyes may be opened;'
>
> **34. and having been moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes, and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.** (Matthew 20:32-34, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** Matthew (traditionally) the tax-collector-apostle / narrator + Jesus's direct teaching
- **Audience:** Jewish-Christian audience (heavy OT-fulfillment emphasis)
- **Location:** first-century Palestine (events); possibly Antioch (composition)
- **Time period:** events c. 4 BC, AD 30/33; composed c. AD 60-80

## Theological reading

## Key words

- [G2424 - Iesous](/codex/g2424-iesous/), *Iesous* (Strong's G2424). Also appears in: [Matthew 1.1](/codex/matthew-1-1/), [Matthew 1.16](/codex/matthew-1-16/), [Matthew 1.18](/codex/matthew-1-18/).

## Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

- **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.