A Deaf Man Who Could Hardly Speak

³¹Jesus left the region of Tyre and Sidon and made his way to the Sea of Galilee, traveling through the middle of the Decapolis region. ³²Some people brought him a man who was deaf and could barely speak, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him. ³³Jesus took the man away from the crowd to be alone with him. He put his fingers in the man's ears, then spit and touched the man's tongue. ³⁴Looking up to heaven, he let out a deep sigh and said to the man, "Ephphatha!" — which means, "Be opened!" ³⁵Instantly the man's ears opened, his tongue was freed, and he began speaking clearly. ³⁶Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone, but the more he insisted, the more they spread the news. ³⁷People were completely amazed, saying, 'He has done all things well: he makes both the deaf hear and the mute speak.'