³³ Jesus led the man away from the crowd, by himself. He put his fingers in the man’s ears and then spit and touched the man’s tongue. [^CThe use of saliva is mentioned in other ancient accounts of healing, and elsewhere in the Gospels; see 8:23; John 9:6.] ³⁴ Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to the man, “Ephphatha!” (This means [^Cin Aramaic], “Be opened.”) ³⁵ Instantly the man was able to hear and to use his tongue so that he spoke clearly.