Luke 18:36
When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening.
BSB
ASV
and hearing a multitude going by, he inquired what this meant.
KJV
And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant.
Second, as regards the importunity of the petitioner, it is added: And when he heard the crowd passing by; in which is explained the importunity of the blind man praying and giving us an example of prayer: he seeks, asks, and knocks, according to that …
1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)
The miracle described in these verses is rich in instruction. It was one of the great works which witnessed that Christ was sent by the Father. (John 5:36.) But this is not all. It contains also some lively patterns of spiritual things which deserve attentive study. We see, for one thing, in this passage — the importance of diligence in the use of means. We are told of "a certain blind man who sat by the wayside begging." He sought the place where his pitiful condition was most likely to attract notice.
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.