He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
Parallel translations
- WEB He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
- KJV He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
- BSB He who has ears, let him hear.
- NASB The one who has ears to hear, let him hear.
- NLT Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus calls for spiritual attentiveness to weighty truth. Those given ears to hear should heed what He has said about John and the kingdom.
Overview
This recurring summons (cf. Matt. 13:9) urges hearers not merely to listen but to understand and respond. It signals that the preceding teaching about John and the kingdom demands more than casual attention. Spiritual hearing is itself a gift, calling for humble, obedient reception of Christ's words.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Luke 8:8Other fell into the good ground, and grew, and produced one hundred times as much fruit.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
- Matt 13:9He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
- Mark 4:23If any man has ears to hear, let him hear.”
- Matt 13:43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
- Rev 2:7He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of my God.
- Mark 4:9He said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.”
- Luke 14:35It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
- Rev 3:13He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.
- Rev 2:29He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.
- Rev 2:17He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To him who overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows but he who receives it.
- Rev 3:22He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.”
- Rev 3:6He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.
- Rev 2:11He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. He who overcomes won’t be harmed by the second death.
- Mark 7:15There is nothing from outside of the man, that going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 11:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.