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All the multitudes were amazed, and said, “Can this be the son of David?”
Matthew 12:23 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
  • BSB The crowds were astounded and asked, “Could this be the Son of David?”
  • NKJV And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
  • NASB And all the crowds were amazed and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?”
  • NLT The crowd was amazed and asked, “Could it be that Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah?”

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

The amazed crowds wonder aloud whether Jesus could be the promised Son of David, the Messiah.

Overview

'Son of David' was a messianic title pointing to the long-awaited king from David's line. The miracle stirs genuine, if tentative, hope that Jesus might be that deliverer. Their question stands in sharp contrast to the leaders' hostile verdict that immediately follows.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • Matt 9:27As Jesus passed by from there, two blind men followed him, calling out and saying, “Have mercy on us, son of David!”
  • John 4:29“Come, see a man who told me everything that I did. Can this be the Christ?”
  • Matt 22:42–43saying, “What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “Of David.”
  • Matt 21:9The multitudes who went in front of him, and those who followed, kept shouting, “Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
  • Matt 15:30–31Great multitudes came to him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others, and they put them down at his feet. He healed them,
  • John 7:40–42Many of the multitude therefore, when they heard these words, said, “This is truly the prophet.”
  • Matt 9:33When the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke. The multitudes marveled, saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”
  • Matt 15:22Behold, a Canaanite woman came out from those borders, and cried, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, you son of David! My daughter is severely possessed by a demon!”

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Matthew videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Matthew 12:23YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MatthewMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 12:23 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.