And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
Parallel translations
- WEB Behold, 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!”
- BSB And a Canaanite woman from that region came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.”
- NKJV And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”
- NASB And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely demon-possessed.”
- NLT A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”
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
A Canaanite woman cries out to Jesus as 'Son of David' to heal her demon-tormented daughter. It matters because a Gentile shows surprising faith in Israel's Messiah.
Overview
This woman, a Gentile from a people historically opposed to Israel, addresses Jesus with the messianic title 'Son of David.' Her plea reveals both desperate need and remarkable insight into who Jesus is. That such faith appears outside Israel highlights the contrast with the unbelieving religious leaders. Her cry for mercy anticipates the many Gentiles who would come to trust in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Matt 9:27And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us.
- Mark 7:25–26For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:
- Matt 17:15Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
- Ps 45:12And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour.
- Ezek 3:6Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee.
- Ps 4:1Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
- Luke 18:38–39And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.
- Matt 1:1The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
- Luke 17:13And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
- Mark 9:17–22And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
- Luke 18:13And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
- Matt 3:8–9Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
- Matt 20:30–31And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.
- Matt 22:42–45Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David.
- Matt 4:24And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
- Ps 6:2Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed.
- John 7:41–42Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?
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 15:22 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.