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.”
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!”
- KJV 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.
- 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.”
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 9:27As Jesus passed by from there, two blind men followed him, calling out and saying, “Have mercy on us, son of David!”
- Mark 7:25–26For a woman, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, having heard of him, came and fell down at his feet.
- Matt 17:15“Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is epileptic, and suffers grievously; for he often falls into the fire, and often into the water.
- Ps 45:12The daughter of Tyre comes with a gift. The rich among the people entreat your favor.
- Ezek 3:6not to many peoples of a strange speech and of a hard language, whose words you can not understand. Surely, if I sent you to them, they would listen to you.
- Ps 4:1For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm by David. Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness. Give me relief from my distress. Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
- Luke 18:38–39He cried out, “Jesus, you son of David, have mercy on me!”
- Matt 1:1The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
- Luke 17:13They lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
- Mark 9:17–22One of the multitude answered, “Teacher, I brought to you my son, who has a mute spirit;
- Luke 18:13But the tax collector, standing far away, wouldn’t even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
- Matt 3:8–9Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance!
- Matt 20:30–31Behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, you son of David!”
- Matt 22:42–45saying, “What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “Of David.”
- Matt 4:24The report about him went out into all Syria. They brought to him all who were sick, afflicted with various diseases and torments, possessed with demons, epileptics, and paralytics; and he healed them.
- Ps 6:2Have mercy on me, Yahweh, for I am faint. Yahweh, heal me, for my bones are troubled.
- John 7:41–42Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “What, does the Christ come out of Galilee?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 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.