But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
Parallel translations
- WEB But he answered her not a word. His disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away; for she cries after us.”
- BSB But Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
- NKJV But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.”
- NASB But He did not answer her with even a word. And His disciples came up and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us!”
- NLT But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.”
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 is silent at first, and the disciples urge him to send the woman away. It matters because his apparent reluctance sets up a test and display of persistent faith.
Overview
Jesus' silence is not indifference but seems designed to draw out and reveal the woman's faith. The disciples, annoyed by her persistence, want her dismissed. This contrast between their impatience and her perseverance heightens the drama. The episode shows that delays in answered prayer can serve to deepen and prove genuine faith.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Matt 14:15And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.
- Lam 3:8Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer.
- Ps 28:1Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.
- Gen 42:7And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.
- Mark 10:47–48And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.
- Deut 8:2And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
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 15:23 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.