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He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying,
Matthew 22:43 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying,
  • BSB Jesus said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord’? For he says:
  • NKJV He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying:
  • NASB He *said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,
  • NLT Jesus responded, “Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah ‘my Lord’? For David said,

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 asks how David, inspired by the Spirit, calls the Messiah 'Lord.' He points to the Messiah's identity as greater than David himself.

Overview

Citing Psalm 110, Jesus notes that David, speaking by the Holy Spirit, addresses the Messiah as 'Lord,' a title implying superiority. This affirms the Spirit's inspiration of Scripture and presses the question of how the Messiah can be both David's son and David's Lord. The answer points to Christ's deity: He is both the human descendant of David and the divine Lord, the God-man who is the true Messiah.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • 2 Sam 23:2The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.
  • Rev 4:2And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
  • Mark 12:36For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
  • Heb 3:7Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
  • Acts 2:30–31Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
  • Acts 1:16Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.
  • Rev 1:10I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
  • Luke 2:26–27And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
  • 2 Pet 1:21For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

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 22:43YouTube · 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 22:43 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.