Matthew 9:12

Matthew 9:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
• New International Version (NIV)On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But when he heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
• New King James Version (NKJV)When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

Context of Matthew 9:12

10Then as Jesus was reclining at the table in Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners [including non-observant Jews] came and ate with Him and His disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Master eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but [only] those who are sick. 13Go and learn what this [Scripture] means: ‘I desire compassion [for those in distress], and not [animal] sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call [to repentance] the [self-proclaimed] righteous [who see no need to change], but sinners [those who recognize their sin and actively seek forgiveness].” 14Then the disciples of John [the Baptist] came to Jesus, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees often fast [as a religious exercise], but Your disciples do not fast?”

Matthew 9:12 word by word

ὁ δὲ ἀκούσας εἶπεν οὐ χρείαν ἔχουσιν οἱ ἰσχύοντες ἰατροῦ ἀλλ᾽ οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butδέde · thenG1161
• whenἀκούωakouō · to hearG191
• Jesusὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• JesusἸησοῦςIēsous · JesusG2424
• he saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• unto themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• They that be wholeἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• They that be wholeἰσχύωischuō · be strongG2480
• needχρείαchreia · needG5532
• notοὐou · noG3756
• a physicianἰατρόςiatros · physicianG2395
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• they that are sickκακῶςkakōs · badlyG2560

Cross-references for Matthew 9:12

• Psalms 6:2Have mercy on me and be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am weak (faint, frail); Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are dismayed and anguished.
• Psalms 41:4As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”
• Psalms 147:3He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds [healing their pain and comforting their sorrow].
• Jeremiah 17:14Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; Save me and I will be saved, For You are my praise.
• Jeremiah 30:17For I will restore health to you And I will heal your wounds,’ says the Lord, ‘Because they have called you an outcast, saying: “This is Zion; no one seeks her and no one cares for her.” ’
• Jeremiah 33:6Behold, [in the restored Jerusalem] I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace (prosperity, security, stability) and truth.
• Hosea 14:4I will heal their apostasy and faithlessness; I will love them freely, For My anger has turned away from Israel.
• Mark 2:17When Jesus heard this, He said to them, “Those who are healthy have no need of a physician, but [only] those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners [who recognize their sin and humbly seek forgiveness].”
• Luke 5:31And Jesus replied to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but [only] those who are sick.
• Luke 8:43And a woman who had [suffered from] a hemorrhage for twelve years [and had spent all her money on physicians], and could not be healed by anyone,
• Luke 9:11But when the crowds learned of it, they followed Him; and He welcomed them and He began talking to them about the kingdom of God, and healing those who needed to be healed.
• Luke 18:11The Pharisee stood [ostentatiously] and began praying to himself [in a self-righteous way, saying]: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the rest of men—swindlers, unjust (dishonest), adulterers—or even like this tax collector.
• Romans 7:9I was once alive without [knowledge of] the Law; but when the commandment came [and I understood its meaning], sin became alive and I died [since the Law sentenced me to death].
• Revelation 3:17Because you say, “I am rich, and have prospered and grown wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked [without hope and in great need],

Commentaries on Matthew 9:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12They that be whole need not a physician - A common proverb, which none could either misunderstand or misapply. Of it the reader may make the following use: - Jesus Christ represents himself here as the sovereign Physician of souls. That all stand in need of his healing power. That men must acknowledge their spiritual maladies, and the need they have of his mercy, in order to be healed by him. 4. That it is the most inveterate and dangerous disease the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12They that be whole … - Jesus, in reply, said that the whole needed not a physician. Sick persons only needed his aid. A physician would not commonly be found with those that were in health. His proper place was among the sick. So, says he, “If you Pharisees are such as you think yourselves - already pure and holy - you do not need my aid. It would be of no use to you, and you would not thank me for it. With those persons who feel that they are sinners I…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-13Verses 10-13 Some time after his call, Matthew sought to bring his old associates to hear Christ. He knew by experience what the grace of Christ could do, and would not despair concerning them. Those who are effectually brought to Christ, cannot but desire that others also may be brought to him. Those who suppose their souls to be without disease will not welcome the spiritual Physician. This was the case with the Pharisees; they despised Christ, because…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9-13Jesus, as Lord and Messiah, removed the obstacles that stopped righteous Jews from interacting with people considered ceremonially unclean or sinful.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them--to the Pharisees and scribes; addressing Himself to them, though they had shrunk from addressing Him. They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick--that is, "Ye deem yourselves whole; My mission, therefore, is not to you: The physician's business is with the sick; therefore eat I with publicans and sinners." Oh, what myriads of broken hearts, of sin-sick souls, have been bound up by this…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 9:12

• Capernaum
• Disease
• Ecclesiasticism
• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ
• Pharisees
• Physician
• Self-Righteousness

In the dictionaries

• Jesus
• Jesus, Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus
• Bridechamber
• Capernaum
• Cheer
• Comfort
• Daughter
• Eat
• Garment
• Harvest

Commentaries on Matthew 9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings