New Living Translation
Matthew 17:15
15“Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water.
Matthew 17:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
- New International Version (NIV)“Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water.
- English Standard Version (ESV)said, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.
Context of Matthew 17:15
13Then the disciples realized he was talking about John the Baptist. 14At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.” 17Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.”
Read all of Matthew 17Matthew 17:15 word by word
καὶ λέγων· κύριε, ἐλέησόν μου τὸν υἱόν, ὅτι σεληνιάζεται καὶ κακῶς πάσχει· πολλάκις γὰρ πίπτει εἰς τὸ πῦρ καὶ πολλάκις εἰς τὸ ὕδωρ.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Lordκύριοςkurios · lord: GodG2962
- have mercyἐλεέωeleeō · to have mercyG1653
- onὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- onυἱόςuihos · sonG5207
- myἐγώegō · I/weG1473
- forὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
- he is lunatickσεληνιάζομαιselēniazomai · be epilepticG4583
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- soreκακῶςkakōs · badlyG2560
- vexedπάσχωpaschō pathō penthō · to sufferG3958
- forγάρgar · forG1063
- ofttimesπολλάκιςpollakis · oftenG4178
- he fallethπίπτωpiptō petō · to collapseG4098
- intoεἰςeis · towardG1519
- the fireπῦρpur · fireG4442
- the waterὕδωρhudōr hudatos · waterG5204
Cross-references for Matthew 17:15
- Matthew 15:22A 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.”
- Mark 5:22Then a leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, arrived. When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet,
- Mark 9:22The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.”
- Luke 9:38A man in the crowd called out to him, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, my only child.
- John 4:46As he traveled through Galilee, he came to Cana, where he had turned the water into wine. There was a government official in nearby Capernaum whose son was very sick.
- Matthew 4:24News about him spread as far as Syria, and people soon began bringing to him all who were sick. And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon possessed or epileptic or paralyzed—he healed them all.
- Mark 9:17One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk.
- Matthew 8:31So the demons begged, “If you cast us out, send us into that herd of pigs.”
- Job 1:10You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is!
- Job 2:7So Satan left the Lord’s presence, and he struck Job with terrible boils from head to foot.
- Mark 5:4Whenever he was put into chains and shackles—as he often was—he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him.
Commentaries on Matthew 17:15
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15My son - is lunatic - . One who was most affected with this disorder at the change and full of the moon. See on Matthew 4:24; (note). But this lunacy was occasioned by a demon, see Matthew 17:18, and Mark 9:17; Luke 9:38. In this case, the devil intended to hide himself under the appearance of a natural disorder, that no supernatural means might be resorted to for his expulsion. See a remarkable account on Luke 9:39; (note). Falleth ofttimes into the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15Lord, have mercy - The word “Lord” here means “Sir,” a title of civility, not implying divinity. My son - This was an only son (Luke). He was possessed with a devil. This calamity was attended with the following symptoms: he was lunatic (see the notes at Matthew 4:24); he was sore vexed; that is, he suffered greatly, or was greatly afflicted; he fell often suddenly, in the manner of persons having epileptic fits; he was dumb - that is, he was mute except…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-21Verses 14-21 The case of afflicted children should be presented to God by faithful and fervent prayer. Christ cured the child. Though the people were perverse, and Christ was provoked, yet care was taken of the child. When all other helps and succours fail, we are welcome to Christ, may trust in him, and in his power and goodness. See here an emblem of Christ's undertaking as our Redeemer. It encourages parents to bring children to Christ, whose souls are…Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 17:15
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Matthew 17
- 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
- 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
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