Matthew 9:36

Matthew 9:36 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
• New International Version (NIV)When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
• English Standard Version (ESV)When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.

Context of Matthew 9:36

34But the Pharisees said, “He can cast out demons because he is empowered by the prince of demons.” 35Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. 38So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

Matthew 9:36 word by word

Ἰδὼν δὲ τοὺς ὄχλους ἐσπλαγχνίσθη περὶ αὐτῶν ὅτι ἦσαν ἐσκυλμένοι καὶ ἐρριμμένοι ὡσεὶ πρόβατα μὴ ἔχοντα ποιμένα.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butδέde · thenG1161
• when he sawὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
• the multitudesὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the multitudesὄχλοςochlos · crowdG3793
• he was moved with compassionσπλαγχνίζωsplagchnizomai · to pityG4697
• onπερίperi · aboutG4012
• themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• becauseὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
• theyεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• faintedἐκλύωekluō · to faintG1590
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• scattered abroadῥίπτωrhiptō̄ · to throw/lay downG4496
• asὡσείhōsei · like/as/aboutG5616
• sheepπρόβατονprobaton · sheepG4263
• havingἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• noμήmē · notG3361
• shepherdποιμήνpoimēn · shepherdG4166

Cross-references for Matthew 9:36

• Matthew 14:14Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
• Matthew 15:32Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.”
• Mark 6:34Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
• Hebrews 4:15This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.
• Hebrews 5:2And he is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people because he himself is subject to the same weaknesses.
• Matthew 10:6but only to the people of Israel—God’s lost sheep.
• Matthew 15:24Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”
• Numbers 27:17Give them someone who will guide them wherever they go and will lead them into battle, so the community of the Lord will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”
• 1 Kings 22:17Then Micaiah told him, “In a vision I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘Their master has been killed. Send them home in peace.’”
• 2 Chronicles 18:16Then Micaiah told him, “In a vision I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘Their master has been killed. Send them home in peace.’”
• Isaiah 56:9Come, wild animals of the field! Come, wild animals of the forest! Come and devour my people!
• Jeremiah 50:6“My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray and turned them loose in the mountains. They have lost their way and can’t remember how to get back to the sheepfold.
• Ezekiel 34:3You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve.
• Zechariah 10:2Household gods give worthless advice, fortune-tellers predict only lies, and interpreters of dreams pronounce falsehoods that give no comfort. So my people are wandering like lost sheep; they are attacked because they have no shepherd.
• Zechariah 11:16This illustrates how I will give this nation a shepherd who will not care for those who are dying, nor look after the young, nor heal the injured, nor feed the healthy. Instead, this shepherd will eat the meat of the fattest sheep and tear off their hooves.
• Zechariah 13:7“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, the man who is my partner,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Strike down the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn against the lambs.

Commentaries on Matthew 9:36

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 36Moved with compassion - , from , a bowel. The Jews esteemed the bowels to be the seat of sympathy and the tender passions, and so applied the organ to the sense. signifies, says Mintert, "to be moved with pity from the very inmost bowels. It is an emphatic word, signifying a vehement affection of commiseration, by which the bowels and especially the heart is moved." Both this verb and the noun seem to be derived from , to draw; the whole intestinal canal…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 36But when he saw the multitudes - That followed him from place to place. When he saw their anxiety to be instructed and saved. He was moved with compassion on them - He pitied them. Because they fainted - The word used here refers to the weariness and fatigue which results from labor and being burdened. He saw the people burdened with the rites of religion and the doctrines of the Pharisees; sinking down under their ignorance and the weight of their…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 35-38Verses 35-38 Jesus visited not only the great and wealthy cities, but the poor, obscure villages; and there he preached, there he healed. The souls of the meanest in the world are as precious to Christ, and should be so to us, as the souls of those who make the greatest figure. There were priests, Levites, and scribes, all over the land; but they were idol shepherds, Zec 11:17; therefore Christ had compassion on the people as sheep scattered, as men…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 36Like sheep without a shepherd: Jesus grieved the failure of the Pharisees to guide the people with care (see Matthew 12:11–12; 18:12). Their constant attacks against him showed their hard-hearted rejection of God. Because of this neglect and mistreatment, the crowds suffered greatly (10:5–6; 15:12–14; 23:4; Zechariah 11:16).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3636. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted--This reading, however, has hardly any authority at all. The true reading doubtless is, "were harassed." and were scattered abroad--rather, "lying about," "abandoned," or "neglected." as sheep, having no shepherd--their pitiable condition as wearied under bodily fatigue, a vast disorganized mass, being but a faint picture of their wretchedness as the victims of…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 9:36

• Jesus, the Christ
• Sheep

In the dictionaries

• Scattered Abroad
• Bridechamber
• Cheer
• Comfort
• Daughter
• Eat
• Garment
• Harvest
• Hem
• Issue

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