Matthew 17:15
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.
Matthew 17:15 in other translations
| BSB | “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. |
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| WEB | “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is epileptic and suffers grievously; for he often falls into the fire, and often into the water. |
| ASV | Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is epileptic, and suffereth grievously; for oft-times he falleth into the fire, and oft-times into the water. |
| YLT | and saying, ‘Sir, deal kindly with my son, for he is lunatic, and doth suffer miserably, for often he doth fall into the fire, and often into the water, |
| DARBY | Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is lunatic, and suffers sorely; for often he falls into the fire and often into the water. |
| BBE | Lord have mercy on my son: for he is off his head, and is in great pain; and frequently he goes falling into the fire, and frequently into the water. |
| Webster | Lord, have mercy on my son; for he is lunatic, and grievously distressed; for often he falleth into the fire, and often into the water. |
What does Matthew 17:15 mean?
Barnes' Notes
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, Mt 4:24; he was sore vexed, i.e., 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 dumb except when the fit was coming on him; for Luke says, that when the spirit took him, he cried suddenly out; he foamed and gnashed with his teeth, and wasted away, or became poor and emaciated. It tore him, (Luke,) and scarcely departed from him, or he had only short intervals of reason; for so the passage in Luke, bruising him, hardly departeth from him," should be translated.
Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 17:14-21
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…
Matthew 17:15 in the original Greek
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Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).
Cross references for Matthew 17:15
- Matthew 4:24
And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
- Matthew 15:22
And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
- Mark 5:22-23
And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.
- Job 2:7
So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
- Luke 9:38-42
And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child. And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him. And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not. And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither. …
- Matthew 8:31-32
So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.
- Mark 9:17-18
And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
- Job 1:10-19
Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: …
- Mark 9:20-22
And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
- Mark 5:4-5
Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
- John 4:46-47
So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death.
Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
15:22; Mr 5:22,23; 9:22; Lu 9:38-42; Joh 4:46,47
for.
4:24; Mr 9:17,18,20-22
he is.[Seleniazomai ,] from [selene ,] the moon, one who was affected with his disorder at the change and full of the moon. This is the case in some kinds of madness and epilepsy. This youth was no doubt epileptic; but it was evidently either produced or taken advantage of by a demon or evil spirit.
for ofttimes.
8:31,32; Job 1:10-19; 2:7; Mr 5:4,5
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain
Context
- Matthew 17:14
And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,
- Matthew 17:15
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.
- Matthew 17:16
And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
Matthew 17:15 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Y diciendo: Señor, ten misericordia de mi hijo, que es lunático, y padece malamente; porque muchas veces cae en el fuego, y muchas en el agua. |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | et disant: Seigneur, aie pitié de mon fils, car il est lunatique et souffre cruellement, car souvent il tombe dans le feu, et souvent dans l’eau; |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | und sprach: Herr, erbarme dich meines Sohnes, denn er ist mondsüchtig und leidet arg; denn oft fällt er ins Feuer und oft ins Wasser. |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | Et obtuli eum discipulis tuis, et non potuerunt curare eum. |