Matthew 27 · Verse 47

Matthew 27:47

Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.

Matthew 27:47, King James Version

Matthew 27:47 in other translations

BSB	When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He is calling Elijah.”
WEB	Some of them who stood there, when they heard it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.”
ASV	And some of them that stood there, when they heard it, said, This man calleth Elijah.
YLT	And certain of those standing there having heard, said--‘Elijah he doth call;'
DARBY	And some of those who stood there, when they heard it, said, This man calls for Elias.
BBE	And some of those who were near by, hearing it, said, This man is crying to Elijah.
Webster	Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elijah.

What does Matthew 27:47 mean?

Barnes' Notes

Verse 47. This man calleth for Elias. This was done purposely to deride him and his pretentions to be the Messiah. The words Eli, Eli, they might easily pretend that they understood to mean Elias, or so pervert them. The taunt would be more cutting, because it was the universal belief of the Jews, as well as the doctrine of Christ, that Elias would come before the Messiah. They derided him now, as calling upon Elias, when God would not help him; still keeping up the pretensions to being the Messiah, and invoking Elijah to come from the dead to aid him. Or it is possible that this might have been said by some bystanders, who did not understand the language in which he spoke, or who might not have been near enough to hear him distinctly.

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 47 This man calleth for Elias - Probably these were Hellenistic Jews, who did not fully understand the meaning of our Lord's words. Elijah was daily expected to appear as the forerunner of the Messiah, whose arrival, under the character of a mighty prince, was generally supposed to be at hand throughout the east. See Mal 4:5; Mat 2:2-4; Mat 17:10-12.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 27:45-50

During the three hours which the darkness continued, Jesus was in agony, wrestling with the powers of darkness, and suffering his Father's displeasure against the sin of man, for which he was now making his soul an offering. Never were there three such hours since the day God created man upon the earth, never such a dark and awful scene; it was the turning point of that great affair, man's redemption and salvation…

Read the full comment on Matthew 27:45-50 →

Matthew 27:47 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ΤινὲςTinesSomeG5100

δὲdethenG1161

τῶνtōnof those whoG3588

ἐκεῖekeithereG1563

ἑστηκότωνhestēkotōnhaving stoodG2476

ἀκούσαντεςakousanteslisteningG191

ἔλεγονelegonwere sayingG3004

ὅτιhotithatG3754

ἨλίανĒlianElijahG2243

φωνεῖphōneicallsG5455

οὗτος.houtosthis [man].G3778

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Matthew 27:47

Malachi 4:5
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:
Mark 15:35-36
And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down.
Matthew 11:14
And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

This.
11:14; Mal 4:5; Mr 15:35,36

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Matthew 27:46
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Matthew 27:47
Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.
Matthew 27:48
And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.

Read all of Matthew 27

Matthew 27:47 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y algunos de los que estaban allí, oyéndolo, decían: A Elías llama éste.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et quelques-uns de ceux qui se tenaient là, ayant entendu cela, disaient: Il appelle Élie, celui-ci!
German Elberfelder 1871	Als aber etliche der Dastehenden es hörten, sagten sie: Dieser ruft den Elias.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Quidam autem illic stantes, et audientes, dicebant: Eliam vocat iste.