and said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes. Did you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing babies you have perfected praise?’ ”
Parallel Translations
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and said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes. Did you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing babies you have perfected praise?’ ”
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and sayde vnto him: hearest thou what these saye? Iesus sayde vnto them yee: have ye never redde of the mouth of babes and suckelinges thou haste ordeyned prayse?
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And said vnto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Iesus said vnto them, Yea: read ye neuer, By the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast made perfite the praise?
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to Matthew 21:16 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 8:2 From the lips of babes and infants you have established strength, because of your adversaries, that you might silence the enemy and the avenger.
- Matthew 11:25 At that time, Jesus answered, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to infants.
- Luke 19:39-40 Some of the Pharisees from the multitude said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” He answered them, “I tell you that if these were silent, the stones would cry out.”
- Matthew 12:3 But he said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him;
- Matthew 19:4 He answered, “Haven’t you read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female,
- Mark 2:25 He said to them, “Did you never read what David did, when he had need, and was hungry—he, and those who were with him?
- Matthew 22:31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, haven’t you read that which was spoken to you by God, saying,
- John 11:47-48 The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said, “What are we doing? For this man does many signs. If we leave him alone like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
- Acts 4:16-18 saying, “What shall we do to these men? Because indeed a notable miracle has been done through them, as can be plainly seen by all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we can’t deny it. But so that this spreads no further among the people, let’s threaten them, that from now on they don’t speak to anyone in this name.” They called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Thou hast made most perfect. We read in David,…
Thou hast made most perfect. We read in David, Thou hast established or grounded, and if the matter be considered well, it is all one that the Evangelist saith, for that is stable and sure, which is most perfect.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 16 And said unto him, Hearest thou what these…
16 And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?
Ver. 16. Thou hast perfected praise] κατηρτισω, thou hast given it all its parts and proportions, {a} thou hast completed and accomplished it. The Hebrew saith, fundasti, thou hast founded praise, and well bottomed it. Quae enim perfecta, sunt firmissima. For those who are perfected are grounded. Now there is no mouth so weak into which God cannot put words of praise. And how often doth he choose the silly simpletons of the world to confound the wise and learned? {See Trapp on "Psa 8:2"} And here it is observable that our Saviour answers warily to the captious question; so as he may neither offend Caesar, by taking upon him to be a king, nor stumble the people, who took him for no less, and he was well pleased therewith. Let our dove-like simplicity be mixed with serpentine subtilty, that we run not ourselves heedlessly into unnecessary dangers.
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{a} Αρτιον est quod constat omnibus membris.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And said unto him, hearest thou what these say?....…
And said unto him, hearest thou what these say?.... Suggesting, that if he did, he ought to reprove them, or else he would be a very vain, as well as a weak man, to take such things to himself, which did not belong to him, and that from such poor, little, silly creatures, so void of knowledge and understanding:
and Jesus said unto them, yea: signifying he did hear, and well approved of what they said, and was ready to vindicate it; and did, by putting the following question to them,
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have ye never read; that passage of Scripture in Psa 8:2
out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? in the original text it is, "thou hast ordained", or "founded strength"; and which is rendered by the Septuagint, as it is by Matthew here; and glory and strength are mentioned together, as being to be given to God, Psa 29:1 and so "strength" and "praise" by the Targumist in Isa 13:3 by which is meant strong glory, or glory and praise expressed with a strong voice, or in a very vehement manner, as it was by these babes and sucklings; and this owing to God's disposing them hereunto, putting it into their mouths, and strengthening them to declare it in a very strong and powerful manner; so that his strength was made perfect in their weakness, and his praise the more glorious. In the Psalm it is added, "because of thine enemies, that thou might still the enemy, and the avenger": by whom are meant the high priests, the Scribes and Pharisees, the mortal enemies of Christ, who were full of enmity against him, and wanted to revenge themselves on him for spoiling their market at this time; but were stilled by the "Hosannas" of the children, and Christ's defence of them. The Jews themselves seem to be conscious, that these words relate to the Messiah; for they say (l), that
"babes and sucklings, , shall give strength to the king Messiah''
manifestly referring to this passage.
(l) Zohar in Exod. fol. 4. 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Psalm viii, 2.
Psalm viii, 2.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 16. Out of the mouth of babes] The…
Verse 16. Out of the mouth of babes] The eighth Psalm, out of which these words are quoted, is applied to Jesus Christ in three other places in the new covenant, 1Co 15:27; Eph 1:22; Heb 2:6. Which proves it to be merely a prophetic psalm, relating to the Messiah.
It was a common thing among the Jews for the children to be employed in public acclamations; and thus they were accustomed to hail their celebrated rabbins. This shouting of the children was therefore no strange thing in the land: only they were exasperated, because a person was celebrated against whom they had a rooted hatred. As to the prophecy that foretold this, they regarded it not. Some imagine that babes and sucklings in the prophecy have a much more extensive meaning, and refer also to the first preachers of the Gospel of Christ.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Have you never read: Out of the mouth, &c.…
Have you never read: Out of the mouth, &c. The words are Psalm viii. 3, which some apply to the praises the people gave to David, when he had conquered Goliath, but Christ applies them to the present circumstances. (Witham) --- It is here said, that from the mouth of children the Almighty, had perfected praise, as in Psalm viii. 3. in the Septuagint, to shew that their words did not proceed from their own minds, but that their tender tongues were employed by the power of God to sound forth his praise. (St. John Chrysostom, hom. lxviii.) --- It is evident from this and various other texts, that we ought to read the Old Testament with an eye to Christ, who was the end of the law.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 16. Hearest thou — Dost thou hear how they…
16. Hearest thou — Dost thou hear how they call thee Son of David — the king by descent — the Messiah by title? Dost thou note that they are mere children that do this? Jesus shows them that even of old, the praises of children were the subject of his own father David’s psalms, and so no fit subject for present contempt and prohibition. Psa_8:2.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 16. Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings…
16. Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise] Rather, out of (or by) the mouths of children and sucklings hast thou founded strength. Psa_8:2. The ruling thought of the opening verses is the glory of God set forth in His works. The “scarcely articulate” cry of an infant proves, like the heaven and the stars, the power and providence of God. On all these God builds a stronghold against His adversaries, i. e. convinces them of His might. So also the children in the temple attest the truth of God. See Canon Perowne and Speaker’s Commentary on the passage quoted.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (16) Hearest thou what these say?—The priests and scribes…
(16) Hearest thou what these say?—The priests and scribes had probably remained in the Temple, and had not heard the Hosannas which were raised on the Mount of Olives. The shouts of the children were therefore a surprise to them, and they turned to the Teacher and asked whether He accepted them in the sense in which they were addressed to Him. Had He really entered the Temple claiming to be the expected Christ? Did He approve this interruption of the order and quiet of its courts?
Have ye never read?—Better, did ye never read? The question was one which our Lord frequently asked in reasoning with the scribes who opposed Him (Mat_12:3; Mat_12:5; Mat_19:4; Mat_21:42; Mat_22:31). It expressed very forcibly the estimate which He formed of their character as interpreters. They spent their lives in the study of the Law, and yet they perverted its meaning, and could not see its bearing on the events that passed around them. In this instance He cites the words of Psa_8:2, the primary meaning of which appears to be that the child’s wonder at the marvels of Creation is the truest worship. As applied by our Lord their lesson was the same. The cries of the children were the utterance of a truth which the priests and scribes rejected. To Him, to whom the innocent brightness of childhood was a delight, they were more acceptable than the half-hearted, self-seeking homage of older worshippers. The words are quoted from the LXX. translation.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Hearest thou what these say? They profess a great…
Hearest thou what these say? They profess a great zeal for God"s honour. They recognize that these cries implied high homage, if not actual worship, and appeal to Jesus to put a stop to such unseemly behaviour, approaching, as they would pretend, to formal blasphemy. Yea. Jesus replies that he hears what the children say, but sees no reason for silencing them; rather he proves that they were only fulfilling an old prophecy, originally, indeed, applied to Jehovah, but one which he claims as addressed to himself. Have ye never read?. (Mat_12:5) The quotation is from the confessedly Messianic psalm (Psalm 8), a psalm very often quoted in the New Testament, and as speaking of Christ. (see 1Co_1:27 1Co_15:27 Eph_1:22 Heb_2:6, etc.) Sucklings. This term was applied to children up to the age of three years, (see RAPC 2Ma 7:27) but might be used metaphorically of those of tender age, though long weaned. Thou hast perfected praise. The words are from the Septuagint, which seems to have preserved the original reading. The present Hebrew text gives, "Thou hast ordained strength," or "established a power." In the Lord"s mouth the citation signifies that God is praised acceptably by the weak and ignorant when, following the impulse of their simple nature, they do him homage. Some expositors combine the force of the Hebrew and Greek by explaining that "the strength of the weak is praise, and that worship of Christ is strength" (Wordsworth). It is more simple to say, with Nosgen, that for the Hebrew "strength," "praise" is substituted, in order to give the idea that the children"s acclamation was that which would still the enemy, as it certainly put to shame the captious objections of the Pharisees.
The ministry of the children.
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Children are always delighted with a little public excitement, and readily catch up the common enthusiasm; but we do not look to children for calm and intelligent judgments on great issues. To our Lord children always represented simple, guileless, unprejudiced souls, who put up no barriers against his teachings, or against the gracious influences which he strove to exert. These children would be lads from twelve years old upward. They caught up the words of the excited disciples, and kept up the excitement by shouting, even in the temple courts, "Hosanna to the Son of David!
I THE CHILDREN COMFORTED JESUS BY WHAT THEY DID. It was a bit of simple, honest, unrestrained enthusiasm. The young souls were carried away by the joyous excitement of the day. It comforted Jesus to hear some people speaking of him who were unquestionably sincere; who just uttered their hearts; who were glad, and said so. For it must have been a heavy burden to our Lord that, even to the last, his disciples were so guileful; they seemed as if they could never rise above the idea that they were about to "get something good" by clinging to the Lord Jesus. "Hosanna!" from the lads who wanted nothing from him must have been very comforting to our Lord, That is always one of the chief elements of pleasure in children"s worship; it is guileless, genuine, the free unrestrained utterance of the passing mood. It is not the highest thing. That is the worship of the finally redeemed, who have won innocence through experience of sin; but it is the earth-suggestion of it. Children"s praise is still the joy of Christian hearts.
II THE CHILDREN COMFORTED JESUS BY WHAT THEY REPRESENTED. For to him the children were types. "Babes and sucklings" are types of simple, loving, trustful souls, and to such God"s revelations come. Now, there are two kinds of trustful, humble, gentle souls.
1. Those who are trustful without ever having struggled. Some are naturally trustful, believing, receptive, and in all spheres of life they are loved and loving souls.
2. Those who are trustful as the victory out of struggle. These are the noblest ones, the true child souls, the true virgin souls; these walk the earth in white, and it is white that will never take a soil. In their praise Christ finds his supreme joy. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 16. Hearest thou what these say? Christ's answer to…
16. Hearest thou what these say? Christ's answer to the priests is a rebuke to all who would check religious enthusiasm on the part of children. The quotation is from Ps. 8:2. The praise of the innocent child is the perfection of praise.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 21:16 Haven’t you ever read the Scriptures? Jesus put…
21:16 Haven’t you ever read the Scriptures? Jesus put this penetrating question to opponents who did not perceive the fulfillment of messianic promises in his ministry. See also 12:3, 5; 19:4; 21:42; 22:31.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.