What Does Matthew 20:31 Mean in the King James?
And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The crowd’s rebuke does not erase the plea; it gives the cry for mercy a louder edge.
THE MEANING
The need for mercy remains present even when surrounding voices demand silence, and here the plea grows louder. The speakers address the Lord as Son of David, naming him through a lineage associated with belovedness.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This verse undoes the belief that a crowd’s rebuke makes a plea for mercy improper or something that must be silenced.
THE ROOT
ἔκραξαν μᾶλλον
ékraksan mâllon
GROWS FROM
κραζ-
kraz-
To cry aloud or call out with urgency.
“cried the more” in this verse is ékraksan mâllon. The Greek verb names an audible, urgent cry; the crowd’s demand for quiet meets a plea that becomes more insistent. English conveys the increase, while the root keeps the sound of the appeal in view.
ALSO GROWS
krázō: Cry aloud; call out.
κράζω
This is the verb behind “cried,” keeping the men’s plea as an audible call.
kraugḗ: Cry or outcry.
κραυγή
This related word also names a cry, echoing the public, unmistakable force of their appeal.
ἐλέησον
eléēson
GROWS FROM
ἐλεε-
elee-
To show mercy or respond with compassion.
The men ask for a response to their need, not merely for mercy as an abstract quality. Their appeal places compassion in the moment as something enacted toward them.
ALSO GROWS
éleos: Mercy; compassion.
ἔλεος
This noun names the compassion they ask the Lord to show.
eleḗmōn: Merciful; compassionate.
ἐλεήμων
This related word describes the quality their appeal calls upon.
דָּוִד
Dāwīd
GROWS FROM
דוד
d-w-d
Beloved; beloved one.
The title “Son of David” carries a name associated with belovedness alongside its lineage meaning. Their appeal joins an immediate plea for mercy to the nature carried in David’s name.
ALSO GROWS
dōd: Beloved; dear one.
דּוֹד
This Hebrew word-family gives the name David its association with belovedness.
dōdîm: Love; expressions of affection.
דּוֹדִים
The related word echoes the beloved quality carried by the name in their address.
THE PATTERN
A cry rising from affliction reaches beyond the voices that would silence it.
And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.THE THREAD
And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.Mark preserves the same cry for mercy and the same Greek verb for “cried” as Matthew. In both verses, the crowd’s attempt to quiet the plea is met with a more forceful appeal.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us