What Does Matthew 21:16 Mean in the King James?
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?
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
What the room dismisses as childish praise is precisely the voice Jesus calls complete, and the psalm behind it calls strength.
THE MEANING
The praise others dismiss as childish is recognized here as complete. Even a small voice can speak what exposes the room’s resistance. The verse makes the source of praise matter less than the truth it carries.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Praise only has force when it comes from mature, credentialed voices.
THE ROOT
κατηρτίσω
katērtisō
GROWS FROM
καταρτ- (katart-), from ἄρτιος (artios)
To fit, restore, or equip; to bring into proper condition.
Here “perfected” describes praise brought into full shape, not polished performance. The same word family speaks of mending nets and equipping people, so the children’s praise is made whole and fit for its purpose.
ALSO GROWS
katartizō: Mend, restore, put in order
καταρτίζω
The verb describes mending nets; here, praise is brought into a fitting form.
katartismos: Equipping, preparation
καταρτισμός
The related word for equipping shows that completion can mean being made ready for a purpose.
katartisis: Restoration, putting in order
κατάρτισις
This branch makes the verse’s “perfected” praise sound like something restored to wholeness.
αἶνον
ainon
GROWS FROM
αἰν-
ain-
Praise or commendation.
The praise from the children’s mouths is an open acknowledgment, not background noise. In Psalm 8:2, the Hebrew line speaks of strength established from infants’ mouths; Matthew’s Greek wording names that utterance as praise, revealing its force against opposition.
ALSO GROWS
aineō: Praise
αἰνέω
The related verb names praise as an act of acknowledgment, as in voices praising God.
epainos: Praise, commendation
ἔπαινος
This related noun carries the sense of public recognition present in the children’s words.
THE PATTERN
Voices counted as small or weak can speak a truth that exposes opposition and confounds status.
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;THE THREAD
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.Psalm 8:2 gives the same image as strength established from infants’ mouths, while Matthew’s Greek wording calls it perfected praise. Together, the phrases reveal praise as the strength that quiets the adversary, not decoration on the scene.
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