Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Matthew 17:15 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 15. 15Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Describes the son's dangerous episodes through the KJV's ancient lunatick language.
Read It With
- Matthew 17:14–17:21
Read Matthew 17:15 with 17:14–17:21. In isolation, this verse's contribution—describes the son's dangerous episodes through the KJV's ancient lunatick language—can be detached from its speaker, audience, narrative or teaching sequence, and outcome. The complete unit establishes: A father reports his son's dangerous suffering and the disciples' failure, Jesus rebukes the faithless generation, heals the boy, and explains the disciples' little faith with mountain-moving language.
What Remains True
A father reports his son's dangerous suffering and the disciples' failure, Jesus rebukes the faithless generation, heals the boy, and explains the disciples' little faith with mountain-moving language. Matthew 17:15's proportionate contribution is this: Describes the son's dangerous episodes through the KJV's ancient lunatick language.
How It Can Shape Life
- Matthew 17:15 contributes this specific claim: Describes the son's dangerous episodes through the KJV's ancient lunatick language. When care fails, protect the suffering child, seek qualified help, and examine the caregivers' limits without blaming the family, coercing an exorcism, or promising cure through stronger belief.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Matthew 17:14–17:21 — Jesus frees a suffering boy after disciples failSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Matthew 17:14–17:21, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control without treating one edition as a complete apparatus.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text file data/sblgnt/text/Matt.txt, Matthew 17:14–17:21
Open the Matthew Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for the expressions actually discussed in this thought unit.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data TAGNT rows for Matthew 17:14–17:21
Open source ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Matthew with Translators' and Textual Notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005-2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, historical, Jewish-background, and Synoptic notes for this unit.
Exact location: NET Bible Matthew PDF, printed pp. 1808-1867, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 17:14–17:21
Open source ↗