“Hearest thou what these say? Have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?”
The full verse · Matthew 21:16 · KJV
unto , Hearest ? unto , ; have ye , Out the of thou hast ?
Asked by
Chief Priests: the leading priests of the temple, sore displeased at the children's cries (Matthew 21:15); Scribes: experts in the law of Moses, who joined the chief priests in objecting (Matthew 21:15); Jesus: the Son of God and promised Messiah, who had just cleansed the temple and healed the blind and the lame there (Matthew 21:12-14)
Asked to
Jesus: the Son of God and promised Messiah, being praised by children in the temple (Matthew 21:15); Chief Priests: the leading priests of the temple, who objected to the children's praise (Matthew 21:15); Scribes: experts in the law of Moses, who objected with the chief priests (Matthew 21:15)
The Scene
In the temple, Jesus has driven out the buyers and sellers and healed the blind and the lame, and children are crying, "Hosanna to the Son of David" (Matthew 21:12-15).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionThe chief priests and scribes wanted Jesus to stop the children. Matthew says they saw His wonderful works and heard the children's cries, and "they were sore displeased" (Matthew 21:15). Barnes says they were envious of His popularity and, "being determined to find fault, they took occasion to do so from the shouts of the children." Gill reads their question as "suggesting, that if he did, he ought to reprove them."
Jesus' question presses back. These men knew the Scriptures well. By asking, "Have ye never read," He sends them back to their own Bible, where God Himself draws praise from the mouths of little ones.
The Response
What Scripture recordsJesus answered their question plainly: "Yea." He did hear, and He did not silence the children. Then He answered with a question of His own, quoting Psalm 8:2. Matthew records no reply from the chief priests and scribes. Jesus "left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there" (Matthew 21:17).
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsJesus quotes Psalm 8:2. The KJV of the psalm reads, "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength," while Matthew has "perfected praise." The Greek verb is katartizo, which Thayer defines as "to fit out, equip, put in order, arrange, adjust"; in this verse he gives the sense "to prepare," and he notes that the Greek Old Testament uses the same verb in this psalm. "Babes" (nepioi) are little children, and "sucklings" (thelazonton) are nursing infants.
The children's words, "Hosanna to the Son of David," echo the crowd at the entry (Matthew 21:9), whose cries Barnes traces to Psalm 118:25-26. To call Jesus "Son of David" was to hail Him as David's promised heir.
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyPsalm 8 opens, "O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!" (Psalm 8:1). In that psalm, God ordains strength "out of the mouth of babes and sucklings," that He might "still the enemy and the avenger" (Psalm 8:2). Jesus did not stop the children. He defended their praise with a psalm about the praise of God.
This fits the whole chapter. The learned leaders questioned Jesus while the blind, the lame, and children received Him (Matthew 21:14-15). Barnes notes that people "often are offended" that children have anything to do with religion, but Jesus saw that it was proper for them to rejoice. God's ways are not limited to the trained or the important. He perfects praise where the proud do not expect it.
Look Closer
What made the chief priests and scribes "sore displeased" in Matthew 21:15?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord, You welcomed the praise of children when the learned objected; what keeps my praise from being as simple and wholehearted as theirs?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- The leaders were bothered by how others were praising Jesus. What makes you uneasy when others worship more freely or differently than you do?
- Tell about a time a child, or someone you did not expect, showed you something true about God.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Do not look down on the faith of children or of anyone the world overlooks. Jesus heard the children's Hosannas and called it praise that God Himself had prepared. Their words were simple, and they were right.
This does not mean reverence and order do not matter. In the same scene Jesus cleared the temple of buying and selling because God's house is "the house of prayer" (Matthew 21:13). The leaders objected to what the children were saying ("Hearest thou what these say?"), and Jesus defended it (Matthew 21:16). When praise is truly given to Jesus, welcome it, even when it comes from unexpected mouths.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
“Who is this?”
“Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer?”
“By what authority doest thou these things? And who gave thee this authority?”
“Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?”