# Matthew 21.15

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-06-01 | updated: 2026-06-01 -->

**Book:** [Matthew](/codex/matthew-the-apostle/) · NASB95

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 13. and he saith unto them, <span class="rl-speech">It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer: but ye make it a den of robbers.</span> 14. And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.
>
> **15. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children that were crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were moved with indignation,**
>
> 16. and said unto him, <span class="rl-speech">Hearest thou what these are saying?</span> And Jesus saith unto them, <span class="rl-speech">Yea: did ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou has perfected praise?</span> 17. And he left them, and went forth out of the city to Bethany, and lodged there. (Matthew 21:13-17, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 13. He said to them, <span class="rl-speech">“It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers!”</span> 14. The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.
>
> **15. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children who were crying in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the son of David!” they were indignant,**
>
> 16. and said to him, <span class="rl-speech">“Do you hear what these are saying?”</span> Jesus said to them, <span class="rl-speech">“Yes. Did you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing babies you have perfected praise?’”</span> 17. He left them, and went out of the city to Bethany, and camped there. (Matthew 21:13-17, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 13. And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. 14. And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.
>
> **15. And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased,**
>
> 16. And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, <span class="rl-speech">Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?</span> 17. And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there. (Matthew 21:13-17, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 13. and he saith to them, <span class="rl-speech">'It hath been written, My house a house of prayer shall be called, but ye did make it a den of robbers.'</span> 14. And there came to him blind and lame men in the temple, and he healed them,
>
> **15. and the chief priests and the scribes having seen the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, 'Hosanna to the Son of David,' were much displeased;**
>
> 16. and they said to him, 'Hearest thou what these say?' And Jesus saith to them, <span class="rl-speech">'Yes, did ye never read, that, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou didst prepare praise?'</span> 17. And having left them, he went forth out of the city to Bethany, and did lodge there, (Matthew 21:13-17, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** _TBD_
- **Audience:** _TBD_
- **Location:** _TBD_
- **Time period:** _TBD_

## Theological reading

_Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added._

## Key words

_Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap._

- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_

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## Quoted in

**Lexicon:**

- [H1121 - ben](/codex/h1121-ben/)

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_Scripture quotations taken from the **New American Standard Bible®** (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by **The Lockman Foundation**. Used by permission. All rights reserved. [www.lockman.org](https://www.lockman.org)_

## Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

- **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.