Bible Strands
Mark 7:27
“First let the children have their fill,” He said. “For it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus speaks to the Syrophoenician woman in response to her plea to heal her daughter, establishing a sequence in his ministry before addressing her request.
The words — πρῶτον (prōton) = first; χορτασθῆναι (chortasthēnai) = to be satisfied. Jesus states that the children must be permitted to be satisfied before anything else is distributed.
The thread — The children-and-dogs metaphor parallels Matthew 7:6 on withholding holy things from dogs, while the priority of the children aligns with the mission restriction in Matthew 10:5 against entering Gentile towns. Matthew 15:23 records the disciples urging Jesus to send the woman away.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that Jesus’ initial response outlines a deliberate order of ministry rather than a blanket rejection. A reader must observe the stated priority before drawing conclusions about inclusion or exclusion.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.
Cross-references
- Matthew 15:23 But Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
- Matthew 7:6 Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.
- Matthew 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go onto the road of the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.
- Acts 22:21 Then He said to me, ‘Go! I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”
- Ephesians 2:12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.
- Romans 15:8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs,