Matthew 15:21-28

21 And Jesus, going forth from thence, went away into the parts of Tyre and Sidon;

22 and lo, a Canaanitish woman, coming out from those borders, cried [to him] saying, Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.

23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came to [him] and asked him, saying, Dismiss her, for she cries after us.

24 But he answering said, I have not been sent save to the lost sheep of Israel's house.

25 But she came and did him homage, saying, Lord, help me.

26 But he answering said, It is not well to take the bread of the children and cast it to the dogs.

27 But she said, Yea, Lord; for even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from the table of their masters.

28 Then Jesus answering said to her, O woman, thy faith [is] great. Be it to thee as thou desirest. And her daughter was healed from *that* hour.

Footnotes

• [a] Eis: Not necessarily within the territory, but in that neighbourhood: perhaps it might be translated 'into the neighbourhood,' only it is a little too free. The woman came out from the country of Tyre and Sidon.
• [b] 'A little dog,' more slighting than 'dog' in Greek; but 'little dog' is rather the contrary in English. I would not say 'cur,' fearing it might be too strong, but I have no doubt of the greater contempt expressed by the word; also in ver. 27.
• [c] Or else we may say 'Yet' here, as admitting the truth, but pleading; nai is used for affirming what is said, but also for beseeching, as, indeed, in English we say, 'Yes, do it.' 'Yet' seems perhaps to express this more clearly, as the admission of what Christ said is thus evident; the 'but' is wanting if we say 'yea.' The Authorized Version avoids the difficulty discussed by all the critics by translating freely, but the 'for even' of the original is lost. 'Yet' thus used gives assent and obsecration, and this seems the force of nai. See Rev. 22.20, 'Amen; come.' If we say 'Truth, Lord,' we must add 'yet:' 'Truth, Lord, [yet hear] for even.' As to nai having this tacitly beseeching character, see Philemon 20, and so it is taken by many. Otherwise nai contradicts the Lord, who had said ouk, and kai gar follows naturally. And I suspect this to be the better sense: 'Yes, Lord, you may do it, for even:' so I have put it in the text.