The Meaning of Luke 18:38 Explained

Luke 18:38

KJV: And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.

YLT: and he cried out, saying, 'Jesus, Son of David, deal kindly with me;'

Darby: And he called out saying, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.

ASV: And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  he cried,  saying,  Jesus,  [thou] Son  of David,  have mercy  on me. 

What does Luke 18:38 Mean?

Context Summary

Luke 18:31-43 - The Reward Of Faith
Our Lord knew what was awaiting Him. He laid down His life "of Himself." But all the significance of His life and death was concealed from the Apostles and others. Their eyes were blinded, till the glory of the Resurrection morning had dawned and the day of Pentecost had fully come.
Our Lord's mind must have been filled with the anticipation of the momentous issues to be decided; but He was sufficiently at leisure from Himself to hear the cry of distress from this blind beggar. How absolutely He placed Himself at the disposal of those who needed His help! Human need and sorrow always commanded Him. Each comer was able to draw all the grace he required, according to the measure of the bucket of his faith when let down into that infinite well. There is no reason why each of us should not be made whole and follow Christ, glorifying Him. But we are blind! [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 18

1  Of the importunate widow
9  Of the Pharisee and the tax collector
15  Of Children brought to Jesus
18  A ruler would follow Jesus, but is hindered by his riches
28  The reward of those who leave all for his sake
31  He foretells his death;
35  and restores a blind man to sight

Greek Commentary for Luke 18:38

He cried [εβοησεν]
Old verb, βοαω — boaō to shout, as in Luke 9:38. [source]
Son of David [υιε Δαυειδ]
Shows that he recognizes Jesus as the Messiah. [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 18:38 mean?

And he called out saying Jesus Son of David have mercy on me
Καὶ ἐβόησεν λέγων Ἰησοῦ υἱὲ Δαυίδ ἐλέησόν με

ἐβόησεν  he  called  out 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: βοάω  
Sense: to raise a cry, of joy pain etc.
λέγων  saying 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
Ἰησοῦ  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Vocative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.
υἱὲ  Son 
Parse: Noun, Vocative Masculine Singular
Root: υἱός  
Sense: a son.
Δαυίδ  of  David 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: Δαβίδ 
Sense: second king of Israel, and ancestor of Jesus Christ.
ἐλέησόν  have  mercy  on 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Imperative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: ἐλεέω 
Sense: to have mercy on.
με  me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Accusative 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.