Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calls for Elias.
Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calls for Elias.
And some of them stood there, when they heard it, said, This man calleth Elijah.
And some of those who were near by, hearing it, said, This man is crying to Elijah.
Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elijah.
Some of them who stood there, when they heard it, said, "This man is calling Elijah."
And some of them that stood there, when they heard it, said, This man calleth Elijah.
This man calleth for Elias - Probably these were Hellenistic Jews, who did not fully understand the meaning of our Lord's words. Elijah was daily expected to appear as the forerunner of the Messiah, whose arrival, under the character of a mighty prince, was generally supposed to be at hand throughout the east. See Malachi 4:5; Matthew 2:2-4; Matthew 17:10-12.
This man calleth for Elias - This was done purposely to deride him and his pretensions to be the Messiah. The words "Eli, Eli," they might easily pretend that they understood to mean Elias, or so pervert them. The taunt would be more cutting, because it was the universal belief of the Jews, as well as the doctrine of Christ, that "Elias" would come before the Messiah. They derided him now, as calling upon "Elias" when God would not help him; still keeping up the pretensions to being the Messiah, and invoking "Elijah" to come from the dead to aid him. Or it is possible that this might have been said by some bystanders who did not understand the language in which he spoke, or who might not have been near enough to hear him distinctly.