σκύλλω expresses the act of bringing trouble, and it appears in scenes where distress either weighs on crowds or is used as a reason to stop making demands on a teacher. In the Gospel narratives where it occurs, the word frames both a condition people suffer and an action someone asks to avoid.
Occurrences
“But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36)
Here the word contributes to a broad description of the crowd’s condition. The multitudes are not merely numerous; they are pictured as people pressed upon by trouble so that they appear “harassed and scattered.” The consequence in the verse is relational and pastoral: their troubled state is like “sheep without a shepherd,” which explains why compassion is awakened when he “saw the multitudes.” σκύλλω thus functions as part of the diagnosis of their plight, setting the emotional and practical urgency of the moment.
“While he was still speaking, people came from the synagogue ruler’s house saying, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher any more?”” (Mark 5:35)
In this scene σκύλλω is placed on the lips of messengers who bring final-sounding news: “Your daughter is dead.” The verb is not used to describe the girl’s condition but the social action that would follow from continuing to seek help—“Why bother the Teacher any more?” Trouble is framed as an imposition on someone already engaged (“While he was still speaking”). The word therefore marks a boundary being proposed: with death announced, further requests are cast as needless troubling of the Teacher.
“Jesus went with them. When he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying to him, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I am not worthy for you to come under my roof.” (Luke 7:6)
σκύλλω here appears as a deferential request directed to Jesus: “don’t trouble yourself.” The centurion’s message is carried by “friends,” and it comes precisely when Jesus is “not far from the house,” when the arrival is imminent and the next steps would take effort and time. The reason given is personal unworthiness—“for I am not worthy for you to come under my roof.” The word thus bears the sense of avoiding burdening someone through further action, and it highlights respect for the person being addressed by asking him not to take on additional trouble.
“While he still spoke, one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house came, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t trouble the Teacher.”” (Luke 8:49)
This occurrence closely parallels the moment in Mark: a messenger arrives mid-speech—“While he still spoke”—and announces death—“Your daughter is dead.” On that basis, the speaker issues a direct imperative: “Don’t trouble the Teacher.” The word again marks the perceived impropriety or futility of continuing to press for the Teacher’s attention. The emphasis is not on the messenger’s own exhaustion but on protecting the Teacher from being further troubled, implying that the situation has crossed a threshold where requests should cease.
Sense and Usage
Across these passages, σκύλλω consistently operates within situations of strain: either a group is under pressure, or a respected person is asked not to be burdened. In Matthew 9:36, trouble describes what people are experiencing; it is part of a portrayal that moves from external condition (“harassed and scattered”) to an image of vulnerability (“like sheep without a shepherd”). The word there contributes to a picture of widespread distress that calls forth compassion in the observer. Trouble is not abstract; it has a social effect of scattering and leaving people exposed.
In Mark 5:35 and Luke 8:49, trouble is used in speech that aims to stop an ongoing appeal. The same basic idea—troubling someone—becomes a social judgment about what is appropriate. The Teacher is already occupied (“still speaking”), and the messengers’ words suggest that with death announced, continued petition would only add trouble without purpose. The verb thus becomes a way of closing a conversation and curbing hope by labeling further requests as bothersome.
Luke 7:6 shows a different kind of restraint. The centurion’s “don’t trouble yourself” is not presented as dismissal but as honor and humility: Jesus is near enough that coming under the roof would be the next step, yet the centurion interrupts that progression through friends and frames the request in terms of worthiness. Here σκύλλω brings out the idea that another person’s effort can be costly, and it can be courteous to minimize that cost. The word therefore flexes between two interpersonal tones: protective humility (Luke 7:6) and discouraging finality (Mark 5:35; Luke 8:49).
Taken together, these scenes show how “trouble” can be located either in the sufferer or in the one being approached for help. In Matthew, the trouble is borne by “the multitudes,” and the response is compassion. In the other three occurrences, the trouble is something the speaker seeks to prevent from falling upon “the Teacher” or “yourself,” using the verb to regulate access and effort. The result is that σκύλλω can highlight both the weight of human need and the social impulse to limit demands on a person perceived as important, busy, or beyond reach.
Imagery in Context
Matthew’s image of “sheep without a shepherd” gives the word a concrete, pastoral frame: trouble is what leaves a crowd harassed and dispersed. In Mark and Luke, the repeated setting “while he still spoke” places trouble in the flow of real-time interruption—news arrives, and the first instinct is to stop any further troubling of the Teacher. Luke 7:6 adds the quiet, near-the-door moment—“not far from the house”—where trouble is envisioned as the additional steps that would bring someone under another’s roof. Together these passages let σκύλλω evoke both the scattered pressure on the needy and the perceived burden placed on the one being asked to act.
Sources:
Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).
