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Today's Verse Analysis

Defending against the Pharisee accusation of violating tradition.

Spoken to
The Pharisees
KJV Verse

Matthew 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 15:8 These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

What His Listeners Heard:

This tribe here with these lips values me.This, however, heart of theirs too far keeps away from me.

Lost In Translation:

This verse quotes Isaiah 29:13 so our discussion of original language compares the original Hebrew and the resulting Greek. The Greek of the Septuagint is identical to Christ's Greek. Notice that the "heart" is singular for the plural "theirs," one heart shared by the group. This is typical of Jesus, indicate that he see "the heart" as a shared feeling. (See this article on Jesus's special use of this word and related words). Note that the Septuagint uses the word in singular as well.

 

KJV w/Translation Issues :

This (MW) people(CW) [draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and(OS)] honoureth me with their lips; but their(WW) heart is far(WF) (MW) from me.

KJV List (See full page for word-by-word analysis):
For analysis of each word of original Greek and biblical verses, click here.

Constantly Updated

My analysis standards and methods are constantly improving. New information on each verse is provided as articles are updated. It requires approximately two years for me to work through updating each of Jesus's verses.

What Jesus's Listeners Heard

The everyday meanings of the Greek words Jesus used were different than the definitions they have been given over time in biblical translation. The word translations here are based upon documents of his time such as the Greek Septuagint, not ideas unknown in his time.

About this Site

See what Jesus said in Greek and see how his words are changed in English translation. My goal is to translate Jesus's words as they were heard when he taught, not the way they are interpreted today. The work here resurrects the humor and cleverness of Jesus's words lost in translation.

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Do Your Own Research

Each article provides detailed information on all the Greek words in each verse with links simplifying your own research. It compares the Greek to popular translations to show where words are confused, changed, left out, and added. This site offers research available nowhere else, such as how often Jesus uses a specific Greek word and links to a list of every verse in which he uses a given word.