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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 18:25 But because as he had not paid,

A section about forgiving people's offenses, which equal debts.

Spoken to
audience

Matthew 18:25 μὴ ἔχοντος δὲ αὐτοῦ ἀποδοῦναι ἐκέλευσεν αὐτὸν ὁ κύριος πραθῆναι καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ τὰ τέκνα καὶ πάντα ὅσα ἔχει καὶ ἀποδοθῆναι.

KJV Verse

Matthew 18:25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 18:25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

What His Listeners Heard:

Not possessing, however, of it to give back, he commanded him, that lord, to be sold, also the wife, also the children, also everything, as much as he had, and to be repaid.

Lost In Translation:

Jesus arranges this verse so that it ends on a series of nine "and/also" conjunctions. Verbally, this is like ratcheting up the punishment, making it more and more serious, but in a playful way.

KJV w/Translation Issues :

But forasmuch(IP) as he had(CW,WF) (MW) not to pay(CW), his(WW) lord commanded him to be sold, and his(WW) wife, and (MW) children, and all that(WW) he had, and payment(CW,WF) [to be made(IP)].

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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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.