Home
Today's Verse Analysis
The lawyer asked," Who is my neighbor?"
Luke 10:31 κατὰ συγκυρίαν δὲ ἱερεύς τις κατέβαινεν [ἐν] τῇ ὁδῷ ἐκείνῃ, καὶ ἰδὼν αὐτὸν ἀντιπαρῆλθεν:
KJV Verse:Luke 10:31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
Luke 10:31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.
By chance, however, a priest, a somebody, came down near the road there and, seeing him, passed by on the opposite side.
Lost In Translation:The verse uses one unique word and another word used only here and in the next verse. The unique word means "chance" and it is only found in one other text of ancient Greek. The rare word means "passed by on the opposite side." It is a one-word punchline that delivers a complicated idea. It is set up by the "seeing him."
The Greek word translated as "certain" in the KJV and left out of the NIV, is a word that means "anybody" or "somebody." Jesus uses it to emphasize in a humorous way someone's importance. The sense is "a man, a somebody."
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 to work through 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.
Free Supscriptions
Regular emails from Substack, subscribe to Rediscovering Jesus's Words.
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.
