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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given to you;

Sermon on Mount, law and fulfillment, visible and hidden, trust and doubt,  requesting and getting

Spoken to
audience

Matthew 7:7 Αἰτεῖτε, καὶ δοθήσεται ὑμῖν: ζητεῖτε, καὶ εὑρήσετε: κρούετε, καὶ ἀνοιγήσεται ὑμῖν.

KJV Verse

Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

NIV Verse:

Matthew 7:7  Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

What His Listeners Heard:

Ask, and it will given to you all; search and you all will discover; examine and it will be disclosed to you all:

Lost In Translation:

This is a simple verse with a lot of hidden meanings. It is also one of the few verses where both KJV and NIV are translated without an error of any kind. 

This verse primarily consists of six verbs. Three of them are in the form of commands. The other three verbs are in the form of future predictions, perhaps promises. The first three of these words, "ask," "give," and "seek," have been used several times before in the Sermon, but next three are used by Jesus for the first time here, "find," "knock," and "open." The last two are uncommon for Jesus.

The two words translated as "ask," and "seek," have secondary meanings of "desire" or "crave." Since they are both commands, there is a strong sense that we are must desire a specific goal in order to take the actions to get them.

KJV w/Translation Issues :

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

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.