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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 10:23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee to another:

Sending of the Apostles, Warnings

Spoken to
Apostles

Matthew 10:23 ὅταν δὲ διώκωσιν ὑμᾶς ἐν τῇ πόλει ταύτῃ, φεύγετε εἰς τὴν ἑτέραν: ἀμὴν γὰρ λέγω ὑμῖν, οὐ μὴ τελέσητε τὰς πόλεις [τοῦ] Ἰσραὴλ ἕως ἔλθῃ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου.

KJV Verse

Matthew 10:23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 10:23 When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

 

What His Listeners Heard:

When, however, they might hound you in this city here, escape into the other. Amen, because I tell you, you all might never complete the cities of this Israel until he might show up, a child of the man.

Lost In Translation:

The verb translated as "persecute" means both "chase away" and "seek after." The best way to translated this word is "hound" because it covers both meanings. The use of "this city here" makes the Greek seem like Jesus is referring to a specific city, perhaps brought up in a question that was not recorded.

The verb translated as "going over/finish going/reached" actually means "completed" and it is the verb form of the word translated as "end" in the previous verse. 

KJV w/Translation Issues :

But when they persecute you in this (MW) city, flee ye into (MW) another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall(CW) not(CW) have(WT) gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of (MW) man be come(WM).

KJV List (See full page for word-by-word analysis):
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "but" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "you" is not a subject but an object.
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "are" does not mean a passive verb but an active one.
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "one" should be something more like "this."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "next" should be something more like "another."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "for" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "the truth" is not a noun but an adverb.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" is not shown in the English translation.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "will" does not mean the future tense.
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "return" should be something more like "come" or "show up."
  • WM  - Wrong Mood  - The verb "return" is something that might or should happen.
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "before" should be something more like "until."
  • WP -- Wrongly Placed -- The word "before/until" should appear before "son of man" clause.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "never" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "have"  indicates a future perfect tense, but that is not the tense of the verb which is something that might happen in the future.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "reached" is a word that really means "completed."
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "all" doesn't exist in the source.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" is not shown in the English translation.
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.

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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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