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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 23:7 And greetings in the markets,

Jesus is speaking to a crowd including his disciples about scribes and Pharisees.

Spoken to
audience

Matthew 23:7 καὶ τοὺς ἀσπασμοὺς ἐν ταῖς ἀγοραῖς καὶ καλεῖσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων Ῥαββεί.

KJV Verse

Matthew 23:7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 23:7 they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.

What His Listeners Heard:

and the greetings in the marketplace and to be name themselves Rabbi by the people.

Lost In Translation:

This verse is easier to understand if it is combined with the previous verse, Matthew 23:6. The active verb for both verses is in the prior verse ("they prefer"). The "first couches" and "first seats" of the previous verse from a word the means "first" or "highest" plays against the "rabbi" here that means "great." The "prefer" of the previous verse, which can mean "greet with affection" play against the "greetings," used here though a different word.

The verb that means "show sign of affection" from Matthew 23:6 plays with the noun that means "embrace" here. There are also two different words used in these verses that both mean "assembly" or "place of assembly," one here referring to a marketplace and other in the prior verse, meaning a meeting or meeting place.

Since "rabbi" is a Hebrew term, it should not be translated in a translation from the Greek. So this is correct. 

KJV w/Translation Issues :

And greetings in the markets, and to be called of(CW) (MW) men, Rabb, Rabbi(OS).

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.