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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers,

The Beginning Sending of the Apostles

Spoken to
Apostles

Matthew 10:8 ἀσθενοῦντας θεραπεύετε, νεκροὺς ἐγείρετε, λεπροὺς καθαρίζετε, δαιμόνια ἐκβάλλετε: δωρεὰν ἐλάβετε, δωρεὰν δότε.

KJV Verse

Matthew 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 10:8  Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

What His Listeners Heard:

Those being weak, serve! Those dying, rouse up! Rough ones, cleanse! Demons, toss out! Freely, you received. Freely, give!

Lost In Translation:

The original Greek is a series of double or deeper meanings. The first phrase means both "heal the sick" and "arouse the spiritually dead."  The second (third in KJV) phrase, "raise the dying" also could mean "arouse the spiritually dead." The third (second in KJV) phrase means both "cleanse the lepers" and "transform the rough." The fourth, "cast out devils" also means "toss out divinity."

Unlike the previous verses that were translated as commands, the verbs here are in the form of commands.

KJV w/Translation Issues :

Heal(CW) the sick, cleanse(WP) the lepers(WW), raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have(WT) received, freely give.

KJV List (See full page for word-by-word analysis):
  • CW --Confusing Word -- This is word does not mean "heal" as much as "attend."
  • IP - Inserted phrase-- The phrase "those with" doesn't exist in the source.
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "leprosy" means "rough."
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "as" doesn't exist in the source.
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "as" doesn't exist in the source.
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "have" seems to indicate an action completed in the past, but the tense is something happening at a point in time past, present, or future.
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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