For those who want to know what Jesus really said, how he said it, why crowds came to hear him, and shades of meaning lost or hidden in translation.

Home

Today's Verse Analysis

Luke 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother,

Jesus is being followed by a great crowd and he addresses them.

Spoken to
audience

Luke 14:26 Εἴ τις ἔρχεται πρός με καὶ οὐ μισεῖ τὸν πατέρα ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τὴν μητέρα καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ τὰ τέκνα καὶ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τὰς ἀδελφάς, ἔτι τε καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ἑαυτοῦ, οὐ δύναται εἶναί μου μαθητής.

KJV Verse

Luke 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

NIV Verse:

Luke 14:26  If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.

What His Listeners Heard:

If anyone shows up before me and he doesn't despise that father of his own, and that mother, and that spouse and those children and those brothers and those sisters. Still even more:  that self of his own. He doesn't have the power to be my student. 

Lost In Translation:

 See this article on my Jesus Substack about a similar verse in Matthew. 

The Greek terms for "love" and "hate" are less absolute than the English words. The Greek words are used more for relative comparison among things. 

However, what is lost in translation is the key feature of this version which litany, the accenting "his own" that begins it. It ends with the word  "self" at the end which reflects it. This "self" is translated as "life" skews the main meaning here. This focus does not exist in the Matthew. 

This verse does not condemn relationships as much as it condemns self-centered relationships. Another odd, hidden feature is that the negative used is the objective negative rather than the subjective one that we would expect with a verb like "hate" that describes an opinion or feeling. 

 

KJV w/Translation Issues :

 If any man(IW) come to me, and hate not his(CW) (MW) father, and  (MW) mother, and  (MW) wife, and  (MW) children, and  (MW) brethren, and  (MW) sisters, yea  (MW), and his own life(CW) also, he can(CW, WV) not be(WF) my disciple(CW).

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.

Free Subscriptions

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.