Luke 10:36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour

Spoken to:

an individual

The lawyer asked," Who is my neighbor?" Jesus tells the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

KJV:

Luke 10:36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

NIV :

Luke 10:36 Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?

LISTENERS HEARD:

Which of these here, these three, does it seem to you to have become a neighbor of the one falling in for these thieves?

MY TAKE:

Being close-by isn't the same as feeling close.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page):

Luke 10:36 τίς τούτων τῶν τριῶν πλησίον δοκεῖ σοι γεγονέναι τοῦ ἐμπεσόντος εἰς τοὺς λῃστάς;

GREEK ORDER:

τίς τούτων τῶν τριῶν πλησίον δοκεῖ σοι γεγονέναι
Which of these here, these three, a neighbor does it seem to you to have become

τοῦ ἐμπεσόντος εἰς τοὺς λῃστάς;
of the one falling in for these thieves?

LOST IN TRANSLATION:

Both translations get so much wrong here in terms of word meanings,forms, tenses, and so on that it took a lot of work to list them all. The two key mistakes are translating a verb that means "it seems" in this situations as "think" and a word that means "to have become" as "was." However, the ending, that is, the punchline is also messed up. It doesn't just mean "fell among the thieves" (the "hands of" in the NIV is an invention). It means "falling in for thieves" giving us the sense that he was suckered in by them. This is different from the Luke 10:30 verb that means "fell among."

There is also a hidden pun here that starts the verse, on that cannot be captured in translation. The Greek word translated as "these" but meaning "here" or "these here" also means "the nearer". The word translated as "neighbor" is actually an adjective meaning "near-by" used as a noun, the one near-by." The point is that all three travelers came near to the man but only one saw him as "near-by," that is, a neighbor.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES:

OS -- Outdated Source -- The Greek word translated as "now" existed in the KJV Greek source but not the source we use today.
CW --Confusing Word -- The "these" should be either "here" or "there" in most situations.
MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "three" is not shown in the English translation.
CW --Confusing Word -- The "think" does not capture the word's specific meaning in this situation.
WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "you" should be something more like "it."
MW - Missing Word -- The word "to you" is not shown in the English translation.
WT -- Wrong Tense -- This verb is the past perfect tense, which requires a "have" before the verb.
WW --Wrong Word -- The word translated as "was" should be something more like "became."
WF -- Wrong Form - This is not an active verb but an infinitive, "to have become."
CW --Confusing Word -- This is not the word form usually translated as "unto."
CW --Confusing Word -- This is not the pronoun usually translated as "him."
IW - Inserted Word -- The "that" doesn't exist in the source.
CW --Confusing Word -- This is a more complex word than the root word usually translated as "fell."
WF -- Wrong Form - This "fall" is not an active verb but a participle, a verbal adjective, ending with "-ing."
CW --Confusing Word -- This is not the common word usually translated as "among."

# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES:

CW --Confusing Word -- The "these" should be either "here" or "there" in most situations.
MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "three" is not shown in the English translation.
WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "you" should be something more like "it."
CW --Confusing Word -- The "think" does not capture the word's specific meaning in this situation.
MW - Missing Word -- The word "to you" is not shown in the English translation.
WT -- Wrong Tense -- This verb is the past perfect tense, which requires a "have" before the verb.
WW --Wrong Word -- The word translated as "was" should be something more like "became."
WF -- Wrong Form - This is not an active verb but an infinitive, "to have become."
CW --Confusing Word -- This is not the word form usually translated as "to."
IW - Inserted Word-- The "man" doesn't exist in the source.
IW - Inserted Word -- The "who " doesn't exist in the source.
CW --Confusing Word -- This is a more complex word than the root word usually translated as "fell."
WF -- Wrong Form - This "fall" is not an active verb but a participle, a verbal adjective, ending with "-ing."
IP - Inserted Phrase-- The "hands of" doesn't exist in the source.

EACH WORD of KJV :

Which -- The Greek word translated as "which" in the singular means "anyone," "someone," "something," and "anything." Jesus often uses it to start a question so it means "who," "which," what," or even "why." The same forms are used both for the masculine or feminine so "anyone" works best for a person. In the plural, it means "everyone," "some," "they," and "those."

now-- (OS) There is nothing in the Greek that can be translated as this in the source we use today but it does exist in the source that the KJV translators used.

of -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession.

these- The word translated as "these" means "from here" "from there" or "this/that thing/person here/there." The Bible usually translates is as "this," which is confusing because the definite article, with which it is often used, also can mean "this." It works better as "here," which is how Jesus usually uses it, but it can also mean "there." It often comes after the noun, emphasizing it, "this thing here."

missing "the/this" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article," the," which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," and "those"). See this article for more.

three, - "Three" is the Greek word that means the number three.

thinkest-- (CW) The word translated as "think" doesn't mean think as much as it means "expect" or "imagine." However, the indirect object changes it to means "seems." The sense is "seem to you."

thou, -- (WW) This is from the possible second-person, singular form of the verb, but this is not the right person because the "to you" is the indirect object, not the subject. The verb only works in the third-person, "it."

missing "to you" -- (MW) The untranslated word "you" is the indirect object form of the singular, second-person pronoun in the form of an indirect pronoun.

missing "have" -- (WT) The helping vcrb, "have," is needed to show the past perfect tense of the verb.

was -- (WW, WF) The word translated as "was" means "to become," that is, to enter into a new state. When applied to events, this word means "to happen," "to occur," or "take place." For things, it can be "to be produced." When the participle takes a predicate, the sense is "coming into" something. The form of the verb's object can indicate the time or to whom it "happens." This is not the verb "to be." This is not an active verb but an infinitive.

neighbour-- The word translated as "neighbor" is an adjective meaning "close," and "near." As a noun, it means "one nearby." There is another Greek word, used by Jesus, that specifically means "neighbor" in the sense of living in your neighborhood and being like you.

unto -- (CW) This word "unto" comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession. However, it can also mean "belonging to," "part of," "which is," "than" (in comparisons), or "for," "concerning" or "about" with transitive verbs. This is not the word form usually translated as "unto." "

him -- (CW) The word translated as "him" is the Greek definite article, "the," which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more. This is not the pronoun usually translated as "him."

that -- (IW) This word is not in the Greek source. It was added because the next verb was translated as active rather than as a participle.

fell - (CW, WF) "Fall" is a verb, which means "to fall in" and "to fall on." The root verb has means "to fall" that has a wide variety of meanings and the prefix/preposition that means "in." "on." and "among." This is a more complex word than the root word usually translated as "fell." This is not an active verb but a participle, a verbal adjective, ending with "-ing."

among -- (CW) -- The word translated as "among" means "into" a place, "towards" as a direction, "in" (a position), "as much as (of measure or limit)," "in regards to" a subject, "up to" limits in measures, "until" in reference to time, "within" a time limit, and "for" a purpose or object. Used with the Greek "from" it means "from...to." This is not the word usually translated as "among."

the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, "the," which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more.

thieves? -- The Greek noun translated as "thieves" means "robber" or "pirate."

EACH WORD of NIV :

now-- (OS) There is nothing in the Greek that can be translated as this in the source we use today but it does exist in the source that the KJV translators used.

of -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession.

three, - "Three" is the Greek word that means the number three.

do -- This helping verb is used to create questions, commands, negative statements, and smooth word flow in English.

you -- (WW) This is from the possible second-person, singular form of the verb, but this is not the right person because the "to you" is the indirect object, not the subject. The verb only works in the third-person, "it."

think -- (CW) The word translated as "think" doesn't mean think as much as it means "expect" or "imagine." However, the indirect object changes it to means "seems." The sense is "seem to you."

missing "to you" -- (MW) The untranslated word ."you" is the indirect object form of the singular, second-person pronoun in the form of an indirect pronoun.

missing "have" -- (WT) The helping vcrb, "have," is needed to show the past perfect tense of the verb.

a -- There is no indefinite article in Greek, but when a noun doesn't have a definite article, the indefinite article can be added in English translation.

to -- (CW) This word "to" comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession. However, it can also mean "belonging to," "part of," "which is," "than" (in comparisons), or "for," "concerning" or "about" with transitive verbs. This is not the word form usually translated as "to."

the - The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, "the," which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more.

man -- (IW) This word is not in the Greek source.

who -- (IW) This word is not in the Greek source. It was added because the next verb was translated as active rather than as a participle.

into -- The word translated as "into" means "into" a place, "towards" as a direction, "in" (a position), "as much as (of measure or limit)," "in regards to" a subject, "up to" limits in measures, "until" in reference to time, "within" a time limit, and "for" a purpose or object. Used with the Greek "from" it means "from...to."

hands of - (IP) There is nothing that can be translated as this phrase in the Greek source.

robbers? -- The Greek noun translated as "robbers" means "robber" or "pirate."

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV :

τίς [252 verses](pron sg masc nom) "Which" is tis, which can mean "someone," "something," "any one," "everyone," "they [indefinite]," "many a one," "whoever," "anyone," "anything," "some sort," "some sort of," "each," "any," "the individual," "such," and so on. In a question, it can mean "who," "why," or "what." Plural, "who are" is τίνες ἐόντες. It has specific meanings with certain prepositions, διὰ τί; for what reason? ἐκ τίνος; from what cause? ἐς τί; to what point? to what end?

τούτων [154 verses](adj pl masc gen) "Of these" is toutos, (touto, toutou)which means "from here," "from there," "this [thing] there," or "that [person] here." In the neuter plural form, it is often used as the object of the verb to means "these things."-

τῶν [821 verses](article pl nom) Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). It usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. When not preceding a a word that can become a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones." Proper nouns do normally not take articles but they are needed when the noun ending cannot be changed to show the noun's role in the sentence as an object, indirect object, or genitive (possessive) form. However, the Greek article is very close to "this" so the purpose of an article like this can also be demonstrative. See this article. -

τρεῖς [5 verses] (numeral pl nom) "Three" is from treis, which means the number three.

πλησίον [5 verses] (adj sg neut nom) "Neighbor" i is plesion, which means "close," "near," "neighboring," and "one's neighbor."

δοκεῖ, [17 verses](3rd sg pres ind act or verb 2nd sg pres ind mp) "Thinkest thou" is dokeo, which means "expect," "suppose," "imagine," "have an opinion," "seem," "seem good," and "to be reputed."

σοὶ [81 verses](pron 2nd sg dat) "You" is soi which is the singular, second-person pronoun, "you," in the form of an indirect pronoun. -

γεγονέναι [117 verses] (verb perf inf act) "Was"is ginomai, which means "to become," "to come into being," "to happen," of things "to be produced," of events "happen," (passive) "take place," "come to pass," "to be engaged in," math "to be multiplied into," "become one of," "turn into." It means changing into a new state of being. When the participle takes a predicate, the sense is "coming into" something. This verb also has a number of special meanings with different prepositions. It is the complementary opposite of the verb "to be" (eimi) which indicates existence in the same state. A genitive object indicates the time during which it "happens" or a date on which it "falls." A dative object indicates to whom it happens.

τοῦ [821 verses](article sg masc gen) "Him" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). It usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. When not preceding a a word that can become a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones." Proper nouns do normally not take articles but they are needed when the noun ending cannot be changed to show the noun's role in the sentence as an object, indirect object, or genitive (possessive) form. However, the Greek article is very close to "this" so the purpose of an article like this can also be demonstrative.There is no vocative definite article, (despite being shown in Perseus). When the vocative is meant, no article is used or they used ω or ε. See this article.

ἐμπεσόντος [3 verses](part sg aor act masc gen ) "Fell" is from empipto, which means to "fall upon," "fall in" and "to fall on." It's root is the verb pipto, which means "to fall," "to fall down," "to be cast down," "fall upon," "intersect (geometry)," "meet," "pass through," "fall violently upon," "attack," "fall in battle," "sink{in water)," "fall short i.e. fail," " fall out of," "lose a thing," "escape from," "fall asleep," "to be accessible to perception," "to fall (between her feet, i.e. to be born)," "to let fall[dice)," "turn out," and "fall under (belong to a class).

εἰς [325 verses](prep) "Into" is eis, which means "into (of place)," "up to (of time)," "until (of time)," "in" (a position), "as much as (of measure or limit)," "as far as (of measure or limit)," "towards (to express relation)," "in regard to (to express relation)," "of an end or limit," and "for (of purpose or object)." Used with ek, it means "from...to."

τοὺς 821 verses](article pl masc acc ) "Him" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). It usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. When not preceding a a word that can become a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones." Proper nouns do normally not take articles but they are needed when the noun ending cannot be changed to show the noun's role in the sentence as an object, indirect object, or genitive (possessive) form. However, the Greek article is very close to "this" so the purpose of an article like this can also be demonstrative.There is no vocative definite article, (despite being shown in Perseus). When the vocative is meant, no article is used or they used ω or ε. See this article.

λῃστάς; [10 verses](noun pl masc acc) "Thieves" is from lestes, which means "robber" or "pirate."

Wordplay:

There is a hidden pun here. The Greek word translated as "these" also means "the nearer". The word translated as "neighbor" is actually an adjective meaning "nearer" used as a noun, the one nearer.

Front Page Date:

Apr 23 2024