Luke 18:29...There is no man that hath left house, or parents,

KJV: 

Luke 18:29 Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake,

LISTENERS HEARD: 

Honestly, I am telling you that no one exists who has let go a house or a wife or brothers or parents or offspring on account of the realm of the Divine.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page): 

LOST IN TRANSLATION: 

Again, we see a lot of differences in this three different versions of this verse. Here, the list of what is left is shorter and the ending more unique than versions in Matthew 19:29 and Mark 10:29.

The "verily" phrase is used frequently by Jesus as a personal signature. Its vocabulary and meaning are discussed in detail in this article. Currently, "tell you true" is the translation I currently use. Christ makes fun of his frequent use of it. The word translated is as "verily" is an exclamation that means "truly" or "of a truth." It is an untranslated Aramaic word that is echoed by a similar Greek word, and a good piece of evidence that Christ taught in Greek, not Aramaic.

The word translated as "verily" is the Hebrew word that means "truly" or "certainly," but it sounds like the Greek word with the same meaning. In Greek, the word also means "to reap."

The word translated as "I say" is the most common word that means "to say," and "to speak," but it also means "to teach," which seems to be the way Christ uses it more frequently. It also has many ancillary meanings such as "to count" ("to number" or like we might say, "to recount" a story) or "to choose for yourself." Christ usually uses this word to refer to his own speaking or teaching.

The Greek pronoun "unto you" here is plural and in the form of an indirect object, "to you", "for you", etc. 

The verb "there is" here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition. It also equates terms or assigns characteristics.  When the verb "to be" appears early in the sentence before the subject, the sense is more like "it is" or, in the plural, "there are." However, here it follows the subject, "no one" or "no man". The sense is "no one exists".

The Greek word translated as "no man" also means "no one, "nothing" and other negatives nouns depending on the form. The form here is masculine, singular.

The word translated as "that" is a demonstrative pronoun ("this" "that"), but it often acts as a pronoun ("the one that), especially a connective pronoun ("the one that") introducing a dependent clause. In English, when referring to a person, "who" works best.

The word translated as "hath left" primarily means "to let go" or "to send away." This same word is usually translated as "leave", "forgive", "suffer," and "let" in the New Testament.

The Greek word translated as "house," is any dwelling place but not exclusively a separate house. It means the household or clan that lives in the building as well.

All the "ors" here are from a Greek word that means primarily "or" but serves as "than" in a comparison.

"Parents" is a word that means "progenitor" and can refer to parents or ancestors. In the Greek, "parents" comes after "brethren" and "wife".

The word translated as "brethren" means a biological brother, any kinsmen, and more broadly and friend or associate.  In the Greek, it comes after "wife".

The word translated as "woman" is  the Greek word that means "woman (as opposed to a man)", "wife", "spouse", "mortal woman (as opposed to a goddess)," and "female mate (among animals)." It is closer to our "female." The verb "let go" used here is not the same as the one that means "divorce, which is a word that means "let loose".

The word translated as "son" means "child" but in the most general sense of "offspring." Christ does not use it to refer specifically to children under seven, which is another term. See this article more about these words for "child."

The word translated as "for...sake" means "on account of", "because," and "in consequence of."

The word translated as "the kingdom" can be the region, the reign, the castle or the authority of a ruler. Christ does not seem to use it to mean a physical region, so its translation as "reign" or "realm" seems more appropriate. This is especially true because the "reign" of a king means the execution of his will.

The word translated as "of God's" means "God" and "deity." It is introduced with an article, so "the God." Jesus often uses it this way perhaps to indicate the one God as opposed to the pagan gods.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV : 

(exclam) "Verily" is amen, which is the Hebrew, meaning "truly", "of a truth," and "so be it." It has no history in Greek of this meaning before the NT. However, this is also the infinitive form of the Greek verb amao, which means "to reap" or "to cut."

(1st sg pres ind act) "I tell" is lego, which means "to recount", "to tell over", "to say", "to speak", "to teach", "to mean", "boast of", "tell of", "recite," nominate," and "command." It has a secondary meaning "pick out," "choose for oneself", "pick up", "gather", "count," and "recount." A less common word that is spelled the same means "to lay", "to lay asleep" and "to lull asleep."

(pron 2nd pl dat) "To you" is humin the plural form of su the pronoun of the second person, "you."

ὅτι (adv/conj) "That" is hoti, which introduces a statement of fact "with regard to the fact that", "seeing that," and acts as a causal adverb meaning "for what", "because", "since," and "wherefore." -- The word translated as "that" introduces a statement of fact or cause.

οὐδεὶς (adj sg masc nom) "No man" is oudeis which means "no one", "not one", "nothing", "naught", "good for naught," and "no matter."

ἔστιν (verb 3rd sg pres ind act) "There is" is eimi, which means "to be", "to exist", "to be the case," of circumstance and events "to happen",  and "is possible."

ὃς (pro sg masc nom) "This" is hos, which means "this", "that", "he", "she", "which", "what", "who", "whosoever", "where", "for which reason," and many similar meanings.

ἀφῆκεν (verb 3rd sg imperf ind) "Hath left" is from aphiemi, which means "to let fall", "to send away", "give up", "hand over", "to let loose", "to get rid of", "to leave alone", "to pass by", "to permit," and "to send forth from oneself."

οἰκίαν (noun sg fem acc) "House" is from oikia, which means "house", "building," and "household."

(conj) "Or" is e which is a particle meaning "either", "or," or "than."

γυναῖκα ( noun sg fem acc ) "Wife" is gyne, which means "woman (as opposed to man)", "wife", "spouse", "mortal woman (as opposed to a goddess)," and "female mate (among animals)."

(conj) "Or" is e which is a particle meaning "either", "or," or "than."

ἀδελφοὺς (noun pl masc acc) "Brothers" is from adelphos (adelphos),which means "son of the same mother", "kinsman", "colleague", "associate," and "brother."

(conj)"Or" is e which is a particle meaning "either", "or," or "than."

γονεῖς ( noun pl masc acc ) "Parents" is goneus, which mean "progenitor" and can refer to parents or ancestors.

"Or" is e which is a particle meaning "either", "or," or "than."

τέκνα (noun pl neut acc) "Children" is from teknon, which means "that which is born", "child," and "the young."

ἕνεκεν (prep) "For...sake" is from heneka, which means "on account of", "as far as regards", "in consequence of," and "because." -- The word translated as "sake" means "on account of", "because," and "in consequence of."

 τῆς βασιλείας (noun sg fem gen) "The kingdom" is basileia, which means "kingdom", "dominion", "hereditary monarchy", "kingly office," (passive) "being ruled by a king," and "reign."

τοῦ θεοῦ, (noun sg masc gen) "God" is theos, which means "God," "divine," and "Deity."

Related Verses: 

Front Page Date: 

Oct 26 2018