Luke 19:5 Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down;

Spoken to
an individual

Jesus sees wealthy tax collector in a tree. 

KJV

Luke 19:5 Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.

NIV

Luke 19:5 Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”

LISTENERS HEARD

Zachary is moving quickly! Come down! Because it is necessary for me to stay in that house of yours today.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

Zacharius is in the form a subject, not in the form used to address someone, though both forms are closely related. 

The following word, translated as "make haste" and "immediately" is neither a common or an adverb. It is a verb in the form of an adjective. Its form matches the subject Zacharius. Since there is no verb connecting them, a verb "to be" could be implied, "Zacharius is moving quickly." This could be a compliment for his being quick enough to climb a tree to see Jesus. 

The verb translated as "must" is not a helping verb like we have in English. It is the active verb in the sentence, meaning "it is necessary that." It takes an infinitive verb as a subject. 

MY TAKE

We sometime have to climb higher quickly in order to get a Glimpse of Jesus.

GREEK ORDER

 

Ζακχαῖε,   σπεύσας             κατάβηθι,    σήμερον γὰρ 
Zachary, is moving quickly, come down! today       Because  

ἐν τῷ   οἴκῳ    σου       δεῖ                    με μεῖναι.
in that house of yours,  it is necessary  for me to stay.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
5

Zacchaeus, [make haste(WF)], and(IW) come down; for to day I must(CW) abide(WF) at thy (MW) house.

  • WF -- Wrong Form -  This is not an active verb but a participle, a verbal adjective, "moving quickly."
  • IW - Inserted Word-- The "and" doesn't exist in the source.
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "must" does not capture the word's specific meaning in this situation.
  • WF -- Wrong Form -  This is not an active verb but an infinitive, "to stay."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "house" is not shown in the English translation. 
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
5

Zacchaeus, come down immediately(WF). (MW) I must(CW) stay(WF) at your house (MW) today.”

 

  • WF -- Wrong Form -  This is not an active verb but a participle, a verbal adjective, "moving quickly."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "for"  after "down" is not shown in the English translation.
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "must" does not capture the word's specific meaning in this situation.
  • WF -- Wrong Form -  This is not an active verb but an infinitive, "to stay."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "house" is not shown in the English translation. 
EACH WORD of KJV

Zacchaeus, -- The name "Zacharrius" is Hebrew, but the Greek form is of a subject, different than the Greek  form of address. Jesus uses this name only here.

make haste, -- (WF) "Make haste" is  a Greek verb that means "set going", "urge on", and "hasten." This is the only time Jesus uses this verb. This is not an active verb but a participle, a verbal adjective, ""moving quickly." 

and -- (IW) These is no "and" here. It is added because the previous participle was  changed from an adjective form to an active verb in translation. 

come down -- The word translated as "come down" means to come or go down, dismount, and related ideas.

for  --The word translated as "for" introduces a reason or explanation so "because" and, in questions, "why." However, since this word always appears in the second position, it is more like an aside remark like, "consequently" or "as a cause". 

to day -- The Greek word translated as "for to day" is an adverb that means "for today" and "on this day."

I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb. It is in the form of an object rather than a subject because it is the subject of an infinitive, which in Greek takes an objective subject. 

must -- (CW)  The Greek verb translated as "must" is a special verb that means "it/he/she needed," and "there was a need." It is not a helping verb like we have in English but an active verb. It is always singular, 3rd person, past tense. Its form is fixed and, when it refers to a verb, that verb's form is an infinitive like we say "he needed to go," but the subject is not separate from the verb.  

abide -- (WF) The word translated as "abide" has more of a sense of to "stay" or "remain," not necessarily dwelling in a place, though the KJV often treats it that way. This is not an active verb but an infinitive.  

at --- The word translated as "at" means "in", "within", "with," or "among."

thy -- The word translated as "thy" is the possessive form of the second person pronoun. It follows "house" so, "of yours".

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. 

house -- 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.  It has an article so the sense is "the house" or "that house".

EACH WORD of NIV

Zacchaeus, -- The name "Zacharrius" is Hebrew, but the Greek form is of a subject, different than the Greek  form of address. Jesus uses this name only here.

immediately, -- (WF) "Make haste" is  a Greek verb that means "set going", "urge on", and "hasten." This is the only time Jesus uses this verb. This is not an adverb but a participle, a verbal adjective, ""moving quickly." 

come down -- The word translated as "come down" means to come or go down, dismount, and related ideas.

missing "for"  -- (MW) The untranslated word   "for" introduces a reason or explanation so "because" and, in questions, "why." However, since this word always appears in the second position, it is more like an aside remark like, "consequently" or "as a cause". 

I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb. It is in the form of an object rather than a subject because it is the subject of an infinitive, which in Greek takes an objective subject. 

must -- (CW)  The Greek verb translated as "must" is a special verb that means "it/he/she needed," and "there was a need." It is not a helping verb like we have in English but an active verb. It is always singular, 3rd person, past tense. Its form is fixed and, when it refers to a verb, that verb's form is an infinitive like we say "he needed to go," but the subject is not separate from the verb.  

stay -- (WF) The word translated as "stay " has more of a sense of to "stay" or "remain," not necessarily dwelling in a place, though the KJV often treats it that way. This is not an active verb but an infinitive.  

at --- The word translated as "at" means "in", "within", "with," or "among."

your-- The word translated as "your" is the possessive form of the second person pronoun. It follows "house" so, "of yours".

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. 

house -- 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.  It has an article so the sense is "the house" or "that house".

today -- The Greek word translated as "for to day" is an adverb that means "for today" and "on this day."

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

Ζακχαῖε, [1 verse](Hebrew Name) "Zacchaeus" is from Zakchaios, the Greek form of a name.

σπεύσας  [1 verse] ( part sg aor act masc nom) "Make haste" is from speudo, which means "set going", "urge on", and "hasten."

κατάβηθι, (verb 2nd sg aor imperat act ) "Come down" is from katabaino, which means "go down", "come down from," and "dismount from." Metaphorically, it means "attain", "conform to", "condescend", "fall in value," and "arrive at the end [of a speech]."

σήμερον (adv) "To day" is semeron, which is an adverb that means "for today" and "on this day."

γὰρ (partic) "For" comes from gar which is the introduction of a clause explaining a reason or explanation: "for", "since," and "as." In an abrupt question, it means "why" and "what."

ἐν (prep) "In" is en, which means "in", "on", "at", "by", "among", "within", "surrounded by", "in one's hands", "in one's power," and "with".

τῷ [821 verses](article sg masc dat)  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."  -- 

οἴκῳ ( noun sg masc dat ) "House" is oikos, which means "house", "dwelling place", "room", "home", "meeting hall", "household goods", "substance," and "ruling family." It is any dwelling place but not exclusively a separate house.

σου (adj sg masc gen) "Thy" is sou which means "of you" and "your."

δεῖ  [28 verses]( verb 3rd sg imperf ind act ) "Must" is dei, which means "it needs," and "there is need." The object it takes is an infinitive. It is the past tense. 

με (noun sg masc acc) "Me" is eme, which means "I", "me", and "my". --

μεῖναι. ( verb aor inf act ) "Abide" is meno, which, as a verb, it means "stand fast" (in battle), "stay at home", "stay", "tarry", "remain as one was", "abide", and (transitive) "await." 

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