Luke 21:33 Heaven and earth shall pass away:

Spoken to
audience

Jesus describes the end of Jerusalem.

KJV

Luke 21:33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

NIV

Luke 21:33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

LISTENERS HEARD

This sky and this earth will escape notice, these ideas of mine, however, will never escape notice.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

The Greek verb translated as "pass away" doen't mean "end". It means "pass by" in the sense of surpass. That doesn't fit here, but another meaning, "escape notice" in the sense of "sneak by" does work. This says a simple truth: people pay more attention to words than they do the sky and earth. 

MY TAKE

The right words are noticed. 

GREEK ORDER

 

     οὐρανὸς καὶ       γῆ     παρελεύσονται    , οἱ      δὲ           λόγοι  μου       οὐ μὴ   παρελεύσονται.
This sky          and this earth will escape notice  these however ideas  of mine never    will  escape notice  

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
5

(MW) Heaven and (MW) earth shall pass away: but my (MW) words(CW) shall not(CW) pass away.

  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "heaven" is not shown in the English translation.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "earth" is not shown in the English translation.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "these" before "words" is not shown in the English translation.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "word" does not capture the word's specific meaning. It has two negatives, one objective, one subjective. The use of both together is more extreme, like saying "you cannot really think" or, more simply, "never".
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "not" does not capture the word's specific meaning.

 

# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
4
(MW) Heaven and (MW) earth  will pass away, but my (MW) words(CW will never pass away.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "heaven" is not shown in the English translation.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "earth" is not shown in the English translation.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "these" before "words" is not shown in the English translation.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- This does not capture the word's specific meaning. It has two negatives, one objective, one subjective. The use of both together is more extreme, like saying "you cannot really think" or, more simply, "never".
EACH WORD of KJV

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. 

Heaven -- The word translated as "heaven" means sky, the climate, and the universe. It also meant the home of the gods in a physical sense: the sun, moon, and planets were named for the gods. More about the word in this article.

and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and", but it also is used to add emphasis, "even", "also" and "just".

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. 

earth --The word translated as "earth" means the physical planet, not society, which Christ describes as the world. See this article for more on these words.

shall -- This helping verb "shall" indicates the verb is in the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

pass away -- The phrase "pass away" is from a verb that means "go by", "pass by", "outstrip" (in speed) and "pass over". The form is the future tense. The sense here could be "pass by", "surpass", but the sense of "pass away" as in "die" is not at all clear. The word means to pass the time and can refer to times past, but it also means to "outwit" and "elude" and "be superior". It also means to "pass by" a place or to "arrive" at a place. In the Latin Vulgate, this verb was translated as transient which is the future, plural, active form of the transit, which means "to cross". In Greek, the form is neither active nor passive, but the middle form which means that the subjects are acting on themselves

but -- The Greek word translated as "but" means "but", "yet", "however" and "on the other hand". It joins phrases in an adversarial way. Since it always falls in the second position, translating it as "however" often captures its feeling better. 

missing "these"  -- (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. 

my .-- "My" is the first-person possessive singular pronoun, "my", "me" and "mine". Usually follows the noun so, "of mine".

words -- (CW) "Words" is translated from a Greek word that means "calculation" or "reasoning", but it has many, many specific meanings from "deliberation", "question", "subject matter", "narrative" and so on.  It is the source of our word "logic" and is the root word for all the English words that end in "-ology." Most biblical translations translated it as "word" for somewhat poetic reasons. However, when applied to people, it means "repute" or "reputation". More about this word in this article. In English, we would say "logic", "concept" or "reasoning" to describe it but it also means the communication of various types, so "message" often works. "Teaching" might work but it is unrelated to the common words for "to teach", "teacher" and "student" that all have the same root.

shall -- This helping verb "shall" indicates the verb is in the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

not -- (CW) The "not" here is both of the Greek negatives used together. Greek has two negatives, one objective, one subjective. The use of both together is more extreme, like saying, "never" or literally, "you cannot really think". When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause. When it precedes other words, its force is limited to those words. 

pass away -- The phrase "pass away" is from a verb that means "go by", "pass by", "outstrip" (in speed), and "pass over". The form is the future tense. The sense here could be "pass by" or "surpass", but the sense of "pass away" as in "die" is not at all clear. The word means to pass the time and can refer to times past, but it also means to "outwit" and "elude" and "be superior". It also means to "pass by" a place or to "arrive" at a place. In the Latin Vulgate, this verb was translated as transient which is the future, plural, active form of transit, which means "to cross". In Greek, the form is neither active nor passive, but the middle form which means that the subjects are acting on themselves.

EACH WORD of NIV

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. 

Heaven -- The word translated as "heaven" means sky, the climate, and the universe. It also meant the home of the gods in a physical sense: the sun, moon, and planets were named for the gods. More about the word in this article.

and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and", but it also is used to add emphasis, "even", "also" and "just".

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. 

earth --The word translated as "earth" means the physical planet, not society, which Christ describes as the world. See this article for more on these words.

will -- This helping verb "will" indicates the verb is in the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

pass away -- The phrase "pass away" is from a verb that means "go by", "pass by", "outstrip" (in speed), and "pass over". The form is the future tense. The sense here could be "pass by" or "surpass", but the sense of "pass away" as in "die" is not at all clear. The word means to pass the time and can refer to times past, but it also means to "outwit" and "elude" and "be superior". It also means to "pass by" a place or to "arrive" at a place. In the Latin Vulgate, this verb was translated as transient which is the future, plural, active form of transit, which means "to cross". In Greek, the form is neither active nor passive, but the middle form which means that the subjects are acting on themselves

but -- The Greek word translated as "but" means "but", "yet", "however" and "on the other hand". It joins phrases in an adversarial way. Since it always falls in the second position, translating it as "however" often captures its feeling better. 

missing "these"  -- (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. 

my .-- "My" is the first-person possessive singular pronoun, "my", "me" and "mine." Usually follows the noun so, "of mine".

words -- (CW) "Words" is translated from a Greek word that means "calculation" or "reasoning". but it has many, many specific meanings from "deliberation", "question", "subject matter", "narrative" and so on.  It is the source of our word "logic" and is the root word for all the English words that end in "-ology". Most biblical translations translated it as "word" for somewhat poetic reasons. However, when applied to people, it means "repute" or "reputation". More about this word in this article. In English, we would say "logic", "concept" or "reasoning" to describe it but it also means the communication of various types, so "message" often works. "Teaching" might work but it is unrelated to the common words for "to teach", "teacher" and "student" that all have the same root.  

will -- This helping verb "will" indicates the verb is in the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

never -- The "not" here is both of the Greek negatives used together. Greek has two negatives, one objective, one subjective. The use of both together is more extreme, like saying, "never" or literally, "you cannot really think". When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause. When it precedes other words, its force is limited to those words. 

pass away -- The phrase "pass away" is from a verb that means "go by", "pass by", "outstrip" (in speed), and "pass over". The form is the future tense. The sense here could be "pass by" or "surpass", but the sense of "pass away" as in "die" is not at all clear. The word means to pass the time and can refer to times past, but it also means to "outwit" and "elude" and "be superior". It also means to "pass by" a place or to "arrive" at a place. In the Latin Vulgate, this verb was translated as transient which is the future, plural, active form of transit, which means "to cross". In Greek, the form is neither active nor passive, but the middle form which means that the subjects are acting on themselves

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

[821 verses](article sg masc 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 word that can become a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones".

οὐρανὸς (noun pl masc nom) "Of Heaven" is from the Greek ouranos, which means "heaven as in the vault of the sky", "heaven as the seat of the gods", "the sky", "the universe" and "the climate".

καὶ (conj/adv) "And" is from kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and" or "but". After words implying sameness, "as" (the same opinion as you). Used in series, joins positive with negative "Not only...but also". Also used to give emphasis, "even", "also" and "just".

[821 verses](article sg fem 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 word that can become a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones".

γῆ (noun sg fem nom) "Earth" is from ge, which means "the element of earth", "land" (country), "arable land", "the ground" and "the world" as the opposite of the sky. Like our English word "earth", it means both dirt and the planet.

παρελεύσεται, (verb 3rd sg fut ind mid) "Shall...pass away" is from parerchomai, which means "go by", "pass by", "outstrip" (in speed), "pass" (time), "outwit", "past events" (in time), "disregard", "pass unnoticed", "escape notice" and "pass without heeding".

οἱ (article pl masc 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 word that can become a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones".

δὲ (conj) "But" is from de which means "but" and "on the other hand". It is the particle that joins sentences in an adversarial way but can also be a weak connective ("and") and explanation of cause ("so") and a condition ("if"). 

λόγοι, [80 verses](noun sg masc nom) "Word" is logos, which means "word", "computation", "relation", "explanation", "law", "subject matter" (talked about), "question", "rule of conduct", "continuous statement", "tradition", "discussion", "reckoning", "reputation" (when applied to people) and "value".

 μου [239 verses](adj sg masc gen) "My" is from mou (emou), which means "me" and "mine".  It is in a possessive (genitive) form.  As a genitive of a preposition here, it implies movement away from something or a position away from something else.

οὐ μὴ [39 verses](partic) "Never" is ou me, the two forms of Greek negative used together. Ou is the negative adverb for facts and statements, negating both single words and sentences. Mê (me) is the negative used in prohibitions and expressions of doubt meaning "not" and "no". As οὐ (ou) negates fact and statement; μή rejects, οὐ denies; μή is relative, οὐ absolute; μή subjective, οὐ objective. 

παρελεύσονται. (verb 3rd sg fut ind mid) "Shall...pass away" is from parerchomai, which means "go by", "pass by", "outstrip" (in speed), "pass over", "outwit", "past events" (in time), "disregard", "pass unnoticed", "escape notice" and "pass without heeding".

parallel comparison

This verse is the same as that in Mark 13:31 but both are slightly different than Matthew 24:35 where the last "pass away" is only a possibility.  

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