Luke 24:46 Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer,

Spoken to
Apostles

This is what Jesus says when he appears to his apostles as a group after the resurrection. .

KJV

Luke 24:46 ,,,Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

NIV

Luke 24:46 ,,,This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,

LISTENERS HEARD

Because to such an extent the Anointed has been written to suffer and to rise up from the dead on the third day.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

This is a cumbersome phrase in Greek, leading to the addition of words in the Latin Vulgate. The words "the Anointed" (the Christ) are the subject of a couple of infinitive verbs ("to suffer" and "to die") and this has been written about him. When the word forms and tenses are all arranged properly. "The Anointed has been written to suffer and to rise."

MY TAKE

As Leonard Cohen writes, the minor fall and the major lift. 

GREEK ORDER

 

ὅτι         οὕτως                   γέγραπται           παθεῖν   τὸν χριστὸν  καὶ  ἀναστῆναι ἐκ           νεκρῶν       τῇ  τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ,
Because to such an extent  has been written to suffer the Anointed and to rise up   from the dead      on the third day.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
5

Thus it is(WT) written, and(IW) thus it behoved(OS) (MW) Christ to suffer(UW), and to rise from the dead the third day:

  • WT - Wrong Tense - The "is" indicates the present tense but the tense is past perfect.
  • IW - Inserted Word-- The "and" doesn't exist in the source.
  • OS -- Outdated Source -- The Greek word translated as "behoved" existed in the KJV Greek source but not the source we use today.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "Christ" is not shown in the English translation.
  • UW --Untranslated Word -- The word "Christ" means "anointed." It is an untranslated Greek word adopted into English.  "Messiah" is an untranslated Hebrew word meaning "anointed" adopted into English.

 

# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
6

This is(WT) what(IW) is written: The Messiah(UW) will(WT) suffer(WF) and rise(WF) from the dead on the third day,

  • WT - Wrong Tense - The "is" indicates the present tense but the tense is past perfect.
  • IW - Inserted Word-- The "what" doesn't exist in the source.
  • UW --Untranslated Word -- The word "Messiah" means "anointed." It is an untranslated Greek word adopted into English.  "Messiah" is an untranslated Hebrew word meaning "anointed" adopted into English.
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The "will" indicates the future tense but the verb has no tense.
  • WF -- Wrong Form -  This is not an active verb but an infinitive, "to suffer."
  • WF -- Wrong Form -  This is not an active verb but an infinitive, "to rise."
EACH WORD of KJV

Thus  -- The first word translated as "thus" introduces a statement of fact or cause.  It is translated various ways in the KJV, but it can be consistently translated as "because" and  Jesus used it to answer "why" questions.  However, it could also mean "that" which would make the clause "he said to them that". This would make the rest of this verse and the following verses paraphrases rather than direct quotes. The next verse has a third person pronoun, which might indicate that this was a paraphrase.  This word isn't usually translated in the KJV as "thus" but "that".

it -- This is from the third-person, singular form of the following verb.

is -- (WT) This helping verb "is" indicates that the following verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English. However, the tense here is the past perfect, so "has been." This verb is in the past, perfect tense so "has" is correct.  

written -- "Written" is a verb that means "to mark," "to express by written characters," and "to write down [a law]."  The verb is passive, completed in the past, "it has been written."

and --  (IW) This word is not in the Greek source. There is no "and" here in the Greek. It actually appears later in the sentence, after words translated as "Christ to suffer" not before. There is only that single "and" in the Greek. -

thus The word translated in KJV as "thus" is in its adverbial form, so it means "in this manner" or "in this way." This is a different word than the first "thus" and it appears right after that word. This word is often translated as "thus" in the KJV.

, it -- -- This is from the third-person, singular form of the verb.

behoved  -- -- (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. There is no Greek words meaning "it behoved" in the Greek in the source we now use.  This word was added in the Vulgate, from which the KJV Greek was created.  

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. 

Christ -- (UW) The word translated as "Christ" means "anointed." Our word is basically the English form of the Greek word, not a translation. In the NT, it is understood to mean the Messiah, Hebrew for "savior,"  following the anointing of the kings of Israel. The Jews of Jesus's era thought they understood who the Messiah was and the source of his authority. He was a descendant of David, and his authority came from David as "the anointed" king of the Jews. The Hebrew word for "anointed" is mashiach (מָשִׁיחַ), which is the source of our word, "messiah." 

to -- This "to" is added to create the infinitive form of the following verb.

suffer -- The verb "to suffer" primarily means "to have done to one",  "to have happen to", "to be treated so" or "to pay a penalty." It is in the form of an infinitive, so "to have done to one". It takes an object, which is wny "the Anointed" is in the form of an object. This verb proceeds that word. Though not in the passive form (infinitive do not have "voice") First, the nature of this verb is passive.

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

to -- This "to" is added to create the infinitive form of the following verb.

rise -- "To rise " is a Greek verb that means "to make to stand up", "to raise from the dead", "to rouse to action," and "to make people rise up." The form is again an infinitive. And thise verb too takes an object, "to make to rise up".

from  -- The Greek preposition translated as "from" means "out of" or "from." In Greek, they use the genitive case instead of a preposition for the types of phrases with usually use with "of."

the -- There is no Greek article "those" here in the source, but the noun is plural and in English, a definite article "the/this/that/theses/those" is used before plural nouns in phrases like this.

dead --   The word translated as "the dead" means "corpse", "a dying man," and "inanimate, non-organic matter." Christ uses it in all three senses, referring to the actual dead, the spiritually dead, and inanimate matter.  There is no article, "the" but it is plural so technically it means "corpses" but we describe "corpses" as "the dead" in English.

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. 

third -- The "the third" means both the third in an order and the fraction one third.  It is proceeded by the article "the". It and the following word "day" are in a form that usually requires a preposition to describe in English. With time, the right preposition is usually "during" so "during the third."

dayThe Greek word translated as "day" also means "time," in general, and refers specifically to the "daytime."

EACH WORD of NIV

This -- The first word translated as "this" introduces a statement of fact or cause.  It is translated various ways in the KJV, but it can be consistently translated as "because" and  Jesus used it to answer "why" questions.  However, it could also mean "that" which would make the clause "he said to them that". This would make the rest of this verse and the following verses paraphrases rather than direct quotes. The next verse has a third person pronoun, which might indicate that this was a paraphrase.  This word isn't usually translated in the KJV as "thus" but "that". 

is -- (WT) This helping verb "is" indicates that the following verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English. However, the tense here is the past perfect, so "has been." This verb is in the past, perfect tense so "has" is correct.  

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

written -- "Written" is a verb that means "to mark," "to express by written characters," and "to write down [a law]."  The verb is passive, completed in the past, "it has been written."

thus The word translated in KJV as "thus" is in its adverbial form, so it means "in this manner" or "in this way." This is a different word than the first "thus" and it appears right after that word. This word is often translated as "thus" in the KJV.

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. 

Messiah-- (UW) The word translated as "Messiah" means "anointed." Our word is basically the English form of the Greek word, not a translation. In the NT, it is understood to mean the Messiah, Hebrew for "savior,"  following the anointing of the kings of Israel. The Jews of Jesus's era thought they understood who the Messiah was and the source of his authority. He was a descendant of David, and his authority came from David as "the anointed" king of the Jews. The Hebrew word for "anointed" is mashiach (מָשִׁיחַ), which is the source of our word, "messiah." 

will  -- (WT) This helping verb "will" indicates the future tense, but the verb is not the future. 

suffer -- (WF) The verb "to suffer" primarily means "to have done to one",  "to have happen to", "to be treated so" or "to pay a penalty." It is in the form of an infinitive, so "to have done to one". It takes an object, which is wny "the Anointed" is in the form of an object. This verb proceeds that word. Though not in the passive form (infinitive do not have "voice") First, the nature of this verb is passive. This is not an active verb but an infinitive. 

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

rise --  (WF) "To rise " is a Greek verb that means "to make to stand up", "to raise from the dead", "to rouse to action," and "to make people rise up." The form is again an infinitive. And thise verb too takes an object, "to make to rise up". This is not an active verb but an infinitive. 

from  -- The Greek preposition translated as "from" means "out of" or "from." In Greek, they use the genitive case instead of a preposition for the types of phrases with usually use with "of."

the -- There is no Greek article "those" here in the source, but the noun is plural and in English, a definite article "the/this/that/theses/those" is used before plural nouns in phrases like this.

dead --   The word translated as "the dead" means "corpse", "a dying man," and "inanimate, non-organic matter." Christ uses it in all three senses, referring to the actual dead, the spiritually dead, and inanimate matter.  There is no article, "the" but it is plural so technically it means "corpses" but we describe "corpses" as "the dead" in English.

on -- This is from the dative form of the words.

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. 

third -- The "the third" means both the third in an order and the fraction one third.  It is proceeded by the article "the". It and the following word "day" are in a form that usually requires a preposition to describe in English. With time, the right preposition is usually "during" so "during the third."

day -- The Greek word translated as "day" also means "time," in general, and refers specifically to the "daytime."

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

ὅτι (adv or pron sg neut acc/nom) "Thus" 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." --

οὕτως (adv) "This: is houtos, which as an adjective means "this", "that", "the nearer." As an adverb, it means "in this way", "therefore", "so much", "to such an extent," and "that is why." -- "This" is translated from a Greek word that means "this", "that", "the nearer."

γέγραπται ( verb 3rd sg perf ind mp ) "It is written" is grapho which means "to mark", "to express by written characters", "to write a letter", "to write down [a law]", "to proscribe", "to ordain", "to write for oneself", "to enroll oneself", "to draw signs", "to describe a figure" "to brand," and "to indict." -- 

παθεῖν ( verb aor inf act) "Suffer" is from pascho, which means "to have done to one", "to suffer", "to be treated so", "to come to be in a state", "to pay a penalty", "to suffer legal punishment," and "to be ill."

τὸν [821 verses](article sg masc acc)  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."  -- 

χριστὸν ( noun sg masc acc ) "Christ" is christos, which means "to be rubber with salve", "used as an ointment," and, of persons, "anointed." ---

καὶ (conj/adv) "And" is 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." --

ἀναστῆναι   ( verb aor inf act  )"To rise" is from anistemi, which means "to make stand up", "to raise up", "to raise from sleep", "to wake up", "to raise from the dead", "to rouse to action", "to put up for sale", "to make people rise", "to emigrate", "to transplant," and "to rise and leave the sanctuary." -- 

ἐκ  (prep) "From" is ek, which means 1) [of motion] "out of", "from", "by", "away from;" 2) [of place] "beyond", "outside of", "beyond;" 3) [of succession] "after", "from;" 4) [of rest] "on", "in," 5) [of time] "since", "from", "at", "in;" 5) [of materials] "out of", "made from." --

νεκρῶν (noun pl masc gen ) "The dead" is nekros, which specifically means "a corpse" as well as a "dying person", "the dead as dwellers in the nether world", "the inanimate," and "the inorganic" --

τῇ [821 verses](article sg fem dat)  "The" 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." 

τρίτῃ  (adj sg fem dat) "Third" is from tritoswhich is the Greek word for "third" meaning both the third in an order and the fraction one third. --

ἡμέρᾳ, ( noun sg fem dat ) "Day" is hemera, which, as a noun, means "day" "a state or time of life", "a time (poetic)", "day break" and "day time." It is also and also has a second meaning, of "quiet", "tame (animals)", "cultivated (crops)," and "civilized (people)."

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