Mark 9:42 And whosoever shall offend one of [these] little ones...

Spoken to:

Apostles

After Jesus says that anyone who give them water will get rewarded.

KJV:

Mark 9:42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.

NIV :

Mark 9:42 If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.

LISTENERS HEARD:

And whoever trips up one of these little ones, these the ones trusting as much as me. It is good for him especially if a millstone of an ass is positioned around that neck of his and he had been tossed into the sea.

MY TAKE:

What goes around might end up coming around our own necks.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page):

GREEK ORDER:

Καὶ ὃς ἂν σκανδαλίσῃ ἕνα τ ῶν μικρῶν τούτων τῶν πιστευόντων εἰς ἐμὲ,
And who ever trips up one of these ones little , these the ones trusting as much as me.

καλόν ἐστιν αὐτῷ μᾶλλον εἰ περίκειται μύλος ὀνικὸς περὶ τὸν τράχηλον αὐτοῦ
good It is for him especially if is positioned a millstone of an ass around that neck of his

καὶ βέβληται εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν.
and he had been tossed into the sea.

LOST IN TRANSLATION:

This verse uses the exaggeration typical of Jesus's humor, and a number of words that Jesus uses to lighten his saying, making them entertaining instead of threatening. The word translated as "offend" in the KJV and more accurately as "cause to stumble" in the NIV is one of them. Another is the word translated as "cast" and "throw," which has the casual feel of our word "toss." However, one word left out of the KVJ and perhaps translated as "large" and "heavy" in more modern versions means "of an ass." This describes both the person and the type of millstone he deserves.

The word translated as "offend" and "cause to stumble" is a "Greek" verb that is found only in the Bible. It refers to putting a stumbling block before someone so that they trip and thereby offending them. In English, we would simply say, "trips you up." Though it doesn't sound like it in English translation, Jesus uses this word to make light of his effect on the thinking of others. This word only appears in verses that are meant to be light-hearted.

The "in me" phrase doesn't appear in the source that I normally use, but in reviewing all the oldest Greek versions, the "in me" phrase appears in most so I have added it to my version. However, I translate this phrase differently than the Bibles does, as "as much as me" for reasons explained in these two articles (part one, part two). Most of those reasons have to do with the nature of Greek grammar, but one of them is this verse. Did Jesus mean to say that only those harming children that believed in him would should be punished? I suggest that he means that all children are "as trusting as me," which is the only way that these words work grammatically. Jesus often likened himself to children in exactly this way.

The "better" is not the comparative form, "better," but the simple form "good," "beautiful," and "honorable." Saying that it is "good for him" is the setup for the punchline about the millstone and ass. This is an example of humorous exaggeration. However, both translations also don't translate a Greek adverb meaning "especially" after "for him/them." Since it is the comparative form of "very," they might have applied to it "good." The problem is that it is separated from the word "good" so it is unlikely meant to modify it. Rather than word is meant to exaggerate the idea of how good it is.

The end of this verse is odd because the tenses of the verbs "believe" (really, "trusting,") "is better" (really "good") and "hanged/hung" (really "positioned around") are all the present tense but the last verb "were cast/thrown" is the past perfect, "has been tossed." This makes it an action completed in the past. We see Jesus make many lapses like this, making me think that he experienced time differently than we do, remembering both the past and the future.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES:

CW - Confusing Word - This "shall" does not indicate the future tense, but describes a possibility, the subjunctive voice.
CW --Confusing Word -- The "offend" does not capture the word's specific meaning.
CW --Confusing Word -- This is not the common word usually translated as "ones."
WN --Wrong Number- The word "that" is translated as singular but the Greek word is plural.
CW - Confusing Word -- The "believe" does not capture the word's specific meaning.
WF -- Wrong Form - The "believe" is not an active verb but a participle, "trusting."
WF -- Wrong Form - The "better" is not a comparative form but an adjective, "good."
MW - Missing Word -- The word "especially" is not shown in the English translation.
OS -- Outdated Source -- The Greek word translated as "of an ass" didn't in the KJV Greek source but it is the source we use today.
WT --Wrong Tense - The English verb "were" is the past tense, but Greek is in the present trense, "is."
CW --Confusing Word -- The "hanged" does not capture the word's specific meaning.
MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "neck" is not shown in the English translation.
WT --Wrong Tense - The English verb "were" is the past tense, but Greek is in the past perfect, a completed action, "has been tossed."

# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES:

MW - Missing Word -- The word "and" is not shown in the English translation.
CW --Confusing Word -- The "if" does not capture the word's specific meaning.
CW --Confusing Word -- This is not the common word usually translated as "anyone."
CW --Confusing Word -- This is not the common word usually translated as "ones."
CW - Confusing Word -- The "believe" does not capture the word's specific meaning.
IW - Inserted Word -- The word "who" doesn't exist in the source.
WF -- Wrong Form - The "believes" is not an active verb but a participle, "trusting."
WT --Wrong Tense - The English verb "would" is the past tense, but Greek is in the present tense "is."
WF -- Wrong Form - The "better" is not a comparative form but an adjective, "good."
WN --Wrong Number- The word "them" is translated as plural but the Greek word is singular.
MW - Missing Word -- The word "especially" is not shown in the English translation.
IW - Inserted Word -- The word "large" doesn't exist in the source.
MW - Missing Word -- The word "of an ass" is not shown in the English translation.
WT --Wrong Tense - The English verb "were" is the past tense, but Greek is in the present trense, "is."
CW --Confusing Word -- The "hung" does not capture the word's specific meaning.
MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "neck" is not shown in the English translation.
WN --Wrong Number- The word "their" is translated as plural but the Greek word is singular.
WN --Wrong Number- The word "they" is translated as plural but the Greek word is singular.
WT --Wrong Tense - The English verb "were" is the past tense, but Greek is in the past perfect, a completed action, "has been tossed."

EACH WORD of KJV :

And -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and", but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). In a series, it is best translated as "not only...but also." After words implying sameness "as".

who -- The word translated as "who" 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.

-soever -- The Greek word meaning "-soever" indicates more of an expectation of something happening than "if" alone. This is often how we use the word "when". "Whoever" is from a special construction connecting a pronoun with a conditional particle. Together, they begin a relative, conditional clause that refers to each individual person or thing.

shall -- (CW) This helping verb "shall" does not indicate the future tense, but that the verb describes a possibility, the subjunctive voice. A "might" or "should" in English is more appropriate, but is assumed in an "if/when/whoever/except" clause. Helping verbs are not needed in Greek since the main verb carries this information in its form. .

offend -- (CW) "Offend" is a verb that means "to cause to stumble" or "to trip up." From there it is assumed by its translators to mean "to give offense" and "to scandalize." Our word "scandalize" come directly from the Greek. However, this interpretation of the word only comes from the translators of the Gospels. This is a Koine word that is found originally only in the New Testament, but based on a noun found only in the Greek Old Testament meaning "snare," or "stumbling block." The noun is changed to a verb by adding an ending very much like we add "ize" to a noun in order to make it a verb. So, literally, it would mean to "make or perform a stumble." In English, we would simply say, "trips up" capturing the same idea exactly. See the article on this word here.

one -- The Greek word translated as "one thing" means "one" (as opposed to other numbers), "single," and "one and the same."As in English, it can be used as a pronoun, meaning a single person.

of -- This is from the form of the following article and noun.

these -- - "These" is a demonstrative pronoun that means "this", "here", "the nearer," and "the familiar." This word follows the noun while the article precedes it.

little -- "Little" is an adjective that means "small", "little", "unimportant", "petty", "trivial", "slight," and "young." It is one of several words Christ uses to refer to children (see this article).

ones -- (CW) The "one" is from the Greek definite article before the adjective, which takes the meaning of "the one." Here, it precedes the above adjective and is plural so "ones." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these", "those"). See this article for more.

that -- (WN) The "that" is from the Greek definite article, which takes the meaning of "the ones" because it comes before a verbal adjective. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these", "those"). See this article for more. This is plural, referring to the plural ones, not the "one." This word is not singular but plural.

believe -- (CW, WF) The Greek word translated as "believe" does not apply to religious belief as much but trusting or relying upon other people, especially their words. Jesus usually uses it in contexts, such as the one here, that apply to trusting words. See this article. This word is a participle, not an active verb.

in -- The word translated as "unto" 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 time and measure, and "for" a purpose or object.

me, -- "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek as the object of the verb or preposition. As the object of a preposition, an accusative object indicates movement towards something or a position reached as a result of that movement.

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

is -- The verb "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."

better --(WF) The word translated as "better" means "good", "beautiful", "noble," or "of good quality." See this article on the real Greek meaning of the terms translated as "good" and "evil." The word translated as "well" means, as an adverb, "well", "rightly", "happily", "thoroughly", "altogether", and "deservedly". "It would be better" in Matthew is from a word that means "to be useful" while the word used here means "beautiful" and "good." In Luke, another Greek word is used meaning "to pay back". This is not the comparative form, "better" but the adjective, "good."

for -- This word "for" comes from the dative case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is a "to" for the English indirect object. However, the translator can choose other prepositions: "with," "in," "of," "as," "by," "for," "at," or "on" depending on the context. The case can indicate a "with" for instruments, an "in" for locations, an "for" for purposes, an "about" (or "for" or "against") indicating interest, an "of" for possession, a "by" for agents, an "as" for comparisons, "at" or "on" a time, and an "in" for area of effect

him -- The word translated as "him" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English. The word means "the same" when used as an adjective. In the adverbial form, it means "just here" or "exactly there."

missing "especially" -- (MW) The untranslated word means "exceedingly," "more certainly," "especially," "to a greater degree," and "rather." It is the comparative form of the Greek word that means "very," and "more." MW - Missing Word -- The word "especially" is not shown in the English translation.

that -- The "if" here expresses a condition but it means nothing regarding whether that condition is met or not when used with the subjective negative. It also means "if ever" and "whenever." With verbs of desire and emotion and the indicative in the second clause, the sense is "that." There is no verb of desire here, but the "better" adds that sense

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

millstone -- "Millstone" is an uncommon noun for Jesus that means "mill", "millstone", "grinder", "molar," and, generally, "stone." It is used only in this verse and its parallels in the other Gospels.

missing "of an ass" -- (OS) The untranslated word is an adjective that means "of an ass," and "for an ass."

were -- (WT) This is from the passive voice of the verb, but the tense is wrong. The verb is not the past but the present.

hanged -- (CW) "Hanged" is another uncommon word that means "to lie around", "have round one," and "wear." It metaphorically means to have no advantage. It is used by Jesus only in this verse and its parallel in Luke. The word means "to put in position around." Its prefix means "around."

about -- The Greek word translated as "about" means It means "around" when referring to a place, but, in this context, it means "about", "concerning", "on account of," and "in regard to." This is the way Christ usually uses it.

missing "the/this" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article," the," which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," and "those"). See this article for more.

his -- The word translated as "his" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English. It appears after the word "neck" so "of his."

neck,-- "Neck" is another uncommon word for Jesus that means "neck", "parts resembling a neck," and "throat." It is used in this verse, its parallels, and one other verse in Luke.

and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and", but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). In a series, it is best translated as "not only...but also." After words implying sameness "as".

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

were -- This is from the passive form of the verb, but tense of the verb, an action completed in the past. This is strange because the "hang" verb is the present tense.

cast -- -- The word translated as "cast" has a number of meanings revolving around "throw" as we do in English with both "throw" and "toss." Jesus often uses this word in the same way we use "dump" in English. It is a word that he frequently uses in a light-hearted way. In dice, it means "to throw" the dice, but with the sense of being lucky.

into -- The word translated as "unto" means "into" a place, "towards" as a direction, "in regards to" a subject, and "up to" limits in time and measure.

the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these", "those"). See this article for more.

sea. "The sea" is the noun that means also means "sea" or "sea water."

EACH WORD of NIV :

missing "And" -- (MW) The untranslated word "and" is used as the conjunction "and", but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). In a series, it is best translated as "not only...but also." After words implying sameness "as".

If -- (CW) The Greek word meaning "if" indicates more of an expectation of something happening than "if" alone. This is often how we use the word "when". "Whoever" is from a special construction connecting a pronoun with a conditional particle. Together, they begin a relative, conditional clause that refers to each individual person or thing.

anyone -- (CW) The word translated as "anyone" 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.

causes-- "Causes...to stumble" is a verb that means "to cause to stumble" or "to trip up." From there it is assumed by its translators to mean "to give offense" and "to scandalize." Our word "scandalize" come directly from the Greek. However, this interpretation of the word only comes from the translators of the Gospels. This is a Koine word that is found originally only in the New Testament, but based on a noun found only in the Greek Old Testament meaning "snare," or "stumbling block." The noun is changed to a verb by adding an ending very much like we add "ize" to a noun in order to make it a verb. So, literally, it would mean to "make or perform a stumble." In English, we would simply say, "trips up" capturing the same idea exactly. See the article on this word here.

one -- The Greek word translated as "one thing" means "one" (as opposed to other numbers), "single," and "one and the same."As in English, it can be used as a pronoun, meaning a single person.

of -- This is from the form of the following article and noun.

these -- - "These" is a demonstrative pronoun that means "this", "here", "the nearer," and "the familiar." This word follows the noun while the article precedes it.

those -- The "that" is from the Greek definite article, which takes the meaning of "the ones" because it comes before a verbal adjective. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these", "those"). See this article for more.

who -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "who" in the Greek source.

to stumble -- This completes the idea of the verb begining with "causes" above.

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

would -- (WT) The verb is a helper verb expressing a past beleive about the future. That is not the tense here.

be -- The "be" 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. This is in the present tense, but "would" is the past tense.

better -- (WF) The word translated as "better" means "good", "beautiful", "noble," or "of good quality." See this article on the real Greek meaning of the terms translated as "good" and "evil." The word translated as "well" means, as an adverb, "well", "rightly", "happily", "thoroughly", "altogether", and "deservedly". "It would be better" in Matthew is from a word that means "to be useful" while the word used here means "beautiful" and "good." In Luke, another Greek word is used meaning "to pay back". This is not the comparative form, "better" but the adjective, "good."

them -- (WN) The word translated as "tjem" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English. The word means "the same" when used as an adjective. In the adverbial form, it means "just here" or "exactly there." -- This word is not plural but singular.

if -- The "if" here expresses a condition but it means nothing regarding whether that condition is met or not when used with the subjective negative. It also means "if ever" and "whenever." With verbs of desire and emotion and the indicative in the second clause, the sense is "that." There is no verb of desire here, but the "better" adds that sense

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

large -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "large" in the Greek source.

missing "of an ass" -- (MW) The untranslated word is an adjective that means "of an ass," and "for an ass."

were -- (WT) This is from the passive voice of the verb, but the tense is wrong. The verb is not the past but the present.

hung -- (CW) "Hanged" is another uncommon word that means "to lie around", "have round one," and "wear." It metaphorically means to have no advantage. It is used by Jesus only in this verse and its parallel in Luke. The word means "to put in position around." Its prefix means "around."

their -- The word translated as "their " is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English. It appears after the word "neck" so "of his." This word is not plural but singular.

neck,-- "Neck" is another uncommon word for Jesus that means "neck", "parts resembling a neck," and "throat." It is used in this verse, its parallels, and one other verse in Luke.

they -- (WN) This is from the third-person, singular form of the verb. This word is not plural but singular.

were -- This is from the passive form of the verb, but tense of the verb, an action completed in the past. This is strange because the "hang" verb is the present tense. WT --Wrong Tense - The English verb "were" is the past tense, but Greek is in the past perfect, a completed action, "has been tossed."

into the sea.

thrown -- -- The word translated as "cast" has a number of meanings revolving around "throw" as we do in English with both "throw" and "toss." Jesus often uses this word in the same way we use "dump" in English. It is a word that he frequently uses in a light-hearted way. In dice, it means "to throw" the dice, but with the sense of being lucky.

into -- The word translated as "unto" means "into" a place, "towards" as a direction, "in regards to" a subject, and "up to" limits in time and measure.

the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these", "those"). See this article for more.

sea. "The sea" is the noun that means also means "sea" or "sea water."

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV :

Καὶ [1089 verses](conj/adv) "And" is kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and." 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."

ὃς [294 verses](pron sg masc nom) "He" is hos, which means "this", "that", "he", "she", "which", "what", "who", "whosoever", "where", "for which reason," and many similar meanings.

ἂν [162 verses](conj) "-soever" is ean, which is a conditional particle (derived from ei (if) and an (possibly), which makes reference to a time and experience in the future that introduces but does not determine an event. This is how we use the word "when." It can be used after a demonstrative pronoun hos or hostis meaning "that possibly," "whosoever" or "whatsoever.

σκανδαλίσῃ [20 verses]( verb 3rd sg aor subj act ) "Shall offend" is skandalizo, which means "to cause to stumble", "to give offense," and "to scandalize."

ἕνα [85 verses](noun sg masc acc) "One" is from heis, which means "one" (as opposed to other numbers), "single," and "one and the same." As in English, it can be used as a pronoun, meaning a single person.

τῶν [821 verses](article pl masc gen) "one" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). -

μικρῶν [18 verses]( adj pl masc gen) "Little ones" is from mikros, which means "small", "little", "unimportant", "petty", "trivial", "slight," and "young."It is one of several words Christ uses to refer to children. It is a change from the word used in the previous verses to refer to children, paidion, which means "a young child."

τούτων [51 verses](adj pl masc gen) "These" is from toutos, which is a demonstrative pronoun that means "this", "here", "the nearer," and "the familiar."

τῶν [821 verses](article pl masc gen) "that" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"), which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones."

πιστευόντων, [69 verses](part pl pres act masc gen) "that believe" is from pisteuo, which means "to trust, put faith in, or rely on a person", "to believe in someone's words", "to comply", "to feel confident in a thing," and "to entrust in a thing."

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)."

ἐμὲ [49 verses](pron 1st sg masc acc) "Me" is eme, which is the objective first-person, objective, singular pronoun that means "me."

καλόν [48 verses](adj sg neut acc) "Better"is kalos, which means "beautiful," "good," "of fine quality," "noble," and "honorable." Referring to parts of the body, "fair" and "shapely."As an adverb,the word translated as "well" means, "well," "rightly," "happily," "thoroughly," "altogether," and "deservedly." -

ἐστιν .[614 verses](verb 3rd sg pres ind act) "Is" is eimi, which means "to be", "to exist", "to be the case," of circumstance and events "to happen", and "is possible." (The future form is esomai. The 3rd person present indicative is "esti.")

αὐτῷ [106 verses](pron/adj sg masc/neut dat) "Him" is is auto, the dative case of the third-person, singular adjective that is used as a pronoun. The word also means "the same,""one's true self," and "the soul" as opposed to the body. It also means "of one's own accord.

μᾶλλον [13 verses](adv) "Much" is mallon, which is the comparative form of mala which means "very", "exceedingly", "more certainly", "especially," "more", "to a greater degree," and "rather."

εἰ [90 verses](conj) "That" is ei, which is the particle used to express conditions "if" (implying nothing about its fulfillment) or indirect questions, "whether." It also means "if ever", "in case," and "whenever." It is combined with various conjunctions to create derivative conditions.

περίκειται [2 verses]( verb 3rd sg pres ind mp ) "Were hanged" is from perikeimai, which means "to lie around", "have round one," and "wear." It metaphorically means to have no advantage. The word means "to put in position around." Its prefix means "around."

μύλος [2 verses](noun sg masc nom) "Millstone" is from mylos, which means "mill", "millstone", "grinder", "molar," and, generally, "stone."

ὀνικὸς [2 verses](adj sg masc nom) Untranslated is onikos, which means "of an ass," and "for an ass."

περὶ [73 verses](prep) "About" is from peri, which means "round about (Place)", "around", "about", "concerning", "on account of", "in regard to", "before", "above", "beyond," and "all around."

τὸν [821 verses](article sg masc acc) Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"), which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones."

τράχηλον [4 verses] (noun sg masc acc) "Neck" is from trachêlos, which means "neck", "parts resembling a neck," and "throat."

αὐτοῦ [14 2 verses](adj sg masc gen) "His" is autou, which means is the singular adjective used as the subject pronoun. It also means "one's true self," that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of one's own accord."

καὶ [1089 verses] (conj) "And" is from kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and." 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."

βέβληται [54 verses]( verb 3rd sg perf ind mp epic ) "Were cast" is from ballo, which means "to throw", "to let fall", "to put", "to pour," or "to cast."

εἰς [325 verses](prep) "Into" is eis, which means "into (of place)," "up to (of time)", "until (of time)", "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)."

τὴν [821 verses](article sg fem acc)) "the" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"), which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones."

θάλασσαν. [11 verses](noun sg fem acc) "The sea" is from thalassa, which means also means "sea" or "sea water."

Matthew 18:6 But whoever shall offend one of these little ones

Possible Symbolic Meaning:

As discussed in that earlier version, Christ uses the sea and stone as metaphors for the temporary world while children as metaphors for the spiritual world. This contrast is even clearer here in Mark because the difference between the spiritual and physical is the focus of the chapter.

In several places (Matthew 25:28-30, Matthew 24:50-51, Matthew 22:13, Mat 13:50) Christ describes someone being thrown into the outer darkness. This is the same concept but rendered into a more tangible form.

Unimportant Opinions and Imaginings:

This version is like Matthew, but different from Luke version, but all have significant differences in the Greek that are unlikely to be from differences in memory alone. Until this point, the Gospel of Mark has used the same words as Matthew but this verse is more like the version in Luke. In the versions from Mat 18:6 or Luke 17:2 Iuses a number of different Greek words to express the similar ideas. This is hidden in English where the differences are minimized. In the previous version, the words for "millstone" means specifically "millstone of an ass," while the words here means simply "stone of a mill. "

The difference demonstrates the natural differences in the say an idea might be expressed at different times. Despite these inevitable personal differences in language, not that almost all of Matthew and Mark agree closely until this point in Mark. This is the only verse with a significant difference in vocabulary thus far.

Matthew also renders it as "the depths of the sea" rather than simply the "sea" as here. The Luke version is even more different, being rephrase to have a different "punchline".

Front Page Date:

Jun 16 2023