Matthew 6:29...That even Solomon in all his glory

Spoken to
audience

Sermon on Mount, law and fulfillment, visible and hidden, temporary and permanent, worry and trust

KJV

Matthew 6:29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

NIV

Matthew 6:29  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

LISTENERS HEARD

I tell you, however, that not even Solomon with all that fame of his wrapped himself like one of these.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

First, there is a hidden connection between the lily and Solomon because lilies decorated the columns of his temple. In Greek, the word "lily" has the same root as "judge." In Jesus's era, people were judged by their clothing. This verse makes the social context of clothing, introduced in the previous verse, Matthew 6:28, much clearer. The key connection here is between the flowers of the previous verse, the judgment of others,  and the reputation of the wisest Jewish king.

The Greek word translated as "glory/splendor" primarily means, as a noun, "expectation" or "reputation." It has a variety of meanings as a verb, but only in the NT is it commonly rendered as "glory." It is not the Greek word that means "splendor," "glory," or "majesty" in a kingly sense or any of the Greek words that mean "glory" in the sense of "brilliance." The English word that seems to capture most of the meanings of this word is "recognition" both in the sense of seeing something familiar and honoring someone. In Christ's time, people and their roles were recognized by their clothing. So the connection between the context, clothing, and recognition was much clearer in Christ's time.

The verb translated as "arrayed" has means "to throw around oneself," "surround," and "to put on" but it is not the verb translated as "put on" in Matthew 6:25. In Jesus's era, the outer coats, capes, and shawls were what indicated status. Those whose were wrapped around or draped, so perhaps "draped" or "wrapped" captures the idea in English. However, since Solomon's temple columns were decorated with lilies, the "surround himself" has a double meaning referring tot those columns.

MY TAKE

Even the reputation of the greatest men does not compare to the beauty underlying nature.

GREEK ORDER

λέγω δὲ           ὑμῖν ὅτι  οὐδὲ       Σολομὼν ἐν    πάσῃ τῇ    δόξῃ     αὐτοῦ
I tell however, you that not even Solomon with al     l that fame of his

περιεβάλετο        ὡς  ἓν        τούτων.
wrapped himself like one of these.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
5
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "and" doesn't exist in the source.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "glory" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "glory" should be something more like "reputation."
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "was" does not mean the passive tense.
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "arrayed" should be something more like "wreathed."
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
4
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "glory" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "splendor" should be something more like "reputation."
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "was" does not mean the passive tense.
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "dressed" should be something more like "wreathed."
EACH WORD of KJV

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

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

I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.

say -- The word translated as "say " is the most common word that means "to say," and "to speak."

unto -- This word "unto" comes from the dative case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English, but the translator must decide which preposition to use: a "to" as an indirect object.

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

That  -  The word translated as "that" introduces a statement of fact or cause.

even  - The Greek word translated as "even" is a negative conjunction that is usually translated as "neither" or "nor," but we can also mean "not even." The "not" appears much later in the English. 

Solomon - "Solomon" is from the Greek spelling of the Hebrew names.

in  - The Greek word translated as "in" also has many other meanings as a preposition including "with," "within," and "within his power."

all -- The word translated as "all" is the Greek adjective meaning "all," "the whole," "every," and similar ideas. When it is used as a noun, we would say "everything."

his -- The word translated as "his" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English. This pronoun follows the noun so "of his."

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

glory --  (WW) The Greek noun translated as "glory" means "expectation," "notion," "opinion," "repute," and "popular repute." Translations as "glory" or "splendor" are found primarily in translating the Bible. Though it can have both a positive ("shining reputation") and negative ("bad repute") in Greek, Jesus only uses it to describe the shining aspect so "eminence" may be the closest. The verb form has the sense of "recognize," but "recognition" while positive in the sense of rewarding people simply means knowing them in the noun form.

was -- (CW) This word does not indicate a passive verb.

not  --  The Greek word for "not even" is an adverb that means "not at all" or "no even." The "not" here is from the word translated as "even" earlier in the verse. 

arrayed -- (CW) The verb translated as "arrayed" has means "to throw around oneself," "surround," and "to put on" but it is not the verb translated as "put on" in Matthew 6:25. In Jesus's era, the outer coats, capes, and shawls were what indicated status. Those who were wrapped around or draped, so perhaps "draped" or "wrapped" captures the idea in English, but since the context is "flowers" perhaps "wreathed" works too. This word is translated as "clothed" later in Matthew 6:31.The form indicates someone that is acting on themselves." This is not the word translated as "put on" which is related to the word translated as raiment.

missing "himself"-- (WV) A phrase is necessary because the form of the previous verb is a middle voice, which means that the subject is to  act "for himself" or "by himself."

like  -- The word translated as "as" has a very broad meaning, translated as "when," "where," "just as," "like," and related words.

one  - The word translated as "one" is the number one and all such ideas of singleness. The gender of this "one" matched the noun for "lily."

of -- This word "of"  comes from the genitive case of the following word that required the addition of a preposition in English.  The most common is the "of" of possession.

these.  - "These" is a demonstrative pronoun that means "this," "here," "the nearer," and "the familiar." Again, this word is connected by gender to the lilies. 

EACH WORD of NIV

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

I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the following verb.

tell -- The word translated as "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.

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

that  -  The word translated as "that" introduces a statement of fact or cause.

even  - The Greek word translated as "even" is a negative conjunction that is usually translated as "neither" or "nor," but we can also mean "not even." The "not" appears much later in the English. 

Solomon - "Solomon" is from the Greek spelling of the Hebrew names.

in  - The Greek word translated as "in" also has many other meanings as a preposition including "with," "within," and "within his power."

all -- The word translated as "all" is the Greek adjective meaning "all," "the whole," "every," and similar ideas. When it is used as a noun, we would say "everything."

his -- The word translated as "his" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English. This pronoun follows the noun so "of his."

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

splendor -- (WW) The Greek word translated as "splendor " primarily means, as a noun, "expectation" or "reputation." It has a variety of meanings as a verb, but only in the NT is it commonly rendered as "glory." The words "recognition" and "reputation" come closest to capturing the way Jesus uses the word, especially if we consider how he uses the verb form.

was -- (CW) This word does not indicate a passive verb.

dressed --  (CW) The verb translated as "dressed " has means "to throw around oneself," "surround," and "to put on" but it is not the verb translated as "put on" in Matthew 6:25. In Jesus's era, the outer coats, capes, and shawls were what indicated status. Those whose were wrapped around or draped, so perhaps "draped" or "wrapped" captures the idea in English. This word is translated as "clothed" later in Matthew 6:31.The form indicates someone that is acting on themselves." This is not the word translated as "put on" which is related to the word translated as raiment.

like  -- The word translated as "as" has a very broad meaning, translated as "when," "where," "just as," "like," and related words.

one  - The word translated as "one" is the number one and all such ideas of singleness.

of -- This word "of"  comes from the genitive case of the following word that required the addition of a preposition in English.  The most common is the "of" of possession.

these.  - "These" is a demonstrative pronoun that means "this," "here," "the nearer," and "the familiar."

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

λέγω (verb 1st sg pres ind act) "I say" is from lego), which means "to recount," "to tell over," "to say," "to speak," "to teach," "to mean," "boast of," "tell of," "recite," nominate," and "command." Another Greek word spelled the same means "to pick up," "to choose for oneself," "to pick out," and "to count."

δὲ (partic) "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 an explanation of cause ("so").

ὑμῖν (pron 2nd pl dat) "Unto you" is from humin, which is the 2nd person plural dative pronoun. The form indicates something is given.

ὅτι (conj) "That" is from 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."

οὐδὲ (partic) "Even...not" is from oude , which means "but not," "neither," "nor," and "not even."

Σολομὼν (irreg) "Solomon" is from Solomon, which is simply the King Solomon's name in Greek letters.

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

πάσῃ (adj sg fem dat) "All" is from pas, which means "all," "the whole," "every," "anyone," "all kinds," and "anything."

τῇ  (article sg fem dat)  Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").

δόξῃ (noun sg fem dat) "Glory" is doxa, which means "expectation," "notion," "opinion," "repute," and "popular repute." Translations as "glory" or "splendor" are found primarily in translating the Bible. The words "recognition," "honor." and "reputation" come closest to capturing the Greek word, but Jesus uses it only in the most positive sense so "prominence" may come closest. -

αὐτοῦ (adj sg masc gen) "His" is from autos, which means "the same," and the reflexive pronouns, "myself," "yourself," "himself," "herself," "itself," or the oblique case of the pronouns, "him," "her," and "it." It also means "one's true self," that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of one's own accord."

περιεβάλετο (3rd sg aor ind mid) "Was arrayed" is from periballo, which means "to throw around," "to put on," "to encompass," "to surround," "to bring under one's power," "amplify," "expand," "appropriate mentally," "comprehend," "to excel," "to surpass," "throw beyond," and "beat in throwing." In the passive, it means "to have put around oneself." "to be involved in," and "to have come into possession of one."

ὡς (conj/adv) "Like" is from hos, an adverb which means to "thus," "as," "how," "when," "where," "like," "just as," "so far as," "as much as can be," "that," "in order that," "nearly (with numbers)," and "know that."

ἓν (noun sg neut 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.

τούτων. (adj pl neut gen ) "Of these" is from toutos, which is a demonstrative pronoun that means "this," "here," "the nearer," and "the familiar."

Wordplay

The  Greek word means "put on" in many different senses, including both clothing, reputation, and knowledge. It does not quite have the sense of "putting on" in the sense it means "to fake" in English. It also means "to surround oneself" and refers to Solomon surrounding himself with lilies on the columns of his temple.

Front Page Date