Matthew 18:24 And when he had begun to reckon,

Spoken to: 

audience

A parable about letting go of mistakes in the context of letting go of mistakes.

KJV: 

Matthew 18:24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.

NIV : 

Matthew 18:24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold[ was brought to him.

LISTENERS HEARD: 

During starting, however, of his to take part, he was brought, one, to him, a debtor of myriad weights.

MY TAKE: 

Those who owe the most must give their accounting first.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page): 

LOST IN TRANSLATION: 

This verse uses a number of uncommon words for Jesus. They are phrased so the verse has a number of pauses built in. As we often see, these words could have seemed funny at the time, simply because they were rare and extreme. The description fo the debtor as one of "myriad weights" is an example. The phrasing could refer either to the amount of the debtor, humorously, the size of the man. The verse is phrased so that this is clearly the punchline, ending the verse.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

9
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "and" should be something more like "but" or "however."
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "he" is not a subject of an active verb, but a genitive phrase.
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "had" indicates the past perfect tense, but the tense is something that happens at a specific point in time (past, present, or future).
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "reckon" was translated as "take" in the previous verse.
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "which" doesn't exist in the source.
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "owed" is not a verb but a noun.
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "him" doesn't exist in the source.
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "ten thousands" should be something more like "myriads."
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "talents" is not an object of a verb, but a possessive describing "debtor."

# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

11
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "however" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "he" is not a subject of an active verb, but a genitive phrase.
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "the" doesn't exist in the source.
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "settlement" should be something more like "to take part."
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "a" is the common word meaning "one."
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "man" doesn't exist in the source.
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "who" doesn't exist in the source.
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "owed" is not a verb but a noun.
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "him" doesn't exist in the source.
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "ten thousands" should be something more like "myriads."
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "bags of gold" is not an object of a verb, but a possessive describing "debtor."

EACH WORD of KJV : 

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

when  - There is no Greek word in the source that you could translate as "when." It was added by the KJV translators to capture the idea of a genitive verb of time, used as the introduction to the verse. It could instead be translated ‘during’, ‘at’, or ‘within’.

he --  (WF) The word translated as "he" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English. This pronoun  is possessive and follows the noun so "of his." The form matches the genitive adjective of the verb.

had -- (WT) This helping verb "had" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past. This is not the tense of the verb here.

begun  - "Begun" is from a verb in the form of an adjective that means "to be first," "to begin," and "to make a beginning," "to rule," "to govern," and "to command." It is in the possessive form agreeing with the pronoun above. This is a genitive of time.

to -- This "to" is added because the infinitive form of the verb requires a "to" in English.

reckon,  - (CW) "Reckon" is from a verb that means "gather in a harvest," "raise or use in helping," and "take part in a thing." In the previous KJV verse, it was translated as "take" with another word that does mean "reckoning," (normally translated as "word"). Jesus only uses this verb here, in the previous verse, and in Matthew 25:19. in a similar context.

one  - "One" is from the noun that means "one" and "single." As in English, it means a single person. This word is in the same form as the word "debtor" below. Together they act as the subject of the sentence.

was -- This helping verb "was" indicates that the verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

brought  - "Brought" is from a passive form of the verb that means "to bring to, " "to bring upon," "to present," "to offer," "to declare," and "to lead to."

unto -- This word "unto" 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.

him,  - The word translated as "he" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English

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

owed -  (WF) The word for "which owed" means "debtor" or "under a bond. In Christ's era, a person under a bond was almost a slave until the debt was paid.This is a noun, not a verb.

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

ten thousand  -(WW)  The word translated as "ten thousand" is primarily used generally to express immense and even infinite amounts. It is not from the Greek numbers for "ten thousand," but it came to means that as a definite number. It is a rated and extreme word. The

talents -- (WF) The word translated as "talents" is not the word for any specific amount of money, but the word that means "weight," "a pair of scales," and "sum of money." The form is one that could refer to the size of his debt of the size of the man, hence, some of the comedy.  This is not the object of a verb, as translated, but a description of the debtor, a possessive.

EACH WORD of NIV : 

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

As - There is no Greek word in the source that you could translate as "as." It was added by the KJV translators to capture the idea of a genitive verb of time, used as the introduction to the verse. It could instead be translated ‘during’, ‘at’, or ‘within’.

he --  (WF) The word translated as "he" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English. This pronoun  is possessive and follows the noun so "of his." The form matches the genitive adjective of the verb.

began - "Began" is from a verb in the form of an adjective that means "to be first," "to begin," and "to make a beginning," "to rule," "to govern," and "to command." It is in the possessive form agreeing with the pronoun above. This is a genitive of time.

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

settlement,   - (WW) "Settlement" is from a verb that means "gather in a harvest," "raise or use in helping," and "take part in a thing." In the previous KJV verse, it was translated as "take" with another word that does mean "reckoning," (normally translated as "word"). Jesus only uses this verb here, in the previous verse, and in Matthew 25:19. in a similar context.

a - (CW) "A" is from the noun that means "one" and "single." As in English, it means a single person. This word is in the same form as the word "debtor" below. Together they act as the subject of the sentence.

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

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

owed -  (WF) The word for "which owed" means "debtor" or "under a bond. In Christ's era, a person under a bond was almost a slave until the debt was paid.This is a noun, not a verb.

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

ten thousand  -(WW)  The word translated as "ten thousand" is primarily used generally to express immense and even infinite amounts. It is not from the Greek numbers for "ten thousand," but it came to means that as a definite number. It is a rated and extreme word. The

bags of gold -- (WF) The word translated as "talents" is not the word for any specific amount of money, but the word that means "weight," "a pair of scales," and "sum of money." The form is one that could refer to the size of his debt of the size of the man, hence, some of the comedy.  This is not the object of a verb, as translated, but a description of the debtor, a possessive.

was -- This helping verb "was" indicates that the verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

brought  - "Brought" is from a passive form of the verb that means "to bring to, " "to bring upon," "to present," "to offer," "to declare," and "to lead to."

to -- This word "to" 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.

him,  - The word translated as "he" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV : 

ἀρξαμένου [14 verses](part sg aor mid masc gen) "Had begun" is archomai, which is a form of archô, which means "to be first," "to begin," "to make a beginning," "to rule," "to govern," and "to command."

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 an explanation of cause ("so").

αὐτοῦ (adj sg masc gen) "He" 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."

συναίρειν [3 verses](verb pres inf act) "To reckon" is synairo, which means "take up together," "gather in a harvest," "collected," "take part in a thing," "help in bearing or undertaking," "raise or use in helping," "help," "assist," and "annul jointly with another."

προσήχθη [7 verses](verb 3rd sg aor ind pass) "Was brought" is prosphero, which means "to bring to, " "to bring upon," "to apply to," [without dat] "to apply, use, or use," "to add to," "to present," "to offer," "to address [proposals]," "to convey [property]," "to contribute," "to pay," "to be carried towards [passive]," "to attack," "to assault," "to go toward," "to deal with," "to take [food or drink]," to exhibit," "to declare," and "to lead to."

εἷς [85 verses](noun sg masc nom) "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.

αὐτῷ (adj sg masc dat) "Unto him" is 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."

ὀφειλέτης [4 verses](noun sg masc nom) "Which owed" is opheiletes, which means "a debtor," "a person who owes a debt" or "one who is under a bond."

μυρίων [1 verses]( adj pl masc gen) "Ten thousand" is myrios, which means (of Number) "numberless," "countless," "infinite," (of Size) "measureless," "immense," "infinite," (of time) "incessant," (as a definite number)"ten thousand," and as an Adv. "immensely," "incessantly." It is not from the Greek numbers (10-theka, 1,000=chilia).

ταλάντων. [8 verses](noun pl neut gen) "Talent" is talanton, which means "a weight," "a pair of scales," "a commercial weight," and "a sum of money." In Greek mythology, it was the scales on which Zeus balanced the fortunes of men. As money, the amount varied in different systems.

Wordplay: 

The "ten thousand talents" here is express in exaggerated language, which could even mean "an infinite weight" of money. 

Related Verses: 

Unimportant Opinions and Imaginings: 

However, one of his first, a debtor of an immense sum of money, was presented to him.

Front Page Date: 

Apr 5 2021