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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 18:29 And his fellow servant fell down...

A lesson of letting go of people's mistake in a parable about the unforgiven.. Parable of an unforgiving servant.

Spoken to
audience
KJV Verse

Matthew 18:29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 18:29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded.

What His Listeners Heard:

Falling down, then, this fellow slave of his called out to him saying, "Withhold anger against me and  I will it give back to you."

Lost In Translation:

The unusual word here is "be patient/have patience," which Jesus uses only three times. It more literally means "delay anger" or "withhold anger." The other uncommon word here is translated as "besought" and "begged" but it literally means "called out" and isn't a common word for "ask" or "beg."

The unusual word here is "be patient/have patience," which Jesus uses only three times. It more literally means "delay anger" or "withhold anger."Very like Matthew 18:26 where the servant fell down before his master,  and kowtowed. In this verse, the fellow servant falls down but "called out."  In the earlier verse, "all things" were paid back, but not here. Both of these changes may be a recognition that the king is a symbol for the Divine, to whom we should bow down and to whom we owe all things.

KJV w/Translation Issues :

And(WW) his (MW) fellowservant fell(WF) down [at his feet(OS)], and besought(CW) him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all(OS).

KJV List (See full page for word-by-word analysis):
For analysis of each word of original Greek and biblical verses, click here.

Constantly Updated

My analysis standards and methods are constantly improving. New information on each verse is provided as articles are updated. It requires approximately two years for me to work through updating each of Jesus's verses.

What Jesus's Listeners Heard

The everyday meanings of the Greek words Jesus used were different than the definitions they have been given over time in biblical translation. The word translations here are based upon documents of his time such as the Greek Septuagint, not ideas unknown in his time.

About this Site

See what Jesus said in Greek and see how his words are changed in English translation. My goal is to translate Jesus's words as they were heard when he taught, not the way they are interpreted today. The work here resurrects the humor and cleverness of Jesus's words lost in translation.

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Each article provides detailed information on all the Greek words in each verse with links simplifying your own research. It compares the Greek to popular translations to show where words are confused, changed, left out, and added. This site offers research available nowhere else, such as how often Jesus uses a specific Greek word and links to a list of every verse in which he uses a given word.