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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 18:26 The servant therefore fell down

Lessons about letting go of people's errors, which amount to debts.

Spoken to
audience

Matthew 18:26 πεσὼν οὖν ὁ δοῦλος προσεκύνει αὐτῷ λέγων Μακροθύμησον ἐπ᾽ ἐμοί, καὶ πάντα ἀποδώσω σοι.

KJV Verse

Matthew 18:26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 18:26 At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’

What His Listeners Heard:

Falling then, this bondslave prostrated to him saying, "Withhold anger against me and all things I will 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 word translated as "worship/on his knees" is also uncommon, used only seven times. But the word that reoccurs again and again in this parable is the word that means "give back," which is translated in a variety of ways, here, as "pay."

KJV w/Translation Issues :

The servant therefore fell down(WF), and(IW) worshipped(CW) him, saying, Lord(OS), have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

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.