For those who want to know what Jesus really said, how he said it, why crowds came to hear him, and shades of meaning lost or hidden in translation.

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Today's Verse Analysis

A teaching that combines elements of the Sermon on the Mount with more advanced forms.

Spoken to
audience
KJV Verse

Matthew 18:14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 18:14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

What His Listeners Heard:

This is not a desire before that father of mine, the one in  sky, that one of these young ones here should destroy himself.

Lost In Translation:

The first part doesn't say "the will of your/my Father," a phrase Jesus commonly used but something unusual. more like "a desire before that father of your" or a decision in front of that father of yours." And the verb translated as "perish" here is not the same as the verb translated as "astray" in the previous two verses, but a passive  verb that means "be destroyed" or "destroy themselves" but which can also mean "lost."

KJV w/Translation Issues :

Even so(CW) it is not the(IW)  will of(IW) your (MW) Father which is(IW) in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish(WW).

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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Do Your Own Research

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.