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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 16:18 ...That thou art Peter,

After Peter calls him the anointed, the son of the Divine, the living one.

Spoken to
Peter

Matthew 16:18 κἀγὼ δέ σοι λέγω ὅτι σὺ εἶ Πέτρος, καὶ ἐπὶ ταύτῃ τῇ πέτρᾳ οἰκοδομήσω μου τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, καὶ πύλαι ᾄδου οὐ κατισχύσουσιν αὐτῆς:

KJV Verse

Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 16:18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

What His Listeners Heard:

And so I myself say to you that you yourself are Rocky and upon the rock here will I construct this assembly of mine, and gates of death will not overpower it.

Lost In Translation:

The beginning of this verse should be "And so I" and seems like a response to something said that wasn't recorded. The word for "church" is misleading because the word only means a "called assembly." In this context, it cold easily mean the group of his followers. "Rock" is usually explained to mean a solid foundation following the story I the Sermon on the Mount, but the Greek is closer to the idea of a high promontory, a rocky cliff above the sea or a rocky peak. The term translated as "hell" refers to the Greek underworld, a metaphor for death. Because Jesus doesn't use the Greek article with it, it likely refers more to its metaphorical meaning.  Read this article about "hell" for more information.

KJV w/Translation Issues :

And I say also(WW) unto thee, That thou art Peter(UW), and upon this (MW) rock I will build my (MW) church(CW); and the gates of hell(CW) shall not prevail against it.

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.