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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 21:25 The baptism of John, whence was it?

Jesus is asked for his authority by the chief priests and elders. And he asks them a question first.

Spoken to
The Pharisees

Matthew 21:25 τὸ βάπτισμα τὸ Ἰωάνου πόθεν ἦν; ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἢ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων

KJV Verse

Matthew 21:25 The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men?

NIV Verse:

Matthew 21:25  John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?

What His Listeners Heard:

The dunking from John, from what source was it? From the sky or from people?

Lost In Translation:

Jesus names the source of baptism then asks where it comes from. As with so much of Jesus's humor, we have to imagine the pause that sets up the punch line. The pause after "where is it from?" invites the answer
"John."

In using the term, "heaven," Jesus didn't make this about divine power alone. The term also means "universe." So the question can be taken as a question about the source of one's power in general: Does it come from the larger universe or from ourselves. It can also be taken as a contrast between power coming from the natural world of God or from the artificial world of society.


 

KJV w/Translation Issues :

The baptism (MW) of(CW) John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men?

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.