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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 13:19 When any one hears the word

Parables, Sower, Explanation

Spoken to
audience

Matthew 13:19  Παντὸς ἀκούοντος τὸν λόγον τῆς βασιλείας καὶ μὴ συνιέντος, ἔρχεται ὁ πονηρὸς καὶ ἁρπάζει τὸ ἐσπαρμένον ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ: οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ παρὰ τὴν ὁδὸν σπαρείς.

KJV Verse

Matthew 13:19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 13:19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.

What His Listeners Heard:

Of everyone hearing the idea of the realm and not putting it together, it shows up, a worthlessness,  and it snatches away that having been seeded in that heart of his. This is the one seeded by the way.

Lost In Translation:

A lot is added to the KJV that is not in the source and may be misleading. The KJV translators wanted this verse to conform more closely to Matthew 13:4 than it actually does.

This is another good example of the translators working to create "the devil" in the text when it doesn't say that. There is no "the" before "evil one" and the word translated as "evil" means "worthless." A more accurate translation is "a worthless one." "Worthless ones" in life are common.

The word "word" is discussed here in detail, but here the NIV translates is as "message," which works best. You might also be interesting in this article on Jesus and Information Theory, which mentions this verse.

KJV w/Translation Issues :

When(WW) any one(WW) heareth(WF) the word(CW) of the kingdom, and understandeth(WF) it not, then(IW) cometh the(IW) wicked(WW) one, and catcheth away that which was(WT) sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

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.