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

Two blind men ask Jesus for mercy.

Spoken to
group
KJV Verse

Matthew 20:32 What will ye that I shall do unto you?

NIV Verse:

Matthew 20:32 What do you want me to do for you?

What His Listeners Heard:

What do you desire? I will perform [it] for you.

Lost In Translation:

In Greek, this is a question followed by a promise. It says: "What do you desire? I will do it for you." When the "it" is assumed from the "what." The KJV inserts a "that" to change it meaning, but most Biblical translations change the form of the verbs to misrepresent it.  The form of the second verb would have to be an infinitive for it to say what the Bible translators want it to say, an infinitive object verb following the active verb meaning "to want" or "to desire." Jesus uses this construction dozens of times, but he does not use it here. He uses two active verbs. What do you want? I will do.

Notice here is that Jesus requires people ask him specifically for what they want. It should be obvious here, two blind men asking for mercy, they want to see. But Jesus still requires them to ask. The asking is part of the process, "ask, search, knock." Asking again and again can be part of the process. God already knows what we need, before we do, but we need to think about what we really want and verbalize it.

 

 

KJV w/Translation Issues :

What will ye that(IW) I shall do unto you?

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.