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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 19:4 Have you not read, that he who made

 This is the introduction to a long lesson on the sexes. This lesson starts with the "first principles," that are easily recognized, that humanity comes in two contrasting forms.

Spoken to
audience

Matthew 19:4 Οὐκ ἀνέγνωτε ὅτι ὁ κτίσας ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς “ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποίησεν αὐτοὺς”

KJV Verse

Matthew 19:4 Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

NIV Verse:

Matthew 19:4 Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female.

What His Listeners Heard:

Do you not recognize that the creating from inception, masculine and feminine he produced them.

Lost In Translation:

Jesus uses a unique (for him) word here translated as "made." Usually, this would mean Jesus was quoting the Septuagint, but surprisingly, the Greek OT uses the common word that means "made," not this rare one. This word only appears once in the Septuagint, at the end of Isa 45:8, about the good things in heaven and earth God has created. The choice of this word seems to be because it has one sense not found in the common words: the sense of starting things that will grow (city, plants, etc.) and perpetuating something: the purpose of the two sexes.  Mark uses the noun form of this word, but the common verb.

These words "male" and "female" are only used by Jesus twice, here and in the parallel in Mark 10:6. These two words are from the Septuagint, Gen 5:2. They refer to the sexes, but they also contrast the concepts of "rough" and "coarse" with "soft" and "delicate."

The word translated as "read" is always translated as "read" in the NT, but it actually means "to recognize" and to "know certainly." It is from a root word that is usually translated as "to know." So, it is a reference to the visible distinction between the sexes. It is translated as "read" because Jesus uses it to refer to OT ideas, which were probably memorized as much as read.

KJV w/Translation Issues :

Have(WT) ye not read(CW), that he(CW) which(IW) made(IW,WF) them at the(IW) beginning made them male and female,

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.