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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 19:14 Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come to me:

Teaching about marriage and sex which leads to children.

Spoken to
audience

Matthew 19:14  Ἄφετε τὰ παιδία καὶ μὴ κωλύετε αὐτὰ ἐλθεῖν πρός με, τῶν γὰρ τοιούτων ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.

KJV Verse

Matthew 19:14 Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 19:14 Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.

What His Listeners Heard:

Let these kiddies go and don't hinder them from coming before me. Because to those as great belongs the realm of the skies

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Lost In Translation:

It is no coincidence that after discussing marriage between a man and a woman, Jesus moves to the topic of children. The Greek word used specifically "little children" under seven years old. It is one of several words Jesus uses to refer to "children" (see this article). The word translated as "forbid" and "hinder" is the most uncommon word used here, but the word translated as "such" is almost as uncommon, and, interestingly, more frequently used with the idea of "children," for example Matthew 18:5 And whoever shall receive one such little child. So the issue for Jesus is being childlike.

KJV w/Translation Issues :

 Suffer(CW) little (MW) children, and forbid them not, to come unto(CW) me: for of(CW) such is(CW) the kingdom of (MW) heaven(WN).

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.