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.

Home

Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 18:22 I say not to you, Until seven times

Discussion about coming to an agreement with others

Spoken to
Peter

Matthew 18:22 Οὐ λέγω σοι ἕως ἑπτάκις ἀλλὰ ἕως ἑβδομηκοντάκις ἑπτά.

KJV Verse

Matthew 18:22 I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 18:22 I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

What His Listeners Heard:

I didn't tell you up until seven times instead up until seventy-times seven.

Lost In Translation:

This is Jesus's response when Peter asks him if we are supposed to forgive someone who errs against us. More about the terms used in the previous verse as "forgive" and "sin" in this article. So the question to Jesus was. how often do we let the mistakes of others go?

The hidden significance of this verse is that our idea of the number seven being lucky comes from Jewish tradition. Using the Jewish method of converting words to numbers, (gematria), the most common word for luck converts to seven and another word for luck converts to seventy-seven.

KJV w/Translation Issues :

I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but(CW) Until seventy times seven.

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.

Free Subscriptions

Regular emails from Substack, subscribe to Rediscovering Jesus's Words.

 

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.