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Today's Verse Analysis

Jesus continues the morals of the rich man's house manager who was slandered. 

Spoken to
audience

καὶ   εἰ      ἐν τῷ              ἀλλοτρίῳ   πιστοὶ         οὐκ    ἐγένεσθε
And since in something  of another  trustworthy didn't you become trustworthy 

τὸ                 ἡμέτερον    τίς    δώσει    ὑμῖν;​
something of your own? who will give to you

KJV Verse

Luke 16:12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?

NIV Verse:

Luke 16:12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

What His Listeners Heard:

And since you didn't become trustworthy in something of another, who will give to you something of your own?

 

Lost In Translation:

The beginning "if" primarily means "if", but it needs a specific form of verb meaning something that "might" or "could" happen. When used with a verb of something actually happening, it means "since”.

The key word "become" is mistranslated as "been". This "being faithful" completed in the past. This misses the point. We "become" faithful over time. We try to become trustworthy over time. 

Another key word is translated as "that" and "property”. It can be used as "that" but it never is translated accurately as "property." The word means "something”, so, the "something of another" and "something of your own." It could mean property or simple money. 

 

KJV w/Translation Issues :

 And if(CW) ye have(WT) not been(WW) faithful in that [which is(IP)] another man's(IW), who shall give you that  [which is(IP)]  your own?

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.