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Today's Verse Analysis

Luke 6:4 How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat

The Pharisees challenge Jesus because his students are gleaning on the Sabbath.

Spoken to:
The Pharisees

Luke 6:4  [ὡς] εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶτοὺς ἄρτους τῆς προθέσεωςλαβὼν ἔφαγεν καὶ ἔδωκεν τοῖς μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ, οὓς οὐκ ἔξεστιν φαγεῖν εἰ μὴ μόνους τοὺς ἱερεῖς;

KJV Verse:

Luke 6:4 How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?

NIV Verse:

Luke 6:4 He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.

What His Listeners Heard:

When he entered into the house of the Divine and, getting the loaves of the public offering, he ate and gave some to those with him. It was not allowed to eat except for the priests alone. 

Lost In Translation:

 In most modern translations, the bread here is described as "sacred" or "consecrated", but the Greek word describes it as "the loaves of the public offering."

The word translated as "lawful" does not reference the law. It means "it is not allowed." Jesus would not point this out as a violation of the law but as a tradition, which is how he categorizes not gleaning of the Sabbath.

KJV w/Translation Issues :

How(WW) he went(CW) into the house of (MW) God, and did take(WW) and(IW) eat the shew (MW) bread(WN), and gave also(OS) to them [that were(IP)] with him; which it is not lawful(CW) to eat but(CW) for the priests alone?

KJV List (See full page for word-by-word analysis):

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 to work through 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.