Jesus says this to his followers after answering the Pharisees who asked when the kingdom of God shall come.
Luke 17:23 And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.
Luke 17:23 People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them.
And they will say to you, "Look there!" or "Look here!" You should not depart nor follow.
But the most interesting word is the word translated as "follow" at the end of this verse, the punchline. Jesus has a lot of fun delaying his key words to the end. This is the Greek word usually translated as "persecuted" in the NT. It means "to cause to run," to "chase after," and "to seek after." Since Jesus uses it to mean both to chase away and to follow, the translation of "hounded" seems to work best. Jesus has described both himself and the prophets with this word. Here, he is saying that others will be treated the same way, as celebrities, including Elvis, the Beatles, and Taylor Swift.
As hounds, we can easily bark up the wrong tree.
And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go(WM) not after(WW) them(IW), nor follow(CW) them.
- WM - Wrong Mood - The verb "go" is translated as a command, but the Greek word is not a command. It is either a subjunctive statement "you should go."
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "after" means "out of."
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "them" doesn't exist in the source and isn't otherwise justified.
- CW --Confusing Word -- This is not the common word usually translated as "follow."
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "and" at the beginning of the sentence is not shown in the English translation.
- IW - Inserted Word-- The "people" doesn't exist in the source.
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "he is" means "look."
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "he is" means "look."
- WM - Wrong Mood - The verb "go" is translated as a command, but the Greek word is not a command. It is either a subjunctive statement "you should go."
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "nor" after "go" is not shown in the English translation.
- WW --Wrong Word -- The word translated as "run" should be something more like "hound."
- WF -- Wrong Form - This is not a participle, a verbal adjective, but an active verb, "hound."
- IP - Inserted Phrase-- The "after them " doesn't exist in the source.
And -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and", but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). In a series, it is best translated as "not only...but also." After words implying sameness "as".
they -- This is from the third-person, plural form of the following verb.
shall -- This helping verb "shall" indicates that the following verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
say -- "They shall say" is from the Greek verb that means "to say" and "to speak" also. The form is the future tense. Luke 17:21 was also the future tense, but a negative. The quotes in Matthew are in the form of something that might happen
to -- This word "to" comes from the dative case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English, but the translator must decide which preposition to use: a "to" as an indirect object,
you, -- The Greek pronoun "you" here is plural and in the form of an indirect object, "to you", "for you", etc. ,
See -- "See" is a verb/adverb meaning "Lo! Behold!" and "See there!" "Look!" or "See!" comes closest in English. In the related verses it is translated as "lo" or "behold" not "see".
here; - The word translated as "here" means in manner, "in this way," referring to manner, or "here," referring to place. In this verse, it follows the "there".
or, -- "Or" is translated from a Greek word that means primarily "or" but serves as "than" in a comparison.
see -- "See" is a verb/adverb meaning "Lo! Behold!" and "See there!" "Look!" or "See!" comes closest in English. In the related verses it is translated as "lo" or "behold" not "see".
there: -- "There" is a word meaning "there", "in that place," and in philosophy means "the intelligible world." It comes before the "here" in this verse.
go -- (WM) The Greek verb translated as "go...after" means "to go away," "to depart from", "to spread abroad," and "to depart from life." This is a play on words because this form of "depart" is used to mean "depart from life". It is not a command, but a form of possibility, "you might depart".
not -- The negative used here is the Greek negative of a subjective opinion, commands, and requests. The sense is that "you don't want" to do something, not that it isn't done or don't think something that might be true. If it wasn't done or wasn't true, the objective negative of fact would be used. The sense here is "you might not want to depart."
after -- (WW) This prep/adverb is from the verb's prefix but the prefix means "from" not "after."
them, -- (IW) There are no Greek words that can be translated as "them" in the source we use today nor was there one in the source that the KJV translators used. If the previous word was correct, this word would be fine because pronouns are often assumed in Greek when required in English, but since the preposition was wrong, this word is wrong.
nor -- The word for "nor" is the Greek subjective negative plus the Greek word for "but."
follow -- (CW) The word translated as "follow" means both "chase away" and "seek after." This verb is almost always translated as "persecute" in the NT, most often in the context of persecuting prophets and followers. The English idea "hound" comes close. This is not the word usually translated as "follow."
them. -- There is no "them" here in the Greek, but it is implied by the previous verb. -- There is no Greek pronoun here, but Greek does not need pronouns when the object can be assumed from the context. In English, they are added for the subject-verb-object form of our sentences.
missing "And" -- (MW) The untranslated word "and" is used as the conjunction "and", but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). In a series, it is best translated as "not only...but also." After words implying sameness "as".
People (IW) This word is not in the Greek source.
will -- This helping verb "will" indicates that the following verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
tell -- "Tell" is from the Greek verb that means "to say" and "to speak" also. The form is the future tense. Luke 17:21 was also the future tense, but a negative. The quotes in Matthew are in the form of something that might happen
you, -- The Greek pronoun "you" here is plural and in the form of an indirect object, "to you", "for you", etc. ,
There -- "There" is a word meaning "there", "in that place," and in philosophy means "the intelligible world." It comes before the "here" in this verse.
he is!’ --(WW) "He is" is a verb/adverb meaning "Lo! Behold!" and "See there!" "Look!" or "See!" comes closest in English. In the related verses it is translated as "lo" or "behold" not "see".
or, -- "Or" is translated from a Greek word that means primarily "or" but serves as "than" in a comparison.
‘Here - The word translated as "here" means in manner, "in this way," referring to manner, or "here," referring to place. In this verse, it follows the "there".
he is!’ --(WW) "He is" is a verb/adverb meaning "Lo! Behold!" and "See there!" "Look!" or "See!" comes closest in English. In the related verses it is translated as "lo" or "behold" not "see".
Do -- This helping verb is used to create questions, commands, negative statements, and smooth word flow in English.
not -- The negative used here is the Greek negative of a subjective opinion, commands, and requests. The sense is that "you don't want" to do something, not that it isn't done or don't think something that might be true. If it wasn't done or wasn't true, the objective negative of fact would be used. The sense here is "you might not want to depart."
go -- (WM) The Greek verb translated as "go...after" means "to go away," "to depart from", "to spread abroad," and "to depart from life." This is a play on words because this form of "depart" is used to mean "depart from life". It is not a command, but a form of possibility, "you might depart".
missing "nor" -- (MW) The untranslated word "nor" is the Greek subjective negative plus the Greek word for "but."
running -- (WW, WF) The word translated as "running" means both "chase away" and "seek after." This verb is almost always translated as "persecute" in the NT, most often in the context of persecuting prophets and followers. The English idea "hound" comes close. This word doesn't mean "run." This is not a participle, a verbal adjective, but an active verb, "hound."
off -- - This completes the meaning of the verb.
after them -- (IP) There is nothing that can be translated as this phrase in the Greek source.
καὶ (conj/adv) "And" is kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and," or "but." After words implying sameness, "as" (the same opinion as you). Used in series, joins positive with negative "Not only...but also." Also used to give emphasis, "even", "also," and "just."
ἐροῦσιν ( verb 3rd pl fut ind act a ) "They shall say" is eipon, which means "to speak", "to say", "to recite", "to address", "to mention", "to name", "to proclaim", "to plead", "to promise," and "to offer."
ὑμῖν (pron 2nd pl dat) "To you" is humin the plural form of su the pronoun of the second person, "you."
Ἰδοὺ (verb 2nd sg aor imperat mid) "Look" is idou, which means "to behold", "to see," and "to perceive." It acts as an adverbial phrase in this form meaning "Lo! Behold!" and "See there!' It is a form of the verb eido, which means "to see."
ἐκεῖ (adv) "There" is ekei, which means "there", "in that place," and in philosophy means "the intelligible world."
ἤ (conj/adv) "Or" is e which is a particle meaning "either", "or," or "than."
Ἰδοὺ (verb 2nd sg aor imperat mid)"Look" is idou, which means "to behold", "to see," and "to perceive." It acts as an adverbial phrase in this form meaning "Lo! Behold!" and "See there!' It is a form of the verb eido, which means "to see."
ὧδε: (pron) "Here" is hode, the demonstrative pronoun which means "this" in the sense of "what is present" and "what can be seen." With verbs of action and with a person (its use here), it means "here" as in "here I am" in the sense of "I am present."
μὴ (partic) "Not" is me , which is the negative used in prohibitions and expressions of doubt meaning "not" and "no." As οὐ (ou) negates fact and statement; μή rejects, οὐ denies; μή is relative, οὐ absolute; μή subjective, οὐ objective. --
[ἀπέλθητε ( verb 2nd pl aor subj act ) "Go...after" is aperchomai, which means "to go away," "to depart from", "to spread abroad," and "to depart from life." -
μηδὲ] (partic) "Neither" is mede, which means "and not", "but not", "nor," and "not." --
διώξητε. ( verb 2nd pl aor subj act) "Follow" is dioko, which means "to cause to run", "to set into motion", "to pursue", "to chase [away]," to follow", "to seek after," "to be hurried (passive)," "to urge on", "to prosecute [legally]", " or "to drive."
This first part of this verse has a lot in common with Luke 17:21, Matthew 24:23, and Matthew 24:26 but most of the similarities and differences are hidden in translation.