Luke 18:6 ... Hear what the unjust judge saith.

Spoken to
Apostles

The parable of the unjust judge. 

KJV

Luke 18:6 Hear what the unjust judge saith.

NIV

Luke 18:6 Listen to what the unjust judge says.

LISTENERS HEARD

Hear what that judge of this injustice said. 

LOST IN TRANSLATION

 

Jesus is referring his listeners back to the previous verse here, not to the next verse. 

The word translated of "unjust" is not an adjective describing the judge but a noun describing what the judge judges. The Greek says "the judge of this injustice."  Remember this judge is a metaphor for the Father as a judge. The translators don't realize they are calling the Father an unjust judge here. Though it is mistranslated as "unjust" in one other place, this word is always better translated as a noun, "injustice," "lawlessness" or similar words. 

At this point, however, it isn't clear what "injustice" that Jesus is referring to here. That of the judge not giving a judgment without being nagged or the original crime against the widow. By the way, "injustice" is a singular, feminine noun and could refer to the widow in a way it could not refer to the male judge. 

MY TAKE

This is one translators unwilling to call the Father unjust, even in a metaphor. 

GREEK ORDER

 

Ἀκούσατε τί           κριτὴς      τῆς ἀδικίας  λέγει:
Hear          what that judge  of this injustice said. 

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
2

Hear what the (MW) unjust(WP) judge saith.

  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "unjust" is not shown in the English translation. 
  • WP -- Wrongly Placed --  The "unjust" is not an adjective describing the judge but a noun describing what the judge judges.  doesn't belong here but before the verb.
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
2

Listen to what the (MW) unjust(WP) judge says.

  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "unjust" is not shown in the English translation. 
  • WP -- Wrongly Placed --  The "unjust" is not an adjective describing the judge but a noun describing what the judge judges.  doesn't belong here but before the verb.
EACH WORD of KJV

Hear -- "Hear" is from a Greek verb that means "to hear," "to hear of," and "to listen." It has the same sense as the English not only of listening but of understanding.   It also means "to listen" and "to understand," but amusingly, it also means "to be silent."

what -- The Greek word translated as "any" in the singular means "anyone," "someone,"  "something," and "anything." The same forms are used both for the masculine and feminine, so "anyone" works best for a person. In the plural, it means "everyone," "some," "they," and "those." Jesus often uses it to start a question so it means "who," "what," "which," or even "why."

the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, "the," which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more. 

missing "the/this"  -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article," the," which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," and "those"). See this article for more. 

unjust  -- (WP) The Greek noun translated as "unjust" means "wrongdoing", "injustice", "a wrongful act," and "offense." It is also an uncommon verb for Jesus to use.  

judge - - The word "judge" means "judge" or "interpreter" and it is the noun form of the word meaning "to decide" or "to separate."

saith.  -- The word translated as "says" is the most common word that means "to say," "to tell," and "to speak,"  but when used with an objective noun or pronoun, the sense is "say of" or "speak of."    It also has many ancillary meanings such as "to count" ("to number" or like we might say, "to recount" a story) or "to choose for yourself."

EACH WORD of NIV

Listen to what the unjust judge says.

Listen -- "Listen " is from a Greek verb that means "to hear," "to hear of," and "to listen." It has the same sense as the English not only of listening but of understanding.   It also means "to listen" and "to understand," but amusingly, it also means "to be silent."

to  -- This is required to translated the Greek "hear" into "listen." In English, "hear" takes a direct object. "Listen" an indirect one. 

what -- The Greek word translated as "any" in the singular means "anyone," "someone,"  "something," and "anything." The same forms are used both for the masculine and feminine, so "anyone" works best for a person. In the plural, it means "everyone," "some," "they," and "those." Jesus often uses it to start a question so it means "who," "what," "which," or even "why."

the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, "the," which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more. 

missing "the/this"  -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article," the," which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," and "those"). See this article for more. 

unjust  -- (WP) The Greek noun translated as "unjust" means "wrongdoing", "injustice", "a wrongful act," and "offense." It is also an uncommon verb for Jesus to use.  

judge - - The word "judge" means "judge" or "interpreter" and it is the noun form of the word meaning "to decide" or "to separate."

says.  -- The word translated as "says" is the most common word that means "to say," "to tell," and "to speak,"  but when used with an objective noun or pronoun, the sense is "say of" or "speak of."    It also has many ancillary meanings such as "to count" ("to number" or like we might say, "to recount" a story) or "to choose for yourself."

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

Ἀκούσατε  [95 verses]( verb 2nd pl aor imperat act ) "Ye hear" is akouo,  which means "hear of," "hear tell of," "what one actually hears," "know by hearsay," "listen to," "give ear to," "hear and understand," and "understand." The accusative object is the person/thing heard about, while the genitive is the person/thing heard from.  However, two genitives can be used with the sense of "hear of a thing from a person." - 

τί  [252 verses]( pron sg neut acc ) "What" is tis, which can mean "someone," "something," "any one," "everyone," "they [indefinite]," "many a one," "whoever," "anyone," "anything," "some sort," "some sort of," "each," "any," "the individual," "such," and so on. In a question, it can mean "who," "why," or "what." Plural, "who are" is τίνες ἐόντες.  It has specific meanings with certain prepositions, διὰ τί; for what reason? ἐκ τίνος; from what cause? ἐς τί; "to what point?"  to "what end? τί ὅτι "why it is that,"

[821 verses](article sg masc nom)  "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").   It usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. When not preceding a a word that can become a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones."  

κριτὴς  [7 verses](noun sg masc nom) "Judge" is krites, which means "judge," "umpire," and "interpreter."  

τῆς [821 verses](article  sg fem gen)  Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). It usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. When not preceding a a word that can become a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones."  -- 

ἀδικίας  [5 verses](noun sg fem gen) "Unjust" is from adikia, which means "wrongdoing", "injustice", "a wrongful act," and "offense."

λέγει: [264 verses](verb 3rd sg pres ind act) "Saith"  is lego, which means "to recount," "to tell over," "to say," "to speak," "to teach," "to mean," "boast of," "tell of," "recite," nominate," and "command." When used with an object is has the sense of "call by name."  It has a secondary meaning "pick out," "choose for oneself," "pick up," "gather," "count," and "recount." A less common word that is spelled the same means "to lay," "to lay asleep" and "to lull asleep." This word is more about making a statement than participating in a discussion. Translating is as "stated" might distinguish it better. When two accusative objects are used, the sense is  "say of him this," or "call him this." The form Jesus uses to describe his own speaking can be either indicative, "I say/tell" or subjunctive, "I should/could say/tell."

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