Luke 21:3 Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast

Spoken to
audience

Jesus watching people put money into the collection at the temple. 

KJV

Luke 21:3 Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all:

NIV

Luke 21:3  “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others.

LISTENERS HEARD

Truly, I tell you that this widow here, this poor one, tossed more than all. 

LOST IN TRANSLATION

This is a good example of how something that it essentially humorous teaches and important lesson. 

The  first part of the setup is "truly, I tell you", which is a catchphrase that tells us a joke is coming. Then comes the specific part about the widow, which is drawn out, identifying her as a widow and poor in separate phrases. The "more than all" follows these descriptions of her, but they are objects of the final verb, "tossed", a word Jesus often uses comically. In the Greek, this lighthearted word comes last.  

MY TAKE

The poor have the most of all. 

GREEK ORDER

 

Ἀληθῶς λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι    χήρα      αὕτη πτωχὴ          πλεῖον πάντων ἔβαλεν:
Truly,      I tell  you  that this widow here, this poor one,  more   all           she tossed.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
6

 Of a truth I say unto you, that this(CW) (MW) poor (MW) widow hath(WT) cast in(IW) more than they(IW) all:

  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "this" works better in this situation as "here.".
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "poor" is not shown in the English translation. 
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "widow" is not shown in the English translation. 
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "has" indicates the past perfect tense, but the tense is something that happens at a specific point in time (past, present, or future).
  • IW - Inserted Word-- The "in" doesn't exist in the source.
  • IW - Inserted Word-- The "they" doesn't exist in the source.
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
6
“Truly I tell you,” he said, “this(CW) (MW) poor (MW) widow has(WT) put in(IW) more than all [the others(IP)].
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "this" works better in this situation as "here.".
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "poor" is not shown in the English translation. 
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "widow" is not shown in the English translation. 
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "has" indicates the past perfect tense, but the tense is something that happens at a specific point in time (past, present, or future).
  • IW - Inserted Word-- The "in" doesn't exist in the source.
  • IP - Inserted Phrase-- The " the others" doesn't exist in the source. 
EACH WORD of KJV

 Of a truth--  "Of a truth" is a Greek adverb no commonly used by Jesus in the other Synoptic Gospels. It is used frequently by all the Gospel writers, but it only appears in Luke three times to replace the Aramaic word ("amen") that Jesus uses in the other versions of these verses. John does have Jesus using it, but only in the sense of "indeed". 

I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.

say -- The word translated as "I say" is the most common word that means "to say," and "to speak," but it also means "to teach," which seems to be the way Christ uses it more frequently. 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." Christ usually uses this word to refer to his own speaking or teaching.

unto -- This word "to" comes from the indirect object form of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is a "to" for the English indirect object.

you -- The Greek pronoun "you" here is plural and in the form of an indirect object, "to you", "for you", etc. 

that -- The word translated as "that" introduces a statement of fact or cause.

this-- (CW) The "this" is a pronoun that can mean "this" or "that," the nearer,  "here," or "there."  It often  follows the noun to further identify it as the one "here" or there."  When preceded by a definite article that also functions as a "this," this word more clearly means "here." 

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. 

poor -- "Poor" is an adjective that means "a beggar" and "beggarly" and it a metaphor for being lacking in something. It have an article "the" before it, making it a noun, "the beggar" or "this beggar" because the "this" is before it. The purpose here is to focus on the woman's poverty, making it seem as though that is what the comparison is about.

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. 

widow -- "Widow" is an adjective that means "widowed" or more generally, "bereaved".  Christ uses it as a noun because it has an article before it. 

hath -- (WT) This helping verb "has" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past. This is not the tense of the verb here. 

cast The word translated as "cast" has a number of meanings revolving around "throw" as we do in English with both "throw" and "toss." Jesus often uses this word humorously in the same way we use "dump" in English. This word comes at the end. It is the punchline because the rest of the verse makes it unexpected. The sense is more "tossed away" the "cast in".

in -- -- (IW) This word is not in the Greek source

more -- The Greek word translated as "more" is an adjective that means "more" in many different senses of the word. However, its form doesn't seem to match any of the nouns in this part of the verse. The word follows the word for "beggarly" making it look like that is what is being compared.

 than -- There is no "than" here in the Greek source but it is implied by the "more" suggesting a comparison. 

they -- (IW) This word is not in the Greek source

all --- The word translated as "than they all" is the Greek adjective meaning "all", "the whole", "every," and similar ideas. When it is used as a noun, we would say "everything" or "everyone".  It is in a form that makes it what is being compared so the "than" comes from it form, the the "more" before.

EACH WORD of NIV

Truly --  "Truly" is a Greek adverb no commonly used by Jesus in the other Synoptic Gospels. It is used frequently by all the Gospel writers, but it only appears in Luke three times to replace the Aramaic word ("amen") that Jesus uses in the other versions of these verses. John does have Jesus using it, but only in the sense of "indeed". 

I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.

tell -- The word translated as "I say" is the most common word that means "to say," and "to speak," but it also means "to teach," which seems to be the way Christ uses it more frequently. 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." Christ usually uses this word to refer to his own speaking or teaching.

you -- The Greek pronoun "you" here is plural and in the form of an indirect object, "to you", "for you", etc. 

missing "that "  -- (MW) The untranslated word  MW - Missing Word -- The word "that"  after "you" is not shown in the English translation. -- The word translated as "that" introduces a statement of fact or cause.

this-- (CW) The "this" is a pronoun that can mean "this" or "that," the nearer,  "here," or "there."  It often  follows the noun to further identify it as the one "here" or there."  When preceded by a definite article that also functions as a "this," this word more clearly means "here." 

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. 

poor -- "Poor" is an adjective that means "a beggar" and "beggarly" and it a metaphor for being lacking in something. It have an article "the" before it, making it a noun, "the beggar" or "this beggar" because the "this" is before it. The purpose here is to focus on the woman's poverty, making it seem as though that is what the comparison is about.

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. 

widow -- "Widow" is an adjective that means "widowed" or more generally, "bereaved".  Christ uses it as a noun because it has an article before it. 

has -- (WT) This helping verb "has" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past. This is not the tense of the verb here. 

put -- (WW) The word translated as "put" has a number of meanings revolving around "throw" as we do in English with both "throw" and "toss." Jesus often uses this word humorously in the same way we use "dump" in English. This word comes at the end. It is the punchline because the rest of the verse makes it unexpected. The sense is more "tossed away" the "cast in". This word doesn't mean "put."  WW --Wrong Word -- The word translated as "put" should be something more like "tossed."

in -- -- (IW) This word is not in the Greek source

more -- The Greek word translated as "more" is an adjective that means "more" in many different senses of the word. However, its form doesn't seem to match any of the nouns in this part of the verse. The word follows the word for "beggarly" making it look like that is what is being compared.

 than -- There is no "than" here in the Greek source but it is implied by the "more" suggesting a comparison. 

all --- The word translated as "than they all" is the Greek adjective meaning "all", "the whole", "every," and similar ideas. When it is used as a noun, we would say "everything" or "everyone".  It is in a form that makes it what is being compared so the "than" comes from it form, the the "more" before.

 the others.-- (IP) There is nothing that can be translated as this phrase in the Greek source

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

Ἀληθῶς  (adv) "Of a truth" is from alethos, which means "unconcealed", "so true", "real", "true," [as an adverb] "actually", "really", "realizing itself", "coming to fulfillment", "not forgetting," and "careful."

λέγω ( verb 1st sg pres ind act ) "I say" 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." 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." --

ὑμῖν (pron 2nd pl dat) "Unto you" is humin the plural form of su the pronoun of the second person, "you."

ὅτι (adv/conj) "That" is hoti, which introduces a statement of fact "with regard to the fact that", "seeing that," and acts as a causal adverb meaning "for what", "because", "since," and "wherefore."

[821 verses](article sg fem nom)  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."  -- 

χήρα ( noun sg fem nom ) "Widow" is from chera, which means "widow" and "bereaved."

αὕτη ( adj sg fem nom ) "This" is houtos, which as an adjective means "this", "that", "the nearer." As an adverb, it means "in this way", "therefore", "so much", "to such an extent," and "that is why." --

[821 verses](article sg fem nom)  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."  -- 

πτωχὴ ( adj sg fem nom ) "Poor" is ptochos, which means "beggar", "beggar-woman," and "beggarly." 

πλεῖον ( adj sg neut acc ) "More" is pleiôn, which means "more [of number, size, extent]", "longer [of time]," "greater than," "further than," (with an article) "the greater number", "the mass or crowd", "the greater part", "the advantage. As an adverb, "more," or "rather."

πάντων ( adj pl masc gen ) "All" is pas, which means "all", "the whole", "every", "anyone", "all kinds," and "anything." In the adverbial form, it means "every way", "on every side", "in every way," and "altogether."

ἔβαλεν: ( verb 3rd sg aor ind act ) "Hath cast in" is ballo, which means "to throw", "to let fall," "to cast," "to put", "to pour", "to place money on deposit", "push forward or in front [of animals]", "to shed", "to place", "to pay,"to throw [of dice,]" "to be lucky", "to fall", "to lay as foundation", "to begin to form", "to dash oneself with water," and "to bathe."

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