Luke 23:34 Father, forgive them;

Spoken to
Father

Jesus dying on cross.

KJV

Luke 23:34 Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

NIV

Luke 23:34 Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

LISTENERS HEARD

Father, let them go because they don't know anything they do. 

LOST IN TRANSLATION

"Forgive" means "let go." 

"What" is from a word that means "anything." This makes the statement humorous: they don't know anything they do." 

MY TAKE

None of us knows what we are doing. 

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page)
GREEK ORDER

 

Πάτερ, ἄφες   αὐτοῖς, οὐ  γὰρ       οἴδασιν              τί            ποιοῦσιν.
Father, let go  them    n't because they don't know anything they do. 

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
2

Father, forgive(CW) them; for they know not what(CW) they do.

  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "forgive" does not capture the word's specific meaning.Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.
  • CW --Confusing Word -- This is not the common word usually translated as "what."

 

# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
3

Father, forgive(CW) them, for they do not know what(CW)(WF) they are doing.

  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "forgive" does not capture the word's specific meaning.Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.
  • CW --Confusing Word -- This is not the common word usually translated as "what."
  • WF --  This is not  a verbal adjective  but an active verb "do." 
EACH WORD of KJV

Father, -- "Father" is the common word that Christ uses to address his own Father, though it can mean any male ancestor. When referring to others, Christ uses it to refer to their ancestors, that is, "forefathers."

forgive -- (CW) The word translated as "forgive" primarily means "to let go," "to leave," "let loose," or "to send away."  It can also mean "remit" a debt or "excuse" a fault. It has the sense of leaving something alone and letting it drop. See this article for more. -

them-- The word translated as "them" is the Greek word commonly translated as pronouns in English, but it has a few shades of meaning our pronouns do not have. When used as a pronoun can mean "the true self" as opposed to appearances. It is not the object here, so this is not what is "forgiven" or, more actually, "let go" or "dropped".  Its form indicates that the letting go is for their benefit. 

for --The word translated as "for" introduces a reason or explanation so "because" and, in questions, "why."

they -- This is from the third-person, plural form of the verb.

know -- The word translated as "know" means primarily "to see" and is used to mean "know' as we use the word "see" to mean "know" in English. It is in the tense that indicates something finished in the past, "have not seen". 

not -- The Greek word translated as "not" is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It makes a negative statement of fact. Adding "really" to the sentence captures the same idea.

what -- (CW) The word translated as "what" means primarily "anything" or "anyone." This is not the word usually translated as "what."  It can be translated as "what" in questions.

they -- This is from the third-person, plural form of the verb.

do -- The Greek word translated as "to do" has the primary meaning of "making" or producing" something or "causing" or "rendering" as service.

EACH WORD of NIV

Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.

Father, -- "Father" is the common word that Christ uses to address his own Father, though it can mean any male ancestor. When referring to others, Christ uses it to refer to their ancestors, that is, "forefathers."

forgive -- (CW) The word translated as "forgive" primarily means "to let go," "to leave," "let loose," or "to send away."  It can also mean "remit" a debt or "excuse" a fault. It has the sense of leaving something alone and letting it drop. See this article for more. -

them-- The word translated as "them" is the Greek word commonly translated as pronouns in English, but it has a few shades of meaning our pronouns do not have. When used as a pronoun can mean "the true self" as opposed to appearances. It is not the object here, so this is not what is "forgiven" or, more actually, "let go" or "dropped".  Its form indicates that the letting go is for their benefit. 

for --The word translated as "for" introduces a reason or explanation so "because" and, in questions, "why."

they -- This is from the third-person, plural form of the verb.

know -- The word translated as "know" means primarily "to see" and is used to mean "know' as we use the word "see" to mean "know" in English. It is in the tense that indicates something finished in the past, "have not seen". 

not -- The Greek word translated as "not" is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It makes a negative statement of fact. Adding "really" to the sentence captures the same idea.

what -- (CW) The word translated as "what" means primarily "anything" or "anyone." This is not the word usually translated as "what."  It can be translated as "what" in questions.

they -- This is from the third-person, plural form of the verb.

are -- This helping verb indicates the present tense of the verb. It is used here to form the present, progressive tense, which doesn't exist in Greek but which can smooth the flow of English sentences.

doing -- -- (WF) The Greek word translated as "to do" has the primary meaning of "making" or producing" something or "causing" or "rendering" as service. This is not  a verbal adjective  but an active verb "do." 

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

Πάτερ, (noun sg masc voc ) "The Father" is pater, which means "father", "grandfather", "author", "parent," and "forefathers."

 ἄφες (verb 2nd sg aor imperat act ) "Forgive" is aphiemi, which means "to let fall", "to send away", "give up", "hand over", "to let loose", "to get rid of", "to leave alone", "to pass by", "to permit," and "to send forth from oneself." 

αὐτοῖς, (adj pl masc dat) "Them" is autos, which means "the same," and the reflexive pronouns, "myself", "yourself", "himself", "herself", "itself," or the oblique case of the pronouns, "him", "her," and "it." It also means "one's true self," that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of one's own accord." 

οὐ "Not" is ou which is the negative adverb for facts and statements, negating both single words and sentences. The other negative adverb, μή applies to will and thought; οὐ denies, μή rejects; οὐ is absolute, μή relative; οὐ objective, μή subjective. 

γὰρ (partic) "For" comes from gar which is the introduction of a clause explaining a reason or explanation: "for", "since," and "as." In an abrupt question, it means "why" and "what." 

οἴδασιν (verb 3rd pl perf ind act) "Know" is oida which is a form of eido which means "to see", "to examine", "to perceive", "to behold", "to know how to do", "to see with the mind's eye," and "to know." 

τί "What" is tis which can mean "someone", "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."

ποιοῦσιν. (verb 3rd pl pres ind act) "Do" is poieo, which means "to make", "to produce", "to create", "to bring into existence", "to bring about", "to cause", "to render", "to consider", "to prepare", "to make ready," and "to do." 

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