Spoken to:
About his contentment, sharing
KJV:
Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
NIV :
Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
LISTENERS HEARD:
Here! To me! All those growing tired and those having burdened themselves! And I myself will rest you.
MY TAKE:
Jesus is the path to contentment with life.
GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page):
LOST IN TRANSLATION:
This verse does not use the common words usually translated as "come" or "give." Most of its key words are uncommon. This verse reads much more as a dramatic series of exclamations that a statement. Remember, the term that is translated as "evil" (see article here) most places in Christ's words actually means "burdened by toils." These are the people that he is describing in this verse, not condemning them, but calling those who are burdened/
# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES:
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "come" is not the common word usually translated as "come."
- WF - Wrong Form - The "labour" is not an active verb but a participle, "growing weary."
- WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "are" indicates the present tense, but the tense is the past perfect.
- WF - Wrong Form - The "heave laden" is not an active verb but a participle, "have been burdened."
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "myself" should be added because of the conjunction.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "give" is not associated with the common word usually translated as "give."
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES:
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "come" is not the common word usually translated as "come."
- WF - Wrong Form - The "labour" is not an active verb but a participle, "growing weary."
- WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "are" indicates the present tense, but the tense is the past perfect.
- WF - Wrong Form - The "heave laden" is not an active verb but a participle, "have been burdened."
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "myself" should be added because of the conjunction.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "give" is not associated with the common word usually translated as "give."
EACH WORD of KJV :
Come - (CW) "Come" is not from a verb but from an adverb used like saying "over here!" in English to call someone to where you are.
unto - The word translated as "unto" means "towards," "by reason of (for)," and "against." The sense is "to me!" So the first words spoken are "Here! To me!"
me, -- "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek as the object ofthe verb or preposition.
all - The word translated as "all" means "all," "the whole," "every," and similar ideas.
ye that - The word translated as "ye that" is the Greek definite article, which when not preceding a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.
labour - (WF) "Labour" is from a Greek verb acting as a noun, the subject of the sentence. It is not in the second person. The verb means "to be tired," "to grow weary," "to work hard," and "to toil." It is a negative form of a verb that means "to rest from toil." The sense is "the ones growing weary"
and - The Greek word translated as "and" is the word most commonly as the conjunction "and."
are -- (WT) This helping verb "are" indicates that the verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English. However, the tense should not be the present, but the past perfect, "have been."
heavy laden, - (WF) "Heavily laden" is another verb acting as a noun. The verb means "to load," or, in the passive used here, "to be laden." The tense is, however, not the present, like the previous verb used as a noun, but as an action completed in the past. It is also in the form indicating people do this to or for themselves so the sense is " those having burdened themselves."
and I - (MW) The "and I" is a Greek contraction of the conjunction, usually translated as "and" and the pronoun meaning "I." However, as a subject of the sentence, the pronoun is only used for emphasis because the subject information is part of the verb so the sense is "I myself."
will -- This helping verb "will" indicates that the verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
give - (CW) Nothing in this verse suggests the verb "give."
you - -- The "you" here is the second-person, plural pronoun in the form of an object.
rest. - "Rest" is a Greek verb, which means "to make to cease," "to relieve from," "to put and end to," "to rest," and "to take rest." This is in the future tense.
EACH WORD of NIV :
Come - (CW) "Come" is not from a verb but from an adverb used like saying "over here!" in English to call someone to where you are.
to - The word translated as "to" means "towards," "by reason of (for)," and "against." The sense is "to me!" So the first words spoken are "Here! To me!"
me, -- "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek as the object ofthe verb or preposition.
all - The word translated as "all" means "all," "the whole," "every," and similar ideas.
you who- The word translated as "you that" is the Greek definite article, which when not preceding a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.
are -- This helping verb indicates the present tense of the verb..
weary - (WF) "Weary " is from a Greek verb acting as a noun, the subject of the sentence. It is not in the second person. The verb means "to be tired," "to grow weary," "to work hard," and "to toil." It is a negative form of a verb that means "to rest from toil." The sense is "the ones growing weary"
and - The Greek word translated as "and" is the word most commonly as the conjunction "and."
burdened, - (WT, WF) "Burdened" is another verb acting as a noun. The verb means "to load," or, in the passive used here, "to be laden." The tense is, however, not the present, like the previous verb used as a noun, but as an action completed in the past. It is also in the form indicating people do this to or for themselves so the sense is " those having burdened themselves."
and I - (MW) The "and I" is a Greek contraction of the conjunction, usually translated as "and" and the pronoun meaning "I." However, as a subject of the sentence, the pronoun is only used for emphasis because the subject information is part of the verb so the sense is "I myself."
will -- This helping verb "will" indicates that the verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
give - (CW) Nothing in this verse suggests the verb "give."
you - -- The "you" here is the second-person, plural pronoun in the form of an object.
rest. - "Rest" is a Greek verb, which means "to make to cease," "to relieve from," "to put and end to," "to rest," and "to take rest." This is in the future tense.
COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV :
Δεῦτε [8 verses](adv) "Come" is from deute, which is an adverb that means "come here" and "come hither," like we might shout "Here!" in English. It is not a verb so it doesn't contain the regular information about the subject found in a Greek verb.
πρός (prep) "Unto" is from pros, which means "on the side of," "in the direction of," "from (place)," "towards" "before," "in the presence of," "in the eyes of," "in the name of," "by reason of," "before (supplication)," "proceeding from (for effects)," "dependent on," "derivable from," "agreeable,""becoming," "like," "at the point of," "in addition to," "against," and "before." --
με (pron 1st sg masc acc) Me" is from eme, which means "I," "me," and "my." -- "Me" is from the regular first-person pronoun in Greek.
πάντες (adj pl masc nom) "All" is from 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."
οἱ (article pl masc nom) "Ye that" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"), which, when not preceding a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones."
κοπιῶντες [3 verses' (part pl pres act masc nom) "Ye that labour" is from kopiao, which means "to be tired," "grow weary," "to be tired," "grow weary," "work hard," "toil," "strive," "struggle," "come to rest," and "arrive at a state of saturation." Its opposite, kopia, means "to rest from toil."
καὶ (conj) "And" is from kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and," or "also." 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."
πεφορτισμένοι, [2 verses](part pl perf mp masc nom) "Are heavy laden" is from phortizô, which means "to load," "to encumber," and, in the passive, "to be laden."
κἀγὼ (conj/pron 1st sg nom) "And...I" is from kago, a contraction of kai ego. "And" is from kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and," or "also."Also used to give emphasis, "even," "also," and "just." "I" is from ego, which is the first person singular pronoun meaning "I." It also means "I at least," "for my part," "indeed," and "for myself."
ἀναπαύσω [5 verses](1st sg fut ind act) "Will give...rest" is from anapauo, which means "to make to cease," "stop or hinder," "put an end to," "to relieve from,""bring to a close," "take rest," "sleep," "lie fallow," "regain strength," and "rest or settle [on an object]."
ὑμᾶς. (pron 2nd pl acc) "You" is from humas which is the plural form of su the pronoun of the second person, "you." The form is accusative, the object of the verb.
Wordplay:
The word translated as "give rest" primarily means "make something stop" and in that way allows for rest. There is a hidden connection to the word usually translated as "sin" but which means "burdened by toil." The word transated as "heavily ladened" means "burdened."
Related Verses:
Unimportant Opinions and Imaginings:
“We are lost. Being pulled in so many directions,” someone complained. “Who should we follow?”.
“Here! To me!” responded the Master cheerfully.
“Who should follow you?” called another voice.
“All those growing tired and those having burdened themselves,” responded the Master.
“You make us happy for an afternoon,” called another. “But what else can you do for us?”
“And I myself will rest you,” he responded.