Matthew 13:24 The kingdom of heaven is likened...

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Parables, Parables of the Weeds,

KJV

Matthew 13:24 The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:

NIV

Matthew 13:24  The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

LISTENERS HEARD

The realm of the skies is like a person seeding beautiful seed in that field of his.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

Notice that the previous analogy and this one compared the kingdom of heaven to sowing seeds. In Christ's use of symbols, seeds (symbols for the spirit, divine inspiration, and "the word") are the physical start for wheat, grapes (for wine) and trees, the basis for bread, wine, and fruit. For Christ, explaining how the world works is a matter of explaining its connections, that is, how one thing leads to another.

MY TAKE

We all try to use good ideas and information to do our work.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
5
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "heaven" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WN  - Wrong Number- The word "heaven" is translated as singular but he Greek word is plural, "skies."
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "which" doesn't exist in the source.
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "sowed" is not an active verb but a participle, "sowing."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "field" is not shown in the English translation.
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
5
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "heaven" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WN  - Wrong Number- The word "heaven" is translated as singular but he Greek word is plural, "skies."
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "which" doesn't exist in the source.
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "sowed" is not an active verb but a participle, "sowing."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "field" is not shown in the English translation.
EACH WORD of KJV

The  - The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more. 

kingdom  -  The word translated as "kingdom" can be the region, the reign, the castle or the authority of a ruler. Here, it is plural and in a form that could be either the object or subject of the verb. Christ does not seem to use it to mean a physical region, so its translation as "reign" or "rule" seems more appropriate.

of -- This word "of"  comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English.  The most common is the "of" of possession. However, it can also mean "belonging to," "part of," "which is," "than" (in comparisons), or  "for," "concerning" or "about" with transitive verbs. 

missing "the"  -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, "the." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more. 

heaven  -  (WN) The word translated as "heaven" means "sky," the "climate," and the "universe." It also is plural. It also meant the home of the gods in a physical sense: the sun, moon, and planets were named for the gods

is -- This helping verb "is" indicates that the verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

likened  - "Likened" is from a Greek verb that means "to make like" but in the passive, as it is used here, means "to become like" or "to be made like."

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

a -- There is no indefinite article in Greek, but when a word doesn't have a definite article, the indefinite article can be added in English translation.

man  - The Greek word for "man" in the singular means "man," "person," and "humanity" and "people" and "peoples" in plural. It is in the form of an indirect object, which in Greek can also indicate what is being compared.

which -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "which" in the Greek source. It is added because the form of the following verb is made active,

good   - The word translated as "good" referring to the "fruit" means "beautiful," "noble," or "of good quality." It is different than the verb above. See this article on "good" and this one on "evil."

sowed  - (WF) "Sowed" is from a verb that means "to sow seed," "to scatter like seed," and "to beget offspring. It is from the same root as the noun "seed." It is in the form of an adjective, "sowing" or "seeding," that modifies the noun, "man."

seed  - “Seed” is from a Greek noun for plant “seed,” animal “sperm,” and “origin,” “offspring," and “descent.” Jesus only uses this noun seven times, and surprisingly, it isn't used in the Parable of the Sower, which always uses the verb.

in  - The word translated as "in" also means "within," "with," or "among."

his -- The word translated as "his" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.  This pronoun follows the noun so "of his."

missing "the"  -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, "the." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more. 

field:  - "Field" is from the Greek word that means "field," "lands," or "country."

EACH WORD of NIV

The  - The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more. 

kingdom  -  The word translated as "kingdom" can be the region, the reign, the castle or the authority of a ruler. Here, it is plural and in a form that could be either the object or subject of the verb. Christ does not seem to use it to mean a physical region, so its translation as "reign" or "rule" seems more appropriate.

of -- This word "of"  comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English.  The most common is the "of" of possession. However, it can also mean "belonging to," "part of," "which is," "than" (in comparisons), or  "for," "concerning" or "about" with transitive verbs. 

missing "the"  -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, "the." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more. 

heaven  -  (WN) The word translated as "heaven" means "sky," the "climate," and the "universe." It also is plural. It also meant the home of the gods in a physical sense: the sun, moon, and planets were named for the gods

is -- This helping verb "is" indicates that the verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

like  - "Like" is from a Greek verb that means "to make like" but in the passive, as it is used here, means "to become like" or "to be made like."

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

a -- There is no indefinite article in Greek, but when a word doesn't have a definite article, the indefinite article can be added in English translation.

man  - The Greek word for "man" in the singular means "man," "person," and "humanity" and "people" and "peoples" in plural. It is in the form of an indirect object, which in Greek can also indicate what is being compared.

who -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "which" in the Greek source. It is added because the form of the following verb is made active,

good   - The word translated as "good" referring to the "fruit" means "beautiful," "noble," or "of good quality." It is different than the verb above. See this article on "good" and this one on "evil."

sowed  - (WF) "Sowed" is from a verb that means "to sow seed," "to scatter like seed," and "to beget offspring. It is from the same root as the noun "seed." It is in the form of an adjective, "sowing" or "seeding," that modifies the noun, "man."

 

seed  - “Seed” is from a Greek noun for plant “seed,” animal “sperm,” and “origin,” “offspring," and “descent.” Jesus only uses this noun seven times, and surprisingly, it isn't used in the Parable of the Sower, which always uses the verb.

in  - The word translated as "in" also means "within," "with," or "among."

his -- The word translated as "his" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.  This pronoun follows the noun so "of his."

field:  - "Field" is from the Greek word that means "field," "lands," or "country."

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

Ὡμοιώθη (verb 3rd sg aor ind pass) "Is likened" is from homoioo, which means "to make like," "to liken," "to compare," and, in the passive, "to be made like," and "to become like."

(article sg fem nom)  "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). 

βασιλεία (noun sg fem nom) "The kingdom" is from basileia, which means "kingdom," "dominion," "hereditary monarchy," "kingly office," (passive) "being ruled by a king," and "reign."

τῶν (article pl masc gen)  Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").

οὐρανῶν (noun pl masc gen) "Of Heaven" is from the Greek ouranos, which means "heaven as in the vault of the sky," "heaven as the seat of the gods," "the sky," "the universe," and "the climate."

ἀνθρώπῳ (noun sg masc dat) "Unto a man" is from anthropos, which is "man," and, in plural, "mankind." It also means "humanity" and that which is human and opposed to that which is animal or inanimate.

σπείραντι (part sg pres act masc dat) "Which sowed" is from speirô, which is a verb, that means "to sow seed," "to scatter like seed," and "to beget offspring.

καλὸν (adj sg neut acc) "Good" is from kalos, which means "beautiful," "good," "of fine quality," "noble," and "honorable." It is most often translated as "good" juxtaposed with "evil" in the New Testament, but the two ideas are closer to "wonderful" and "worthless," "noble" and "base."

σπέρμα [7 verses](noun sg neut acc) “Seed” is from sperma, which means both “seed” of plants and the “sperm” of animals. It also means “origin,” “offspring,” and “descent.” Children are the offspring of seed.

ἐν (prep) "In" is from en, which means "in," "on," "at," "by," "among," "within," "surrounded by," "in one's hands," "in one's power," and "with."

τῷ (article sg masc dat)  Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").

ἀγρῷ (noun sg masc dat) "Field" is from ἀγρὸν agros (agros), which means "field," "lands," or "country.""Field" is from ἀγρὸν agros (agros), which means "field," "lands," or "country."

αὐτοῦ. "His" is from 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."

Wordplay

The word for "seed" is also translated as "offspring" in the NT and also means "source." 

Unimportant Opinions and Imaginings

At this point, Jesus invited questions from the crowd. Because of what he said, almost all of the questions were about the nature of the “realm of the skies.
“If the realm of the skies is not easily described in earthly terms,” someone said., asking, “Can you tell us what it is like?”
“If your message is so useful and from the Divine,” another one shouted, “why does the Divine allow others to speak against you?”
The Master nodded to each man, indicating that he would answer both questions.
“It is like,” the Master began happily, pausing to think for a moment. else, “a person seeding beautiful seed in that field of his.”
He again pretended to scatter seeds over the crowd from his high perch in the boat.

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