Matthew 18:22 I say not to you, Until seven times

Spoken to: 

Peter

Discussion about coming to an agreement with others

KJV: 

Matthew 18:22 I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

NIV : 

Matthew 18:22 I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

LISTENERS HEARD: 

No, I didn't say to you until seven times but until a seventieth time seven.

MY TAKE: 

It is lucky to let the mistakes of other go.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page): 

LOST IN TRANSLATION: 

This is Jesus's response when Peter asks him if we are supposed to forgive someone who errs against us. More about the terms used in the previous verse as "forgive" and "sin" in this article. So the question to Jesus was. how often do we let the mistakes of others go?

The hidden significance of this verse is that our idea of the number seven being lucky comes from Jewish tradition. Using the Jewish method of converting words to numbers, (gematria), the most common word for luck converts to seven and another word for luck converts to seventy-seven.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

0

# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

2
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "until" is not shown in the English translation.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "until" is not shown in the English translation.

EACH WORD of KJV : 

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

say -- The word translated as "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.

not  - The Greek word translated as "not" is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It makes really a negative statement of fact, in fact something like we use the terms "really" and "in fact."

unto -- This word "unto" comes from the dative case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English, but the translator must decide which preposition to use: a "to" as an indirect object.

you,  -- The word for "you" is the indirect object form of the singular, second-person pronoun. 

Until  - The word translated as "until" means "until" but it also means "up to the point that" when it doesn't refer to time.

seven  times: - The "seven times" is a single word that means "seven times" in Greek.

but,  - The Greek word translated as "but" denotes an exception or simple opposition, but with numbers is better translated as "yet," "still," or "at least."

Until - The word translated as "until" means "until" but it also means "up to the point that" when it doesn't refer to time.

seventy times  - The word "seventy-times" is a Greek word coined by Jesus that follows the form of the Greek word for "seven times" and the Greek ordinal number "seventieth."

seven.  - - "Seven" is from number seven. 

EACH WORD of NIV : 

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

tell -- The word translated as "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 word for "you" is the indirect object form of the singular, second-person pronoun. 

not  - The Greek word translated as "not" is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It makes really a negative statement of fact, in fact something like we use the terms "really" and "in fact."

missing "until"  -- (MW) The untranslated word "until" means "until" but it also means "up to the point that" when it doesn't refer to time.

seven  times: - The "seven times" is a single word that means "seven times" in Greek.

but,  - The Greek word translated as "but" denotes an exception or simple opposition, but with numbers is better translated as "yet," "still," or "at least."

missing "until"  -- (MW) The untranslated word "until" means "until" but it also means "up to the point that" when it doesn't refer to time.

seventy times  - The word "seventy-times" is a Greek word coined by Jesus that follows the form of the Greek word for "seven times" and the Greek ordinal number "seventieth."

seven.  - - "Seven" is from number seven. 

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV : 

Οὐ (partic) "Not" is from 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.

λέγω [264 verses](verb 1st sg pres ind act) "I say" is from 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 spelt the same means "to lay," "to lay asleep" and "to lull asleep."

σοι (pron 2nd sg dat) "You" is from soi which is the singular, second person pronoun, "you."

ἕως [63 verses](conj) "Until" is heos which means "until," "till," and "in order that" and "up to the point that."

ἑπτάκις [2 verses](adv) "Seven times" is heptakis, which means "seven times."

ἀλλὰ (conj) "But" is from alla, which means "other," "another," "otherwise," "but,""except," (with Numerals) "at least," "yet," "still," "further," "nevertheless," "rather," "moreover," and "nay."

ἕως [63 verses](conj) "Until" is from heos which means "until," "till," and "in order that" and "up to the point that."

ἑβδομηκοντάκις [1 verse](adv) "Seventy times" is hebdomekontakis, which means "seventy times." This Greek word appears only in Matthew and was not used previously in Greek.

ἑπτά. [5 verses](numeral) "Seven" is hepta, which means the number seven. It also means a period of seven days. Seven is one of the greatest power numbers in Judaism, representing Creation, good fortune, and blessing. A Hebrew word for luck, gad, equals seven in gematria. Another Hebrew word for luck, mazal, equals seventy-seven.

Unimportant Opinions and Imaginings: 

I didn't really tell you [to let other's mistakes go] upto seven times but at least up to seventy-seven times. [if seven is lucky, seventy-seven times seven is even more lucky.]

Front Page Date: 

Apr 3 2021