Matthew 19:19 Honour thy father and thy mother:

Spoken to: 

an individual

A man asks which commandments he should keep.

KJV: 

Matthew 19:19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

NIV : 

Matthew 19:19  honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself

LISTENERS HEARD: 

You revere the father and the mother. Also you care for the nearby just like of yourself.

MY TAKE: 

We must honor parents but only should care for those around us.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page): 

LOST IN TRANSLATION: 

Here, the idea of "neighbor" is not as simple as it seems in English. Also,as we should have mentioned in the previous verse (Matthew 19:18), none of these "commandment" are in the form of a command. They are simple sentences such as "You don't steal" rather than "Don't steal!"

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

4
  • OS -- Outdated Source -- The Greek word translated as "thy" existed in the KJV Greek source but not the source we use today.
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "thy" should be something more like "the."
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "shalt" does not mean the future tense.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "neighbor" is not shown in the English translation.

# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

4
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "thy" should be something more like "the."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "mother" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "love" is not a command but a subjunctive, "you should love."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "neighbor" is not shown in the English translation.

EACH WORD of KJV : 

Honour  - "Honour" is from the Greek verb which means "to revere," "to honor," and "to value." Though the Greek word doesn't have the same sense of "weight" as the Hebrew word this is taken from, weight is often connected in Greek with value. In a commodity-based society, value and weight were the same. We say that we give "weight" to arguments in the same sense that the ancients would give "weight" to the rules of a leader or a God. This verb is in the form of a command, making it different than the verbs before and the one after.

thy -- (OS)  The word translated as "thy" is the Greek definite article, but the KJV had this pronoun in it. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more. 

father  - "Father" is the common word that Christ uses to address his own father, though it can mean any male ancestor. However, there is not "your" associated with it, but there is an article ("the"), so "the father."

and - The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").

thy -- (WW) The word translated as "thy" 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. 

mother: "Mother" is from the common Greek word for "mother" and "grandmothers," but it also means "the source" of something. Again, it has only the article, so "the mother.

and,- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").

Thou -- This is from the second-person, singular form of the verb.

shalt -- (CW) This helping verb "shalt" does not indicate the future tense, but that the verb describes a possibility, the subjunctive voice. A "might" or "should" in English is more appropriate, but is assumed in an "if/when/whoever/except" clause. Helping verbs are not needed in Greek since the main verb carries this information in its form.

love  - "Love" is from the Greek verb which means "to greet with affection," "to show affection for," "to be fond of," "to desire," and "to prize." This love is more associated with affection and caring than romantic love. See this article on love for more information.

thy -- The word translated as "thy" is the genitive form of the singular, second-person pronoun, which is most commonly the possessive form. This pronoun follows the noun so "of yours."

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. 

neighbour  - Neighbor" is from an adjective that means "close," "near," and "neighboring." It is introduced by an article ("the") so it is like a noun, "the close," "the nearby" or "one's neighbor." Consider how, in English, we describe some people as "close to us."  There is another Greek word, used by Jesus, that specifically means "neighbor" in the sense of living in your neighborhood and being like you. 

as  - The word translated as "as" has a very broad meaning, translated as "when," "where," "just as," "like," and related words.

thyself.  -- The "yourself" is in the accusative form of the second-person reflexive pronoun. Here the sense is "caring of yourself" or, as we would say in English, caring for yourself.

EACH WORD of NIV : 

honor - "Honour" is from the Greek verb which means "to revere," "to honor," and "to value." Though the Greek word doesn't have the same sense of "weight" as the Hebrew word this is taken from, weight is often connected in Greek with value. In a commodity-based society, value and weight were the same. We say that we give "weight" to arguments in the same sense that the ancients would give "weight" to the rules of a leader or a God. This verb is in the form of a command, making it different than the verbs before and the one after.

your -- (WW)  The word translated as "thy" is the Greek definite article, but the KJV had this pronoun in it. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more. 

father  - "Father" is the common word that Christ uses to address his own father, though it can mean any male ancestor. However, there is not "your" associated with it, but there is an article ("the"), so "the father."

and - The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").

missing "the"  -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more. 

mother: "Mother" is from the common Greek word for "mother" and "grandmothers," but it also means "the source" of something. Again, it has only the article, so "the mother.

and,- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").

love  - (WF) "Love" is from the Greek verb which means "to greet with affection," "to show affection for," "to be fond of," "to desire," and "to prize." This love is more associated with affection and caring than romantic love. See this article on love for more information. This is not a command, but a subjunctive, that is, something that "should" be done.

your -- The word translated as "thy" is the genitive form of the singular, second-person pronoun, which is most commonly the possessive form. This pronoun follows the noun so "of yours."

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. 

neighbour  - Neighbor" is from an adjective that means "close," "near," and "neighboring." It is introduced by an article ("the") so it is like a noun, "the close," "the nearby" or "one's neighbor." Consider how, in English, we describe some people as "close to us."  There is another Greek word, used by Jesus, that specifically means "neighbor" in the sense of living in your neighborhood and being like you. 

as  - The word translated as "as" has a very broad meaning, translated as "when," "where," "just as," "like," and related words.

yourself.  -- The "yourself" is in the accusative form of the second-person reflexive pronoun. Here the sense is "caring of yourself" or, as we would say in English, caring for yourself.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV : 

Τίμα [12 verses] (2nd sg pres imperat act ) "Honour" is timao , which means "to revere," "to honor," and "to value." In the original Hebrew, it is from kabad, which means "to be heavy," "to be rich," and "to be honored." Though the Greek word doesn't have the same sense of "weight" as the Hebrew, weight is often connected in Greek with value. In a commodity-based society, value and weight were the same. We say that we give "weight" to arguments in the same sense that the ancients would give "weight" to the rules of a leader or a God.

τὸν (article sg masc acc)  "Thy" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). 

πατέρα [191 verses](noun sg masc acc) "The Father" is pater, which means "father," "grandfather," "author," "parent," and "forefathers."

καὶ (partic) "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.

τὴν (article sg fem acc)  "Thy" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). 

μητέρα [27 verses](noun sg fem acc) "Mother" is meter, which means "mother," "grandmother," "mother hen," "source," and "origin.

καί (partic) "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.

Ἀγαπήσεις [32 verses](verb 2nd sg aor subj act) "Hast loved" is agapao, which means "to be fond of," "to greet with affection," "to persuade," "to caress," "to prize," "to desire," "to be pleased with," and "to be contended with." This love is more associated with affection than passion. See this article on love for more information.

τὸν (article sg neut dat)  Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). 

πλησίονσου [5 verses](adj sg masc acc) "Neighbor" is plesion, an adjective that means "close," "near," "neighboring."" It is preceded by an article, making it mean "the one close."

σου (pron 2nd sg gen) "Thy" is from sou which means "you" and "your."

ὡς (adv/conj) "How" is from hos, an adverb which means to "thus," "as," "how," "when," "where," "like," "just as," "so far as," "as much as can be," "that," "in order that," "nearly (with numbers)," and "know that."

σεαυτόν.” [3 verses](pro sg masc acc) "Yourself" is  seautou, which means "of yourself."

Wordplay: 

 The word translated as "neighbor" means both "those nearby" and "those close to you" having both the sense of neighbors and family members. 

Related Verses: 

Unimportant Opinions and Imaginings: 

Your respect mother and father. You also care for those close to you as for yourself.

Front Page Date: 

Apr 27 2021