Spoken to:
A parable about the final judgment of the sheep and the goats.
KJV:
Matthew 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
NIV :
Matthew 25:36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
LISTENERS HEARD:
Naked and you wrapped around me. I was sickly and you watched over me. I was in guardhouse and you came to see me.
MY TAKE:
We can watch over people to protect them and watch out for other people to protect ourselves from them.
GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page):
LOST IN TRANSLATION:
Lots of uncommon words here but only a couple of surprises. There is both a positive and negative sense of "watch over." The word translated as "visit" and "look after" means "watch over. " "Prison" is a word that means a "watcher," "guard," "chain," "keeper," and "a place where people are watched." Jesus uses it to clearly mean prison, but the play on words here is against the positive way of being "watched over."
"Stranger" is not a common word but a specific noun which means "guest-friend", specifically meaning someone who should receive hospitality. Both Greek and Aramaic traditions offered hospitality to travelers who had no place to stay. The word also means someone that is a "stranger to a thing", "ignorant of a thing", and "unusual". We could include the homeless in this, but perhaps "lost" comes closest to the idea.
# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES:
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "visited" should be something more like "watched over."
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES:
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "I needed" doesn't exist in the source.
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "clothes" should be something more like "naked."
- WF - Wrong Form - The "to" is not from the verb form but a preposition.
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "visit" doesn't exist in the source.
EACH WORD of KJV :
Naked, The word for "naked" means both "naked" and "destitute." It also means bald and beardless.
and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").
ye -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.
clothed - The word for "clothed" means "to put on" or "put around." It is a word Christ uses fairly common to refer to putting on clothes, starting with Solomon being compared to the lilies of the field.
me: -- "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek as the object of the verb or preposition.
I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.
was sick, - The word used for "was sick" is also an uncommon verb despite all of Jesus's work healing, he only uses it once before. It means "to be weak or sickly."
and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").
ye -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.
visited -- (WW) "Visited" is another uncommon word, and it doesn't really mean "visited." The concept is more "look in on" or "watch over" than visiting someone in the hospital.
me: -- "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek as the object of the verb or preposition.
I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.
was -- The verb "was" here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition.
in -- The word translated as "in" also means "within," "with," or "among."
prison, - "Prison" is a word that means a "watcher," "guard," "chain," "keeper," and "a place where people are watched." Jesus uses it to clearly mean prison elsewhere, but the play on words is against the positive way of being "watched over."
and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").
ye -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.
came - The word translated as "come" primarily means "to start out" but Christ usually uses it to mean "come" but not always. It indicates movement, especially its beginning, without indicating a direction toward or away from anything, so it works either as "start," "come," or "go," but it is more like our phrase "being underway." Our English word "show up" captures both the "start" and "come" ideas. See this article for more.
unto - The word translated as "unto" means "towards," "by reason of (for)," and "against." Here, it has the sense of "in the presence of."
me. -- "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek as the object of the verb or preposition.
EACH WORD of NIV :
I needed -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "I needed" in the Greek source.
clothes ,(WW) The word for "clothes " means both "naked" and "destitute." It also means bald and beardless.
and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").
you -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.
clothed - The word for "clothed" means "to put on" or "put around." It is a word Christ uses fairly commonly to refer to putting on clothes, starting with Solomon being compared to the lilies of the field.
me: -- "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek as the object of the verb or preposition.
I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.
was sick, - The word used for "was sick" is also an uncommon verb despite all of Jesus's work healing, he only uses it once before. It means "to be weak or sickly."
and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").
you -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.
looked after -- "Looked after" is another uncommon word that means "look in on" or "watch over."
me: -- "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek as the object of the verb or preposition.
I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.
was -- The verb "was" here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition.
in -- The word translated as "in" also means "within," "with," or "among."
prison, - "Prison" is a word that means a "watcher," "guard," "chain," "keeper," and "a place where people are watched." Jesus uses it to clearly mean prison elsewhere, but the play on words is against the positive way of being "watched over."
and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").
I was in prison and you came to me.’
you -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.
came - The word translated as "come" primarily means "to start out" but Christ usually uses it to mean "come" but not always. It indicates movement, especially its beginning, without indicating a direction toward or away from anything, so it works either as "start," "come," or "go," but it is more like our phrase "being underway." Our English word "show up" captures both the "start" and "come" ideas. See this article for more.
to - (WE) The word translated as "unto" means "towards," "by reason of (for)," and "against." Here, it has the sense of "in the presence of." This is not the "to" of infinitive but a preposition.
visit -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "visit" in the Greek source.
me. -- "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek as the object of the verb or preposition.
COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV :
γυμνὸς [4 verses](adj sg masc nom) "Naked" is from gymnos, which means "naked," "unclad," "unarmed," "stripped" of a thing, "lightly clad," of facts, "bald," "destitute," and "beardless."
καὶ [1089 verses](conj/adv) "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."
περιεβάλετέ [7 verses](verb 2nd pl aor ind act) "You clothed" is from periballo, which means "to throw around," "to put on," "to encompass," "to surround," "to bring under one's power," "amplify," "expand," "appropriate mentally," "comprehend," "to excel," "to surpass," "throw beyond," and "beat in throwing." In the passive, it means "to have put around oneself." "to be involved in," and "to have come into possession of one."
με, [31 verses](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.
ἠσθένησα [3 verses](verb 1st sg aor ind act) "Sick" is from astheneo, which means "to be weak," "to be feeble," and "to be sickly."
καὶ [1089 verses](conj/adv) "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."
ἐπεσκέψασθέ [2 verses] (verb 2nd pl aor ind mp) "Visited is episkeptomai, from which means to "pass in review," hence, "number" a host. It is a compound word from skeptomai, which means "look about carefully," "spy" ,"to look upon or at," "to observe," "to examine," and "to consider." And a prefix, epi, meaning "Against" is from epi. which means "on," "upon," "at," "by," "before," "across," and "against."
με, [31 verses](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.
ἐν [413 verses](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."
φυλακῇ [10 verses]((noun sg fem dat) "Prison" is phylake, which means "a watching or guarding," "a guard," "a ward," "a watch," " "a station," "a post," "a keeping," "a preserving," "safekeeping," "a safe-guard," and "a precaution."
ἤμην [614 verses](verb 1st sg imperf ind mid) "Was" is from eimi, which means "to be," "to exist," "to be the case," and "is possible." (The future form is esomai. The 3rd person present indicative is "esti.") -- When the verb "to be" appears early in the sentence before the subject, the sense is more like "it is" or, in the plural, "there are."
καὶ [1089 verses](conj/adv) "And" is from eimi, which means "to be," "to exist," "to be the case," and "is possible." (The future form is esomai. The 3rd person present indicative is "esti.")
ἤλθατε [198 verses](verb 2nd pl aor ind act) "You came" is erchomai, which means "to start," "to set out," "to come," "to go," and any kind of motion. It means both "to go" on a journey and "to arrive" at a place.
πρὸς [92 verses](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. [31 verses](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.
Unimportant Opinions and Imaginings:
"Naked," he continued, covering himself as if embarrassed, causing titters from the crowd, "and you wrapped around me."
He made a hugging motion.
"I was sickly," he said, holding his hands out shakily and dropping his head down as if passing out, "and you watched over me."
He pantomimed bending over someone checking their temperature.
"I was under guard," he said, holding his hands up as if behind bars. "And you came to me."
I was under guard and you came to see me.