Matthew 7:11 If you then, being evil,

Spoken to: 

audience

Sermon on Mount, law and fulfillment, visible and hidden, trust and doubt, requesting and getting

KJV: 

Matthew 7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

NIV : 

Matthew 7:11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

LISTENERS HEARD: 

If then you yourselves being worthless have seen valuable gifts to give those kids of yours, how much more that Father of yours, the one in the skies, will give valuable things to those asking him?

MY TAKE: 

Even those who are worthless can create value because God creates value from within us.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page): 

LOST IN TRANSLATION: 

This verse tells us more about Jesus's humor more than it does about his idea of "evil." It starts with him calling his audience "worthless," not "evil," and making a joke about them still giving value despite being worthless. This cannot be done in a serious way, but it works easily if said in a light-hearted manner.

This verse is essentially a play on words that says that those who are worthless can give value. This is lost in translation. This verse also is a great example of the problem with translating the Greek word translated as "evil" when it means "worthless" or "second-rate" and its opposite as "good" when the sense is "valuable (see this article about this Greek word and related concepts such as "good" used here). Many of Jesus's arguments are economic and almost mathematical, but this is lost in translation.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

12
  • MW -- Missing Word  -- The pronoun repeats the information in the verb so it should be repeated in English like "you yourselves."
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "evil" should be something more like "worthless."
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "know" indicates present tense, but the tense is the past perfect.
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "how" doesn't exist in the source.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The word translated as "good" is more like "worthwhile" in this context. 
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "children" is not shown in the English translation.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "Father" is not shown in the English translation.
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "is" doesn't exist in the source.
  • 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 it is plural, "skies."
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The word translated as "good" is more like "worthwhile" in this context. 
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "ask" is not an active verb but a participle, "asking."

# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

15
  • MW -- Missing Word  -- The pronoun repeats the information in the verb so it should be repeated in English like "you yourselves."
  • IP - Inserted Phrase-- The phrase "though you" doesn't exist in the source.
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "are" is not an active verb but a participle, "being."
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "evil" should be something more like "worthless."
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "know" indicates present tense, but the tense is the past perfect.
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "how" doesn't exist in the source.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The word translated as "good" is more like "worthwhile" in this context. 
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "children" is not shown in the English translation.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "Father" is not shown in the English translation.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the one" is not shown in the English translation.
  • 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 it is plural, "skies."
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The word translated as "good" is more like "worthwhile" in this context. 
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "who" doesn't exist in the source.
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "ask" is not an active verb but a participle, "asking."

EACH WORD of KJV : 

If  - The "if" here expresses a condition but it means nothing regarding whether that condition is met or not.

ye  - missing "yourself" -- (MW)  The subjective pronoun repeats the information in the verb so it should be repeated in English like "you yourself." The "you" here is plural, indicating the audience.

then,  - The Greek word translated as "then" is usually translated as "therefore." It can also mean "surely. Here, it simply continues the existing narrative started in Matthew 7:9.

being  - The word translated as "being" is the adjective form of the verb "to be." It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition. It also equates terms or assigns characteristics. It modifies "you" with the "evil" below as its characteristic.

evil,  - (WW) The word translated as "evil" means "second-rate" or "worthless." This article explores its meaning in more detail. This verse is interesting because the term translated as evil primarily means burdened and full of hardship. It also means physically incapable, like we would use the term handicapped.

know - (WT) The word translated as "know" means primarily "to see" and is used to mean "know' as we use the word "see" to mean "know" in English. It is in a form indicating an action completed in the past: "have seen" or "have known."

how -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "how" in the Greek source.

to -- This "to" is added because the infinitive form of the verb requires a "to" in English.

give  - The verb translated as "give" here is different from the more complex and perhaps humorous word translated as "give" in the related verses (see Matthew 7:10). The change seems intended to make the giving seem less formal. The verb means "to give," "to grant," "to hand over," "appoint," "establish," and "to describe." It is almost always translated as some form of "give."

good  - (CW) The word translated as "good" means "good" in the sense of beneficial. However, here the word is contrasted with the word translated as "evil" which really means "worthless" so the contrast would be a word such as "first-rate." If we translated the earlier word as "worthless," the translation of "worthwhile" would work best. The adjective translated as "good" means "useful," "worthwhile," and "of high quality. See this article on "good" and this one on "evil."

gifts  - The word for "gifts" also means "gift" and "payments."

unto -- This word "to" 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,

your -- The word translated as "your" is a plural, second-person pronoun in the genitive case. 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. 

children, -- The word translated as "son" means "child" but in the most general sense of "offspring." Christ does not use it to refer specifically to children under seven, which is another term. See this article more about these words for "child."

how much -- The adjective translated as "how much"  means "of what quantity," [in distance] "how far." [of number] how far," [of time] "how long," [of value] "how much," "how great," "how many," and "how much."

more  - "Much" is the comparative form of mala which means "very," "exceedingly," "more certainly," "especially," "more," "to a greater degree," and "rather."

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

your -- The word translated as "your" is a plural, second-person pronoun in the genitive case. 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. 

Father -- "Father" is the Greek noun that means "father" or any male ancestor so "forefathers." It is the word that Christ uses to address his own Father. 

which -- The word translated as "which" 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. 

is -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "is" in the Greek source.

in -- The word translated as "in" means "in," "within," "with," or "among"  with a dative object as the one here.  With the accusative, it means "into," "on," and "for." When referring to time, it means "during." It can mean "on," "at," or "by" in the sense of "near." 

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. The word is plural so "skies." It also meant the home of the gods in a physical sense: the sun, moon, and planets were named for the gods. More about the word in this article. 

give -- The verb translated as "given" means "to give," "to grant," "to hand over," "appoint," "establish," and "to describe." It is almost always translated as some form of "give."

good - (CW) The word translated as "good " is the same as "good" or "worthwhile" above. However, it is not really a noun, which would be indicated by the use of an article. So "worthy" works best here, completing the wordplay of "worthless," "worthwhile," and "worthy."

things  - There is no word, "things," in the Greek source, but this word comes from the neuter, plural form of the previous adjective.

to -- This word "to" 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.

them  -- The word translated as "them" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.  

that - The word translated as "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. 

ask  - (WF) The Greek word translated as "to them that ask" is the verb translated as "ask" in Matthew 7:10 and Matthew 7:9, which has shades of meaning from "demand" to "beg" to "claim." It is in the form of an adjective, "asking," used as a noun, "the ones asking."

him? -- The word translated as "him" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.  

EACH WORD of NIV : 

If  - The "if" here expresses a condition but it means nothing regarding whether that condition is met or not.

you - missing "yourself" -- (MW)  The subjective pronoun repeats the information in the verb so it should be repeated in English like "you yourself." The "you" here is plural, indicating the audience.

then,  - The Greek word translated as "then" is usually translated as "therefore." It can also mean "surely. Here, it simply continues the existing narrative started in Matthew 7:9.

though you -- (IP) There is nothing that can be translated as "though you " in the Greek source.

are - (WF) The word translated as "being" is the adjective form of the verb "to be," so "being." It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition. It also equates terms or assigns characteristics. It modifies "you" with the "evil" below as its characteristic.

evil,  - (WW) The word translated as "evil" means "second-rate" or "worthless." This article explores its meaning in more detail. This verse is interesting because the term translated as evil primarily means burdened and full of hardship. It also means physically incapable, like we would use the term handicapped.

know - (WT) The word translated as "know" means primarily "to see" and is used to mean "know' as we use the word "see" to mean "know" in English. It is in a form indicating an action completed in the past: "have seen" or "have known."

how -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "how" in the Greek source.

to -- This "to" is added because the infinitive form of the verb requires a "to" in English.

give  - The verb translated as "give" here is different from the more complex and perhaps humorous word translated as "give" in the related verses (see Matthew 7:10). The change seems intended to make the giving seem less formal. The verb means "to give," "to grant," "to hand over," "appoint," "establish," and "to describe." It is almost always translated as some form of "give."

good  - (CW) The word translated as "good" means "good" in the sense of beneficial. However, here the word is contrasted with the word translated as "evil" which really means "worthless" so the contrast would be a word such as "first-rate." If we translated the earlier word as "worthless," the translation of "worthwhile" would work best. The adjective translated as "good" means "useful," "worthwhile," and "of high quality. See this article on "good" and this one on "evil."

gifts  - The word for "gifts" also means "gift" and "payments."

to -- This word "to" 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,

your -- The word translated as "your" is a plural, second-person pronoun in the genitive case. 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. 

children, -- The word translated as "son" means "child" but in the most general sense of "offspring." Christ does not use it to refer specifically to children under seven, which is another term. See this article more about these words for "child."

how much -- The adjective translated as "how much"  means "of what quantity," [in distance] "how far." [of number] how far," [of time] "how long," [of value] "how much," "how great," "how many," and "how much."

more  - "Much" is the comparative form of mala which means "very," "exceedingly," "more certainly," "especially," "more," "to a greater degree," and "rather.",

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.

your -- The word translated as "your" is a plural, second-person pronoun in the genitive case. 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. 

Father -- "Father" is the Greek noun that means "father" or any male ancestor so "forefathers." It is the word that Christ uses to address his own Father.

missing "the one"-- (MW) The untranslated word "the one" 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. 

in -- The word translated as "in" means "in," "within," "with," or "among"  with a dative object as the one here.  With the accusative, it means "into," "on," and "for." When referring to time, it means "during." It can mean "on," "at," or "by" in the sense of "near." 

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. The word is plural so "skies." It also meant the home of the gods in a physical sense: the sun, moon, and planets were named for the gods. More about the word in this article. 

give -- The verb translated as "given" means "to give," "to grant," "to hand over," "appoint," "establish," and "to describe." It is almost always translated as some form of "give."

good - (CW) The word translated as "good " is the same as "good" or "worthwhile" above. However, it is not really a noun, which would be indicated by the use of an article. So "worthy" works best here, completing the wordplay of "worthless," "worthwhile," and "worthy."

gifts -- There is no "gifts" here, but it can be assumed from the context because the "good" matches the previous form of "gifts."

to -- This word "to" 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.

those -- The word translated as "those" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.  

that - The word translated as "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. 

who -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "who" in the Greek source.

ask  - (WF) The Greek word translated as "to them that ask" is the verb translated as "ask" in Matthew 7:10 and Matthew 7:9, which has shades of meaning from "demand" to "beg" to "claim." It is in the form of an adjective, "asking," used as a noun, "the ones asking."

him? -- The word translated as "him" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.  

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV : 

εἰ (conj) "If" is from ei, which is the particle used to express conditions "if" (implying nothing about its fulfillment) or indirect questions, "whether." It also means "if ever," "in case," and "whenever." It is combined with various conjunctions to create derivative conditions.

οὖν (partic) "Then" is from oun, which means "certainly," "in fact," "really," "in fact," "so" and "then" (continuing a narrative), and "then" and "therefore."

ὑμεῖς (pron 2nd pl nom ) "You" is from humeis, which is the plural nominative form of the second person, "you."

πονηροὶ (adj pl masc nom ) "Evil" is from poneros, which we discuss extensively in this page. In a moral sense, it means "worthless," "base," and "cowardly."

ὄντες (part pl pres act masc nom) "Being" is from eimi, which means "to be," "to exist," "to be the case," and "is possible." It can also mean "must" with a dative.

οἴδατε (2nd pl perf ind act) "Know" is from oida which is a form of eido which means "to see," "to examine," "to perceive," "to behold," "to know how to do," "to see with the mind's eye," and "to know."

δόματα [2 verses](noun pl neut acc ) "Gifts" is from doma, which means "gift" and "payment."

ἀγαθὰ (adj pl neut acc) "Good" is from agathos which means "good" and, when applied to people, "well-born," "gentle," "brave," and "capable." When applied to things, it means "serviceable," "morally good," and "beneficial." Agathos is not the usual term translated as "good," in the Gospels, which is kalos, meaning "beautiful."

διδόναι (pres inf act) "To give" is from didomi, which means "to give," "to grant," "to hand over," "appoint," "establish," and "to describe."

τοῖς (article pl neut dat )  Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). --

τέκνοις (noun pl neut dat ) "Children" is from teknon, which means "that which is born," "child," and "the young."

ὑμῶν, (pron 2nd pl gen) "Your" is from humon, which is a plural form of su the pronoun of the second person, "you."

πόσῳ (adj sg neut dat) "How much" is from posos, which means "of what quantity," [in distance] "how far." [of number] how far," [of time] "how long," [of value] "how much," "how great," "how many," and "how much."

μᾶλλον (adv) "More" is from mallon, which is the comparative form of mala which means "very," "exceedingly," "more certainly," "especially," "more," "to a greater degree," and "rather."

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

πατὴρ (noun sg masc nom) "Father" is from pater, which means "father," "grandfather," "author," "parent," and "forefathers."

ὑμῶν (pron 2nd pl gen) "Your" is from humon, which is a plural form of su the pronoun of the second person, "you."

(article sg masc nom) "Which" 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."

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."

τοῖς (article pl masc dat)  Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). --

οὐρανοῖς (noun pl masc dat) "Heaven" is from 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."

δώσει (3rd sg fut ind act) "Give" is from didomi, which means "to give," "to grant," "to hand over," "appoint," "establish," and "to describe."

ἀγαθὰ (adj pl neut acc) "Good things" is from agathos which means "good" and, when applied to people, "well-born," "gentle," "brave," and "capable." When applied to things, it means "serviceable," "morally good," and "beneficial." Agathos is not the most common term translated as "good," in the Gospels, which is kalos, meaning "beautiful." See this article for more information about good and evil and related Greek.

τοῖς (article pl masc dat)  "To them 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." -

αἰτοῦσιν (part pl pres act masc dat) "Ask" is from aiteo, which means "to ask," "to demand," "to beg," "to claim," and "to ask for one's own use."

αὐτόν. (adj sg masc acc) "Him" 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: 

 A play on the ideas of worthless [beings], worthwhile [gifts] and the more worth that comes from the divine. 

Related Verses: 

Unimportant Opinions and Imaginings: 

“If then you yourselves,” he said, addressing us all, and then added in a teasing way, “worthless beings!”
We laughed at the mock insult.  That was also part of the Nazarene’s magic. We laughed at ourselves because he laughed just as readily at himself.
“Have seen gifts, worthwhile ones,” he continued happily, “to give those kids of yours. How much better that Father of yours, the one in the skies, gives worthwhile things to those asking Him?”

Front Page Date: 

Jul 6 2020