Matthew 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them,

Spoken to
Apostles

A parable about the final judgment of the sheep and the goats.

KJV

Matthew 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

NIV

Matthew 25:40 The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

LISTENERS HEARD

And, answering, the king will say, "Ameni I'm telling you upon [the principle of] as much as you produced for one of these, these siblings of mine, the least, for me you produced.'"

LOST IN TRANSLATION

The word translated as "done" primarily means "to make" or "produce," though it is usually translated as variations of "to do" in the NT.

The word meaning "as much as" is translated only "as" or left out entirely, which compares but not specifically the quantity or size.  Jesus sets the principle of getting "as much as" we produce in Matthew 7:11 but it is edited out there as well.

The word translated as "brethren" and "brothers" is better translated as "siblings" because the form could either be feminine or masculine.

MY TAKE

We get as much as we give.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
7
  • WP -- Wrongly Placed -- The word "shall" shouldn't appear here but before the verb for "say."
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "answer" is not an active verb but a participle, "answering."
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "and" doesn't exist in the source.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "as" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "have" indicates the past perfect tense, but the tense is something that happens at a specific point in time (past, present, or future).
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "brethren" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "have" indicates the past perfect tense, but the tense is something that happens at a specific point in time (past, present, or future).
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
8
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "and" is not shown in the English translation.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "answering" is not shown in the English translation.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "reply" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "to them" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "whatever" should be something more like "upon."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "as much as" is not shown in the English translation.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "brothers" is not shown in the English translation.
  • IP - Inserted Phrase-- The phrase "and sisters" doesn't exist in the source.
EACH WORD of KJV

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

the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, without a noun, it has the sense of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more. 

King  - "King" is translated from a Greek word that means a "king" or "chief."

shall -- (WP) 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. The following verb is not the future tense, but the next verb "say" is.

answer -  (WF) "Answer" is a verb that means to "set apart," "choose", "answer" a question, "answer charges," and "defend oneself." It is in the form of an adjective, "answering." The tense is "at that point in time."

and -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "and" in the Greek source. It was added because the previous verb was translated as active rather than a participle.

say  - "Say" is from means "to say" and "to speak" also. It is in the future tense.

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.

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

Verily -- The word translated as "verily" is from the Hebrew word that means "truly" or "certainly," but it sounds like the Greek word with the same meaning. In Greek, the word also means "to reap." See this article discussing this "amen phrase."

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.

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 Greek pronoun "you" here is plural and in the form of an indirect object, "to you", "for you", etc.

Inasmuch  - The word translated as "insomuch" is a preposition, but here it is used to introduce a phrase. It general meaning is "upon" but where used to describe a reason for something, in means "upon the principle of," which is its sense here.

as  - (CW) The word translated as "as" means "as great as", ""as much as," and similar ideas of comparing size or volume.

ye -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.

have -- (WT) This helping verb "have" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past. This is not the tense of the verb here.

done  - The Greek word translated as "done" has the primary meaning of "making" or producing" something or "causing" or "rendering" as service.

it -- This English objective pronoun is added and not in the Greek source.   In Greek, pronoun objects are not repeated after each verb because they are implied by their first occurrence.

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.

one  - The word translated as "one" is the number one. It is in the form of an indirect object, which, in Greek, can also mean "for the benefit of" which is clearly the meaning here.

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.

the  -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, without a noun, it has the sense of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more. 

least  - "Least" is from the Greek means "the smallest", "the shortest", "the least," and "the fewest." It is the possessive form, "of the least" or "of the smallest." However, in English, we use the phrase "little people" to capture this idea.

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.

these " -- The word translated as "these" means "from here" or "this/that thing.

my -- "My" is the first-person possessive singular pronoun. This pronoun follows the noun so "of mine."

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.  

brethren,  -  The word translated as "brethren" means a biological brother, any kinsmen, and more broadly any friend or associate. Christ uses it in the most general sense, in the sense of "one of your people". However, in this for it could also be the female version, "sisters" so "siblings" is closer.

ye -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.

have -- (WT) This helping verb "have" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past. This is not the tense of the verb here.

done  - The Greek word translated as "done" has the primary meaning of "making" or producing" something or "causing" or "rendering" as service.

it -- This English objective pronoun is added and not in the Greek source.   In Greek, pronoun objects are not repeated after each verb because they are implied by their first occurrence.

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.

me. -- The "me" is in the indirect object form on the first-person pronoun, so usually "to me," though the form has other uses in Greek.

 

EACH WORD of NIV

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

The -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, without a noun, it has the sense of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more. 

King  - "King" is translated from a Greek word that means a "king" or "chief."

will --  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.

missing "answering"  -- (MW) The untranslated word "answering" is a verb that means to "set apart," "choose", "answer" a question, "answer charges," and "defend oneself." It is in the form of an adjective, "answering." The tense is "at that point in time."

reply - (CW) "Reply" is from means "to say" and "to speak" also. It is in the future tense. It is normally translated as "say" or "tell."

missing "to them"  -- (MW) The untranslated word "to them" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English. It is an indirect object so "to them."

Truly -- The word translated as "truly " is from the Hebrew word that means "truly" or "certainly," but it sounds like the Greek word with the same meaning. In Greek, the word also means "to reap." See this article discussing this "amen phrase."

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 Greek pronoun "you" here is plural and in the form of an indirect object, "to you," "for you," etc.

whatever - (WW) The word translated as "whatever" is a preposition, but here it is used to introduce a phrase. It general meaning is "upon" but where used to describe a reason for something, in means "upon the principle of," which is its sense here.

missing "as much as"  -- (MW) The untranslated word means "as great as", ""as much as," and similar ideas of comparison.

you -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.

did - The Greek word translated as "did " has the primary meaning of "making" or producing" something or "causing" or "rendering" as service.

for -- This word "for " 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. However, the translator can choose other prepositions: "with,"  "in,"   "of,"  "as," "by," "for," "at," or "on" depending on the context

one  - The word translated as "one" is the number one. It is in the form of an indirect object, which, in Greek, can also mean "for the benefit of" which is clearly the meaning here.

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.

the  -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, without a noun, it has the sense of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more. 

least  - "Least" is from the Greek means "the smallest", "the shortest", "the least," and "the fewest." It is the possessive form, "of the least" or "of the smallest." However, in English, we use the phrase "little people" to capture this idea.

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.

these " -- The word translated as "these" means "from here" or "this/that thing.

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.  

brothers ,  -  The word translated as "brothers " means a biological brother, any kinsmen, and more broadly any friend or associate. Christ uses it in the most general sense, in the sense of "one of your people". However, in this for it could also be the female version, "sisters" so "siblings" is closer.

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

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.

Mine -- "Mine" is the first-person possessive singular pronoun. This pronoun follows the noun so "of mine."

you -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.

did - The Greek word translated as "did " has the primary meaning of "making" or producing" something or "causing" or "rendering" as service.

for -- This word "for " 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. However, the translator can choose other prepositions: "with,"  "in,"   "of,"  "as," "by," "for," "at," or "on" depending on the context

me. -- The "me" is in the indirect object form on the first-person pronoun, so usually "to me," though the form has other uses in Greek.

 

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

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."

ἀποκριθεὶς [17 verses] (part sg aor pass masc nom) "Shall answer" is from apokrinomai that means to "set apart," "choose", "exclude," "reject on examination", "decide", "answer" the question, "answer charges," and "defend oneself" and, in the passive, "to be parted or separated." In the Gospels, it is always translated as "answered."

[821 verses](article sg masc nom)  "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").

βασιλεὺς [27 verses](noun sg masc nom) "King" is from basileus, which means a "king", "chief", "prince", "lord", "master", "a great man," and "the first and most distinguished of any class." It is a form of the word used for "kingdom."

ἐρεῖ [162 verses](verb 3rd sg fut ind act) "And say" is from eipon, which means "to speak", "to say", "to recite", "to address", "to mention", "to name", "to proclaim", "to plead", "to promise," and "to offer."

αὐτοῖς [720 verses](adj pl masc dat) "Them" 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."

ἀμὴν [88 verses](exclaim) "Verily" is amen, which is the Hebrew, meaning "truly", "of a truth," and "so be it." It has no history in Greek of this meaning before the NT. However, this is also the infinitive form of the Greek verb amao, which means "to reap" or "to cut."

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

ὑμῖν, [289 verses](pron 2nd pl dat) "To you" is humin the plural form of su the pronoun of the second person, "you."

ἐφ᾽ [138 verses](prep) "Inasmuch" is from epi. which means "on", "upon", "at", "by", "before", "across," and "against." Its is used with verbs of rest to mean "upon"; when used with verbs of motion, indicates the goal or how the motion is supported; in the context of time, "in the time of"; also used to indicate a cause "for" or "on the principle of."

ὅσον [28 verses](adj sg masc acc) "As" is from hosos, which means "as many", "as much as", "as great as", "as far as," and "only so far as." --

ἐποιήσατε [168 verses](verb 2nd pl aor ind act) "Ye have done" is from poieo, which means "to make", "to produce", "to create", "to bring into existence", "to bring about", "to cause", "to render", "to consider", "to prepare", "to make ready," and "to do."

ἑνὶ [85 verses](noun sg masc dat) "Unto one" is from heis, which means "one" (as opposed to other numbers), "single," and "one and the same." As in English, it can be used as a pronoun, meaning a single person.

τούτων [93 verses](adj pl masc gen) "Of these" is from touto, which means "from here", "from there", "this [thing]," or "that [thing]."

τῶν [821 verses](article sg masc dat)  Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). 

ἀδελφῶν [37 verses](noun pl masc/fem gen) "Brethern" is from adelphos, which means "son of the same mother", "kinsman", "colleague", "associate," and "brother." OR "Sister" is adelphe, which means "daughter of the same mother," "kinswoman," and it is a term of endearment. 

μου [132 verses](pron 1st sg masc gen) "My" is from mou, which mean "my," or "mine."

τῶν [821 verses](article pl masc gen)  "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").  -

ἐλαχίστων, [5 verses](adj pl masc gen) "Of the least" is from elachistos, which is the superlative form of elachus which nmeans "small", "little," and "short." It means "the smallest", "the shortest", "the least," and "the fewest."

ἐμοὶ [96 verses](pron 1st sg masc dat) "Me" is from moi, which is 1st person,singular dative pronoun meaning "me' as the indirect object of a verb. -- "Me" is from the regular first-person pronoun in Greek.

ἐποιήσατε. [168 verses](verb 2nd pl aor ind act) "Ye have done" is from poieo, which means "to make", "to produce", "to create", "to bring into existence", "to bring about", "to cause", "to render", "to consider", "to prepare", "to make ready," and "to do."

Unimportant Opinions and Imaginings

"And answering, the king," he said, indicating himself and while puffing out his chest, "is going to say..."

He paused and struck a pose, affecting a deep voice, and said, "Tell you true..."

His followers collapsed in laughter at his use of the signature phrase.

He was laughing as well, but he controlled himself held up his hands for silence and continued, "On the principle of 'as you have produced for the benefit of these..."

He paused and indicated his followers, and said pompously, "My little people."

This started more laughing. He again quieted them and continued in the bass voice, indicating himself, "You have produced for me."

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