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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 20:10 But when the first came,

A parable comparing the realm of the skies to hiring workers throughout the day.

Spoken to
audience

Matthew 20:10  καὶ ἐλθόντες οἱ πρῶτοι ἐνόμισαν ὅτι πλεῖον λήμψονται: καὶ ἔλαβον [τὸ] ἀνὰ δηνάριον καὶ αὐτοί.

KJV Verse

Matthew 20:10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 20:10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius.

What His Listeners Heard:

And showing up, the initial ones assumed that they get more , and they got it from top to bottom, they themselves, also a denarius, 

Lost In Translation:

The last two Greek words in this verse, meaning "and they," very likely belong to the beginning of the next verse. They are translated as "likewise" in the KJV, and "of them," which is the wrong form of the pronoun, and "also" in the NIV. All the translators what this "and/also" to be part of the "received" clause, but if it was it would give away the punchline, which the listeners expect to be different than the previous verse, (like theworkers) but isn't. If these words are moved to where they belong, this verse ends on the same punchline as the previous verse, "from top to bottom a denarius."

Again, all biblical translations get the preposition at the end wrong, translating it as "each" and "every." While this conveys some of its meaning, it confusing it with the very common word that Jesus uses for "each" and "every." More importantly, it destroys Jesus's play on words, emphasizing the "top to bottom" sense of the words "first to last" nouns, which can also mean "top to bottom."  This preposition is only used six times by Jesus with the intent purpose of showing the range of something, here, the range of the payment.
 

KJV w/Translation Issues :

 But(WW) when(Iw) the first came(WF), they supposed that they should(IW) have(WT) received more; and they likewise(CW) received every(WW) man a penny.

KJV List (See full page for word-by-word analysis):
For analysis of each word of original Greek and biblical verses, click here.

Constantly Updated

My analysis standards and methods are constantly improving. New information on each verse is provided as articles are updated. It requires approximately two years for me to work through updating each of Jesus's verses.

What Jesus's Listeners Heard

The everyday meanings of the Greek words Jesus used were different than the definitions they have been given over time in biblical translation. The word translations here are based upon documents of his time such as the Greek Septuagint, not ideas unknown in his time.

About this Site

See what Jesus said in Greek and see how his words are changed in English translation. My goal is to translate Jesus's words as they were heard when he taught, not the way they are interpreted today. The work here resurrects the humor and cleverness of Jesus's words lost in translation.

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Each article provides detailed information on all the Greek words in each verse with links simplifying your own research. It compares the Greek to popular translations to show where words are confused, changed, left out, and added. This site offers research available nowhere else, such as how often Jesus uses a specific Greek word and links to a list of every verse in which he uses a given word.