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Today's Verse Analysis

Luke 20:47 Which devour widows' houses, and for a shew make long prayers:

After Sadducees do not answer his question about David's son being called his master. 

Spoken to
audience

ΛΟΥΚΑΝ ​20:47  οἳ κατεσθίουσιν τὰς οἰκίας τῶν χηρῶν καὶ προφάσει μακρὰ προσεύχονται: οὗτοι λήμψονται περισσότερον κρίμα.

KJV Verse

Luke 20:47 Which devour widows' houses, and for a shew make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation.

NIV Verse:

Luke 20:47 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

What His Listeners Heard:

These are devouring the households of the bereaved. And for a justification, they make lengthy prayers for themselves. Those are getting an excessive judgment.

Lost In Translation:

There are two phrases in the form of a subject that have no active verb but two participles used as nouns.  One in translated as "which/they devour" and the other as  "the same shall receive" and "these men will be". The phrases are literally "the ones devouring" and "those getting" but since both words in these phrases are in the same form as subjects, they can be equated with the verb "to be". "These onse are devouring" and "Those are getting".

The word translated as "shew/show" is an uncommon word meaning "motive" or "pretext". Here, "justification" works a little better.

The word translated as "damnation" and "be punished" is the Greek word usually translated as "judgment". The line is the punchline and has two meanings depending on how we want to hear it. This line is: those are getting an excessive judgment. This can either mean they are going to get an excessive punishment, which is how the translators read it or that they are getting more of a compensation than they deserve. Both seem intended, but the translators didn't like the second meaning so they made the verb the future tense, which it isn't, and the judgment a punishment, which it isn't. 

 

KJV w/Translation Issues :

Which(CW) devour(WF) (MW) widows' (MW) houses, and for a shew(CW) make long prayers: the same(CW, WF) shall(OS) receive(WF) greater damnation(WW).

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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