Matthew 26:21 ...that one of you shall betray me.

Spoken to: 

Apostles

The Last Supper

KJV: 

Matthew 26:21 Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.

NIV : 

Matthew 26:21 Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”

LISTENERS HEARD: 

Tell you true, that one of you shall turn me in.

MY TAKE: 

Jesus laughed at death.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page): 

LOST IN TRANSLATION: 

This verse seems as if this was said lightly because it is introduced with Christ's catchphrase. This may have made his students think he was joking. That is not how their reaction is described in the next verse, but it is more consistent with their behavior in the story otherwise.

"Betray" is from a compound word that literally means "to give over." The various biblical translations translate it as "betray" or "delivered over" depending on the context. It has less of a sense of "betray," though giving someone over is similar to turning someone it. In looking through all the other uses of the word, he uses it consistently to mean being given over to authorities, most often state authorities. The word, "betrayal," adds a lot of baggage to the discussion. It raises an issue of that Jesus's original words did not raise: whether turning over someone to authorities is itself a dishonest act.

  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "of" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "betray" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "of" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "betray" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.

EACH WORD of KJV : 

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.

that  - The word translated as "that" introduces a statement of fact or cause.

one  - The Greek word translated as "one" 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.

of  - - (CW) The Greek preposition translated as "of" means "out of" or "from." In Greek, they use the genitive case instead of a preposition for the types of phrases with usually use with "of."

you  - The word translated as "you" is plural addressing a group of Jesus's listeners.

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.

betray  - (CW) "Betray" is from a compound word that literally means "to give over." The various biblical translations translate being it as "betray" or "delivered over" depending on the context. It has less of a sense of "betray," though giving someone over is similar to turning someone it. In looking through all the other uses of the word, he uses it consistently to mean being given over to authorities, most often state authorities. The word, betrayal, adds a lot of baggage to the discussion. It raises an issue of that Jesus's original words did not raise: whether turning over someone to authorities is itself a dishonest act.

me.-- "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek as the object of the verb or preposition.

EACH WORD of NIV : 

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.

that  - The word translated as "that" introduces a statement of fact or cause.

one  - The Greek word translated as "one" 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.

of  - - (CW) The Greek preposition translated as "of" means "out of" or "from." In Greek, they use the genitive case instead of a preposition for the types of phrases with usually use with "of."

you  - The word translated as "you" is plural addressing a group of Jesus's listeners.

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.

betray  - (CW) "Betray" is from a compound word that literally means "to give over." The various biblical translations translate being it as "betray" or "delivered over" depending on the context. It has less of a sense of "betray," though giving someone over is similar to turning someone it. In looking through all the other uses of the word, he uses it consistently to mean being given over to authorities, most often state authorities. The word, betrayal, adds a lot of baggage to the discussion. It raises an issue of that Jesus's original words did not raise: whether turning over someone to authorities is itself a dishonest act.

me.-- "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek as the object of the verb or preposition.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV : 

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."

ὅτι [332 verses](adv/conj) "That" is from hoti, which introduces a statement of fact "with regard to the fact that", "seeing that," and acts as a causal adverb meaning "for what", "because", "since," and "wherefore."

εἷς [85 verses](noun sg masc nom) "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.

ἐξ [121 verses] (prep)"Of" is from ek, which means 1) [of motion] "out of", "from", "by", "away from;" 2) [of place] "beyond", "outside of", "beyond;" 3) [of succession] "after", "from;" 4) [of rest] "on", "in," 5) [of time] "since", "from", "at", "in;" 5) [of materials] "out of", "made from."

ὑμῶν [168 verses](pron 2nd pl gen) "You" is from humon, the plural possessive form of su the pronoun of the second person, "you."

παραδώσει [43 verses](verb 3rd sg fut ind act) "Shall betray" is from paradidomi, which means "to give over to another", "to transmit", "to hand down", "to grant", "to teach," and "to bestow."

με. [49 verses](pron 1st sg masc acc) "Me" is eme, which is the objective first-person, objective, singular pronoun that means  "me."

Related Verses: 

Unimportant Opinions and Imaginings: 

"Tell you true," he said after they started eating.

They paused, expecting him to say something to lighten the mood.

Instead, he finished, "That one of you shall turn me in."

Front Page Date: 

Dec 9 2021