Mark 4:17 And have no root in themselves...

Spoken to: 

Apostles

The  explanation of the parable of the sower.

KJV: 

Mark 4:17  And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.

NIV : 

Mark 4:17  But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

LISTENERS HEARD: 

And, they don't have a root within themselves. Instead, they are temporary. And yet during pressure or persecution happening by itself because of the message, immediately they are tripped up.

MY TAKE: 

That which happens too quickly often doesn't last.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page): 

GREEK ORDER: 

καὶ   οὐκ ἔχουσιν      ῥίζαν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς        ἀλλὰ       πρόσκαιροί εἰσιν,
And, not they have a root   in themselves. Instead, temporary. they are

εἶτα γ                ενομένης                 θλίψεως διωγμοῦ
And yet during happening by itself pressure or persecution

διὰ             τὸν λόγον     εὐθὺς           σκανδαλίζονται.
because of the message, immediately they are tripped up.

LOST IN TRANSLATION: 

A number of phrases here are simply mistranslated. The phrase translated as "and so endure but for a time" and "they last only a short time" is very simple. It means "instead they are temporary," referring to those who have no root. The verb is the common verb meaning "to be" not "endure" or "lasts."  The phrase translated as "when affliction or persecution ariseth " or "when trouble or persecution comes" is not a "when" clause but a special Greek clause that means "while" or "during" something happening. The verb means "happening" not "arise" or "come." Its form is an action that happens by itself. The phrase translated as "immediately they are offended" and "they quickly fall away" means "immediately they are tripped up." The verb means "to cause to stumble or trip up." The verb is passive, not active so "to be made to stumble."

All of these mistakes are blatant and, especially in modern translations, many words are left out. But was is really lost is the wordplay between the beginning and the end of the verse.  The idea is that if you don't have a stable base or foundation ("roots,") then you can easily stumble. However, there are also a lot of "time" words here--temporary, during, happening, immediately -- indicating that rushing causes us to trip.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

8
  • WW --Wrong Word -- The word translated as "and so" should be something more like "instead."
  • WW --Wrong Word -- The word translated as "endure" should be something more like "are."
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "but" doesn't exist in the source.
  • WF -- Wrong Form -  The "for a time" is not a preposition phrase but an adjective, "temporary."
  • WW --Wrong Word -- The word translated as "when" should be something more like "during," or "while."
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "affliction" does not capture the word's specific meaning.
  • WW --Wrong Word -- The word translated as "ariseth" should be something more like "become," or "happen."
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "word" does not capture the word's specific meaning.

# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

15
  • WW --Wrong Word -- The word translated as "but" should be something more like "and."
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "since" doesn't exist in the source.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "in" is not shown in the English translation.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "themselves" is not shown in the English translation. 
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "however" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WW --Wrong Word -- The word translated as "last" should be something more like "are."
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "only" doesn't exist in the source.
  • WF -- Wrong Form -  The "a short time" is not a noun phrase but an adjective, "temporary."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "afterward" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WW --Wrong Word -- The word translated as "when" should be something more like "during," or "while."
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "trouble" does not capture the word's specific meaning.
  • WW --Wrong Word -- The word translated as "come" should be something more like "become," or "happen."
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "word" does not capture the word's specific meaning.
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "quickly" is not the common word usually translated as "quickly."
  • WW --Wrong Word -- The word translated as "fall away" should be something more like "trip up" or "stumble."
  • WV --Wrong Voice - The verb here is translated as active but it is passive.

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").

have -- The word translated as "have" means to "have," "possess," "bear," "keep close," "hold in," "have means to do,"  "to have due to one," or "keep" and many specific uses. This verb isn't used to form past tenses as the helper verb does in English. Nor does it has the sense of "must" when used with infinitives.

no -- The Greek word translated as "no" is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It means "no," "not," or"no truly." It makes a negative statement of fact. Adding "really" to the sentence captures the same idea. When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause. When it precedes other words, its force is limited to those words. 

root -- "Root" is from the Greek word for a plant's "root" and anything that springs from a root. It includes the roots of hairs, feathers, and teeth. It is also a metaphor for roots as a foundation, such as "the roots of the earth."

in   -- The word translated as "in" means "in," "within," "with" (an instrument), "by" (near), "by" (means of), "during" (time),  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."

themselves, -- "Themselves" is a special reflexive pronoun that means "himself," "herself," and so on. " When used in the possessive, it has the sense of "his own."

and so -- (WW) The Greek word translated as "and so" denotes an exception or simple opposition. It is used to emphasize the contrast between things like we use "instead," "but instead,"or "rather." It is not the common word usually translated as "but." It is the Greek word "other" like we use "otherwise." Jesus often uses this conjunction to connect a negative clause, "not this," with a positive one, "instead this." 

endure  -  (WW) The verb translated here as "endure"  is the common form of "to be" in Greek, It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition.

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

for a time  - (WF) "For a time" is from an adjective that means "occasional", "temporary", "opportune," and "lasting for a time." The form is an adjective not a preposition phrase.

afterward-- The Greek word translated as "afterward" means "then", "next", "presently," and "soon." With  a finite Verb after a particle, it expresses surprise or incongruity, and then, and yet.

when -- (WW) This is from the form of the following nouns and participle at the beginning of the sentence. Forming what is called "a genitive absolute," The phrase indicates something happening at the same time as the following verb introduced in English by "while" or "during" "When" defines a condition under which the situation occurs, requiring a different form of the verb.

affliction -- (CW) The Greek word translated as "affliction" means "pressure," which is translated as a metaphor for "oppression." Since it primarily means pressure in the sense of "crushing" (and "castration"), it is a more colorful word than the words we used to describe a time of difficulty. This is a common word in the Septuagint translated as "distress," but it appears in Greek literature more as a scientific term than a social description.

or -- "Or" is translated from a Greek word that means primarily "or" but serves as "than" in a comparison. The same word could also be the exclamation "hi" or the adverb meaning "in truth."

persecution - "Persecution" is from a noun that means "the chase," "pursuit," and "harassment."

ariseth -- (WW) The word translated as "arise" means "to become," that is, to enter into a new state. In Greek, especially as used by Jesus, it is the opposite of "being," which is existence in the current state. When applied to events, this word means "to happen," "to occur," or "take place." For things, it can be "to be produced." When the participle takes a predicate, the sense is "coming into" something.

for -- --  The preposition translated as "for" means with the accusative used here, means "thanks to," "because of,"  "by reasons of," and "for the sake of."

the   -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, "the," which usually precedes a noun. 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. 

word's -- (CW) "Word" is translated from a Greek word that means "calculation," or "reasoning," but it has many, many specific meanings from "deliberation" to "narrative."  It is the source of our word "logic" and is the root word for all the English words that end in "-ology." Most biblical translations translated it as "word" for somewhat poetic reasons. However, when applied to people, it means "repute" or "reputation." More about this word in this article. In English, we would say "logic," "concept, or "reasoning" to describe it but it also means the communication of various types, so "message" often works. "Teaching" might work but it is unrelated to the common words for "to teach," "teacher," and "student" that all have the same root. 

sake,  - This completes the idea of the preposition.

immediately - "Immediately" is from an adverb that means "straightly," "directly," "forthwith," "as soon as," and "straightway."

they -- This is from the third-person, plural form of the verb.

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

offended -- "Offend" is a verb that means "to cause to stumble" or "to trip up." From there it is assumed by its translators to mean "to give offense" and "to scandalize." Our word "scandalize" comes directly from the Greek. However, this interpretation of the word only comes from the translators of the Gospels. This is a Koine word that is found originally only in the New Testament, but based on a noun found only in the Greek Old Testament meaning "snare," or "stumbling block." The noun is changed to a verb by adding an ending very much like we add "ize" to a noun in order to make it a verb.  So, literally, it would mean to "make or perform a stumble." In English, we would simply say, "trips up" capturing the same idea exactly. See the article on this word here.

EACH WORD of NIV : 

But --(WW)  The Greek word translated as "but" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). In a series, it can be translated as "not only...but also." After words implying sameness "as."

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

they -- This is from the third-person, plural form of the verb. It should be "they."

have -- The word translated as "have" means to "have," "possess," "bear," "keep close," "hold in," "have means to do,"  "to have due to one," or "keep" and many specific uses. This verb isn't used to form past tenses as the helper verb does in English. Nor does it has the sense of "must" when used with infinitives.

no -- The Greek word translated as "no" is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It means "no," "not," or"no truly." It makes a negative statement of fact. Adding "really" to the sentence captures the same idea. When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause. When it precedes other words, its force is limited to those words.

root -- "Root" is from the Greek word for a plant's "root" and anything that springs from a root. It includes the roots of hairs, feathers, and teeth. It is also a metaphor for roots as a foundation, such as "the roots of the earth."

missing "in"  -- (MW) The untranslated word "in" means "in," "within," "with" (an instrument), "by" (near), "by" (means of), "during" (time),  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 "themselves"  -- (MW) The untranslated word  "themselves" is a special reflexive pronoun that means "himself," "herself," and so on. "

missing "however"  -- (MW) The untranslated word  "however" denotes an exception or simple opposition. It is used to emphasize the contrast between things like we use "instead," "but instead,"or "rather." It is not the common word usually translated as "but." It is the Greek word "other" like we use "otherwise." Jesus often uses this conjunction to connect a negative clause, "not this," with a positive one, "instead this."

last -  (WW) The verb translated here as "are"  is the common form of "to be" in Greek, It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition.

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

a short time  - (WF) "For a time" is from an adjective that means "occasional", "temporary", "opportune," and "lasting for a time." The form is an adjective not a preposition phrase.

missing "afterward"  -- (MW) The untranslated word  "afterward" means "then", "next", "presently," and "soon." With  a finite Verb after a particle, it expresses surprise or incongruity, and then, and yet.

When -- (WW) This is from the form of the following nouns and participle at the beginning of the sentence. Forming what is called "a genitive absolute," The phrase indicates something happening at the same time as the following verb introduced in English by "while" or "during" "When" defines a condition under which the situation occurs, requiring a different form of the verb.

trouble -- (CW) The Greek word translated as "affliction" means "pressure," which is translated as a metaphor for "oppression." Since it primarily means pressure in the sense of "crushing" (and "castration"), it is a more colorful word than the words we used to describe a time of difficulty. This is a common word in the Septuagint translated as "distress," but it appears in Greek literature more as a scientific term than a social description.

or -- "Or" is translated from a Greek word that means primarily "or" but serves as "than" in a comparison. The same word could also be the exclamation "hi" or the adverb meaning "in truth."

persecution - "Persecution" is from a noun that means "the chase," "pursuit," and "harassment."

comes -- (WW) The word translated as "comes " means "to become," that is, to enter into a new state. In Greek, especially as used by Jesus, it is the opposite of "being," which is existence in the current state. When applied to events, this word means "to happen," "to occur," or "take place." For things, it can be "to be produced." When the participle takes a predicate, the sense is "coming into" something.

 because of -- --  The preposition translated as " because of " means with the accusative used here, means "thanks to," "because of,"  "by reasons of," and "for the sake of."

the   -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, "the," which usually precedes a noun. 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. 

word -- (CW) "Word" is translated from a Greek word that means "calculation," or "reasoning," but it has many, many specific meanings from "deliberation" to "narrative."  It is the source of our word "logic" and is the root word for all the English words that end in "-ology." Most biblical translations translated it as "word" for somewhat poetic reasons. However, when applied to people, it means "repute" or "reputation." More about this word in this article. In English, we would say "logic," "concept, or "reasoning" to describe it but it also means the communication of various types, so "message" often works. "Teaching" might work but it is unrelated to the common words for "to teach," "teacher," and "student" that all have the same root.

they -- This is from the third-person, plural form of the verb.

quickly - (CW) "Quickly " is from an adverb that means "straightly," "directly," "forthwith," "as soon as," and "straightway." This is not the Greek word meaning usually translated as "quickly."

fall away.-- (WW, WV) "Fall away" is a verb that means "to cause to stumble" or "to trip up." From there it is assumed by its translators to mean "to give offense" and "to scandalize." Our word "scandalize" comes directly from the Greek. However, this interpretation of the word only comes from the translators of the Gospels. This is a Koine word that is found originally only in the New Testament, but based on a noun found only in the Greek Old Testament meaning "snare," or "stumbling block." The noun is changed to a verb by adding an ending very much like we add "ize" to a noun in order to make it a verb.  So, literally, it would mean to "make or perform a stumble." In English, we would simply say, "trips up" capturing the same idea exactly. See the article on this word here. It is not the Greek word meaning "fall." Its voice is passive not active.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV : 

καὶ [1089 verses](conj/adv) "And" is 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."

οὐκ [269 verses](partic) "No" is ou , the negative adverb for facts and statements, negating both single words and sentences.  The other negative adverb, μή applies to will and thought; οὐ denies, μή rejects; οὐ is absolute, μή relative; οὐ objective, μή subjective.

ἔχουσιν [181 verses](verb 3rd pl pres ind act ) "Have"is echo, which means "to have," "to hold," "to possess," "to keep," "to have charge of," "to have due to one," "to maintain," "to hold fast," "to hold in," "to bear," "to carry," "to keep close," "to keep safe," and "to have means to do." In aorist, it can mean "acquire," or "get." The main sense when it has an object is "to have" or "to hold." It can also mean "to without" or "keep back" a thing. 

ῥίζαν [5 verses](noun sg fem acc) "Root" is rhiza, which means "root" and anything that springs from a root. It includes the roots of hairs, feathers, and teeth. It is also a metaphor for roots as a foundation, such as "the roots of the earth."

ἐν [413 verses](prep) "In" is en, which means, with a dative object, "in," "on," "at," "by," "among," "within," "surrounded by," "in one's hands," "in one's power," "during,"  and "with." With the accusative, it means "into," "on," and "for." Referring to time, it means. "in the course of" or "during."

ἑαυτοῖς [75 verses](adj pl masc dat) "Themselves" is heautou, is a reflexive pronoun that means "himself," "herself," "itself" "themselves," and "ourselves." It is not the common pronoun meaning simply "he," "she," "them," etc. In the genitive form, it has the sense of "his own."

ἀλλὰ [154 verses](conj) "And" is alla, which means "instead," "otherwise," "but," "still," "at least," "except," "yet," nevertheless," "rather," "moreover," and "nay."

πρόσκαιρός [2 verses](adj pl masc/fem nom) "For a time" is proskairos, which means "occasional," "temporary," "opportune," and "lasting for a time."- "or awhile" is from an adjective that means "occasional," "temporary," "opportune," and "lasting for a time." It is in a form the refers to a masculine subject.

εἰσιν,  .[614 verses](verb 3rd pl pres ind act) "Endure" is eimi, which means "to be," "to exist," "to be the case," of circumstance and events "to happen,"  and "is possible." With the genitive object, the sense is "belongs to." With the dative, it means "have" where the subject and object are reversed. -- The verb "is" here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition. It also equates terms or assigns characteristics.  The word also means "to exist" and where it doesn't connect to characteristics or conditions. With the genitive object, the sense is "belongs to." With an indirect object, it means "have" where the subject and object are reversed.

εἶτα  [3 verses](adv) "Afterward," is eita, which means "then", "next", "presently," and "soon."  With  a finite Verb after a particle, it expresses surprise or incongruity, and then, and yet.

γενομένης [117 verses](part sg aor mid fem gen) "Arises" "Is" is ginomai, which means "to become," "to come into being," "to happen," of things "to be produced," of events "happen," (passive) "take place," "come to pass," "to be engaged in," math "to be multiplied into," "become one of," "turn into." It means changing into a new state of being. When the participle takes a predicate, the sense is "coming into" something. It is the complementary opposite of the verb "to be" (eimi) which indicates existence in the same state.

θλίψεως [9 verses](noun sg fem gen)"Affliction" is thlipsis, which means "pressure," "crushing," and "castration." It is a metaphor for "affliction"and "oppression." 

[92 verses](conj/adv)  "Or" is e, which is a particle meaning "either," "or," or "than." OR (exclam) "Or" is e which is an exclamation meaning "hi!" OR (adv) "Or" is e, which is an adverb meaning "in truth" and "of a surety."

διωγμοῦ [3 verses](noun sg masc gen) "Persecution" is diogmos, which means "the chase," "pursuit," and "harassment." Related to the much more common dioko.  - 

διὰ  [88 verses](prep) "Through" is dia, which means with the genitive "through," "in the midst of," "in a line (movement)," "throughout (time)," "by (causal)," "for (causal)," "among," and "between." With the accusative, it can also be "thanks to," "because of,"  "by reasons of," and "for the sake of."

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

λόγον[80 verses](noun sg masc acc) "Word" is logos, which means "word," "computation," "relation," "explanation," "law," "rule of conduct," "continuous statement," "tradition," "discussion," "reckoning," "reputation" (when applied to people), and "value."

εὐθὺς  [5 verses](adv) "Immediately" is from euthys, which means "straight", "direct", "straightforward," and "frank." As an adverb, it means "straight", "simple", "straightway," forthwith", "immediately", "directly," and "at once." 

σκανδαλίζονται [20 verses] (verb 3rd pl pres ind mp) "They are offended" is skandalizo, which means "to cause to stumble," "to give offense," and "to scandalize." This is the verb form of skandolon, meaning "trap," "snare," or "stumbling block," that appears twenty-five times in the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament. and fifteen in the NT.

Wordplay: 

Instead of stumbling over roots, we stumble without roots. 

Related Verses: 

Front Page Date: 

Mar 20 2023