Mark 10:36 What would ye that I should do for you?

Spoken to: 

Apostles

James and John ask for a favor.

KJV: 

Mark 10:36 What would ye that I should do for you?

NIV : 

Mark 10:36 What do you want me to do for you?

LISTENERS HEARD: 

What do you want me to do for you?

MY TAKE: 

What we asked for has an affect on what we get.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page): 

GREEK ORDER: 

Τί      θέλετε           ποιησαι  με      ὑμῖν;
What do you want  to do      me for you?

LOST IN TRANSLATION: 

The source I use has a different version of this verse, but the majority of Greek sources have what I show here (see the analysis of various sources here). The word translated as "would/want" means "want" or "desire."

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

3
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "would" does not capture the word's specific meaning in this situation.
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "that" doesn't exist in the source.
  • WW --Wrong Word -- The word translated as "should" should be something more like "to."

EACH WORD of KJV : 

What -- The word translated as "what" means primarily "anything" or "anyone," but Jesus often uses it to start a question so it means "who", "what", or even "why". 

would -- (CW) The Greek verb translated as "would" expresses consent and even a delight in doing something. It means "to desire", "to consent", and "to be resolved to a purpose". This is not the specific meaning of the word in this situation.

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

that -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "that" in the Greek source.  The source has an infinitive verb here.

I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the following verb. The pronoun in the source is an object, the form of a subject for an infinitive.

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

do  -- The Greek word translated as "I do" has the primary meaning of "making" or producing" something or "causing" or "performing" as service. It describes a productive action.  It is not as broad a word as the English "do", which covers all actions, productive or not. 

for -- This word "for" comes from the dative case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. However, the translator can choose other prepositions: "with,"  "in,"   "of,"  "as," "by," "for," "at," or "on" depending on the context.

you -- The Greek pronoun "you" here is plural and in the form of an indirect object, "to you," "for you," etc. As the object of a preposition, this form implies no movement, but in a fixed position or events occur at a specified time or while the action was being performed.

EACH WORD of NIV : 

What -- The word translated as "what" means primarily "anything" or "anyone," but Jesus often uses it to start a question so it means "who", "what", or even "why". 

do -- This English helping verb is used to create questions, commands, negative statements, and smooth word flow in translation from Greek

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

want -- The Greek verb translated as "want " expresses consent and even a delight in doing something. It means "to desire", "to consent", and "to be resolved to a purpose". This is not the specific meaning of the word in this situation.

me -- The majority of Greek sources have a first-person pronoun here in the form of an object.

to -- This "to" is added because the infinitive form of the verb requires a "to" in English.

do for you?

for -- This word "for" comes from the dative case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. However, the translator can choose other prepositions: "with,"  "in,"   "of,"  "as," "by," "for," "at," or "on" depending on the context.

you -- The Greek pronoun "you" here is plural and in the form of an indirect object, "to you," "for you," etc. As the object of a preposition, this form implies no movement, but in a fixed position or events occur at a specified time or while the action was being performed.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV : 

Τί [252 verses]( irreg sg neut nom/acc ) "What" is tis which can mean "someone", "any one", "everyone", "they [indefinite]", "many a one", "whoever", "anyone", "anything", "some sort", "some sort of", "each", "any", "the individual", "such," and so on. In a question, it can mean "who", "why," or "what."

θέλετε [64 verses](2nd pl pres ind act) "Would ye" is thelo, which as a verb means "to be willing (of consent rather than desire)", "to wish", "to ordain", "to decree", "to be resolved to a purpose" "to maintain", "to hold", "to delight in, and "will (too express a future event with inanimate objects)." As a participle, it means "being willing" or, adverbially, "willingly," and "gladly".

ποιησαι  [168 verses] (verb aor inf act) OR ποιήσω; [168 verses]( verb 1st sg aor subj/fut ind act) "I should do" is poieo, which means "to make", "to produce", "to create", "to bring into existence", "to bring about", "to cause", "to perform", "to render", "to consider", "to prepare", "to make ready," and "to do."

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

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

Related Verses: 

Possible Symbolic Meaning: 

This is a question we should all be thinking about in the context of our own lives.  Christ's message is that our lives on earth are not about being (the eternal), but about becomingIn the Lord's prayer, Christ describes the universe and the earth as the "becoming" of God's will.  Here, Christ asks us what we want that becoming to be.

We know what we will become in the temporal world, dust to dust. The larger question is what do we becoming spiritually, in that part of us that survives death and exists forever.

Front Page Date: 

Jul 17 2023