For those who want to know what Jesus really said, how he said it, why crowds came to hear him, and shades of meaning lost or hidden in translation.

Home

Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 21:39  And they caught him, and cast him

This continues the lesson about authority and trust to a story about how not trusting those in power leads to a predictable result.

Spoken to
audience

Matthew 21:39  καὶ λαβόντες αὐτὸν ἐξέβαλον ἔξω τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος καὶ ἀπέκτειναν.

KJV Verse

Matthew 21:39 And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 21:39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

What His Listeners Heard:

And they got him, tossed him out from the vineyard and destroyed him.

Lost In Translation:

This verse is a good example of how Jesus uses certain words and exaggeration to lighten the story. The word translated as "caught/took" is more like our word "got," but here means getting in a strong grasp, so "seize," works well. The word translated as "tossed/threw" has its prefix, meaning "out of," is repeated in the preposition giving it a stronger sense, like "eject." (Note, this verb is unnecessary for the story, but added to create the three beats of good story-telling.  The "slew/killed" is also more extreme, more like "destroyed."

The feeling is a little like you would tell a story for children, making it dramatic and entertaining. The most extreme word, "destroyed" end the verse.

KJV w/Translation Issues :

And they caught(CW) him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew(CW) him.

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.

Free Subscriptions

Regular emails from Substack, subscribe to Rediscovering Jesus's Words.

 

Do Your Own Research

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.