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.

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Today's Verse Analysis

After his opponents leave, Jesus addresses the crowd telling a parable comparing the realm of the skies to a man, a king.

Spoken to
audience
KJV Verse

Matthew 22:10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 22:10 So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.

What His Listeners Heard:

And going out the servants there into the roads, brought together all as many as they discovered, both worthless and well-born and it was filled up, that nuptial, of diners

Lost In Translation:

The KJV doesn't really translate the last part of this verse as much as try to communicate its general meaning without translating it. The NIV ignores many of the words of this verse because, obviously, Jesus was just rambling on for no reason and no one today really cares. 

Remember, this parable started making this king, not the wedding, an analogy for the realm of the skies. The story thus far has the king invite some to his son's wedding, those invited refusing,  killing the messengers, getting killed in return, now inviting everyone, the "good" and "bad." The terms used for "good" and "bad" are closer in meaning the way Jesus uses these words to "valuable" and "worthless." So the wedding is filled with many people who didn't start off as valuable, but they are being rewarded just for coming to the celebration. But the story doesn't end there.

KJV w/Translation Issues :

So(WW) those (MW) servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all [as many as(OS)] they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished(CW) with guests(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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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.