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Today's Verse Analysis

Apostles asked why they were unable to caste out a demon.

Spoken to
Apostles

This verse does not appear in the sources we used today. Below is the verse from the source used by the KJV translators.
Textus Receptus: τοῦτο δὲ τὸ γένος οὐκ ἐκπορεύεται εἰ μὴ ἐν προσευχῇ καὶ νηστείᾳ

KJV Verse

Matthew 17:21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 17:21 (Not included)

What His Listeners Heard:

This one, however, this kind, doesn't go out except by prayer. And it is fasting.

Lost In Translation:

This verse does not exist in the sources we use today, and highly suspicious because of its content.  The analysis is of the Textus Receptus version used by the KJV translators. The version in Mark 9:29 is shorter and uses a slightly different vocabulary. Many of these words are uncommon for Jesus and the final word, "fasting," is a feminine form only used here. It seems to be the wrong form, a subject rather than the object of the preposition.

KJV w/Translation Issues :

Howbeit(CW) this (MW) kind(CW) goeth not out but(WW) by prayer and fasting(WF).

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.