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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 16:8 Oh you of little faith, why reason

In response to the Apostles realizing they forgot to bring bread, a comedic misunderstanding takes place.

Spoken to
Apostles

Matthew 16:8 Τί διαλογίζεσθε ἐν ἑαυτοῖς, ὀλιγόπιστοι, ὅτι ἄρτους οὐκ ἔχετε;

KJV Verse

Matthew 16:8 O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?

NIV Verse:

Matthew 16:8 You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread?

What His Listeners Heard:

Why do you argue among yourselves, you tiny trusters? Because you don't have bread?

Lost In Translation:

The scene here is really pretty funny. Jesus makes the statement about the leaven of the Pharisees in Matthew 16:6, and the apostles argue about not having bread, thinking that Jesus is worried about taking bread from his opponents, like he was suggesting that it was poisoned. This verse has two other meanings that are not apparent. Jesus is telling the apostles that you cannot find the meaning of his words by debating them. He is also telling them that they are arguing among themselves because they cannot perceive what is right in front of them. "Bread" is Jesus's symbol for nourishment, both physical and spiritual, the theme of this chapter and the last.

KJV w/Translation Issues :

O ye of(IW) little faith(WP), why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have(WT) brought(OS) no(WP) bread?

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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