This verse returns to the simple vocabulary of a parable, since the serious drama is over, at least until the end. The language is simple but much more conversational than we see in translation. Both translations eliminating the punchline, which is "It is ready!" and the very end of the verse. The point is to create urgency in the story, something established before the bloodshed.
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 22:8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.
NIV Verse:
Matthew 22:8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come.
What His Listeners Heard:
Then, he told those servants of his: this indeed [is] a wedding. Those, however, having been called weren't worthy. It is ready!
Lost In Translation:
KJV w/Translation Issues :
Then saith he to his (MW) servants, The wedding is(WP) (MW) ready(WP), but they which(IW) were(WT) bidden were not worthy.
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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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.
Christ's Words in Matthew as a Guide to 40 Days of Prayer.