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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 18:10 Take heed that you despise not one of these little ones;

From making yourself like a child to avoiding stumbling and back to children.

Spoken to
group

Matthew 18:10 Ὁρᾶτε μὴ καταφρονήσητε ἑνὸς τῶν μικρῶν τούτων, λέγω γὰρ ὑμῖν ὅτι οἱ ἄγγελοι αὐτῶν ἐν οὐρανοῖς διὰ παντὸς βλέπουσι τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ πατρός μου τοῦ ἐν οὐρανοῖς.

KJV Verse

Matthew 18:10 Take heed that you despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 18:10 See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

What His Listeners Heard:

Watch out! You shouldn't  look down on one of these little ones here. Because I tell you those messengers of theirs in skies? They see, through all, the face of that father of mine, the one in [the] skies.

Lost In Translation:

The first line is clearly humorous, saying, "watch out not to look down on one of these little ones." But obviously, because they are little, we have to look down on them. 

Jesus did not use the word "angels," but the Greek source of that word that means  "messengers," often in the sense of how the Divine inspires our thoughts. So the sense is that children are in closer communication with the Divine. 

The words translated as "do always," or "always" doesn't mean that. The phrase is "though all" in the sense of through all the illusions of the world" they see God's face. 

KJV w/Translation Issues :

 Take heed that(IW) ,you despise(CW) not(CW) one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in (MW) heaven(WN) their (MW) angels(UW) do(IW) (MW) always(WW) behold(CW) the face of my Father which is(IW) in heaven(WN).

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.