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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 23:23 Woe unto you...for you pay tithes of mint and anise and cumin,

A long condemnation of the religious leaders of the time. their focusing on small things, not big ones.

Spoken to
audience

Matthew 23:23 Οὐαὶ ὑμῖν, γραμματεῖς καὶ Φαρισαῖοι ὑποκριταί, ὅτι ἀποδεκατοῦτε τὸ ἡδύοσμον καὶτὸ ἄνηθον καὶ τὸ κύμινον, καὶ ἀφήκατε τὰ βαρύτερα τοῦ νόμου, τὴν κρίσιν καὶ τὸ ἔλεοςκαὶ τὴν πίστιν: ταῦτα δὲ ἔδει ποιῆσαι κἀκεῖνα μὴ ἀφεῖναι.

KJV Verse

Matthew 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

What His Listeners Heard:

Sadly, for you, writers and distinguished, actors, that you take a tenth from the mint, and the dill and the cumin, and you let go of the burdens of the Law: this judgment, and this compassion, and this trust. These, however, are needed to produce those things there, not wanting to leave them undone.

Lost In Translation:

In this verse, Jesus starts with the humorous form repeating the pattern of a number of earlier verses. The KJV translation disguises some keywords, translating the same words differently in different parts of the text, such as "omitted" and "leave." Also hidden here is the idea that the virtues of justice, mercy. and faith are needed to produce the spices listed, metaphorically meaning the good things in life.

The KJV and NIV translators really didn't like the words that Jesus used here, leaving out a bunch, adding a lost of their own, changing most of the verbs from their basic meanings, changing many of the word forms. I almost certainly lose track of all the issues in trying to list them. This is a shame because a literal, word for word translation is perfectly understandable and more specific than their convolutions.

KJV w/Translation Issues :

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees(UW), hypocrites(UW)! for(CW) ye pay tithe of(CW) (MW) mint and (MW) anise(WW) and (MW) cummin, and have(WT) omitted(CW) the weightier matters of the law, (MW) judgment, (MW) mercy, and (MW) faith: (MW) these ought(WT) ye to have done, and(IW) not to leave the other(WN) undone(IW).

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.