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Today's Verse Analysis

After Peter says that he doesn't want Jesus prediction of his death to be true.

Spoken to
Peter
KJV Verse

Matthew 16:23 Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 16:23 “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

What His Listeners Heard:

Withdraw opposition behind me, you are a trap for me because you do not comprehend things of the Divine but instead things of these people.

Lost In Translation:

This verse's meaning is very different from the way it is normally translated, Jesus statement is as much of a compliment as a criticism.  He is not calling Peter, "Satan." The word is not in the form of address. Nor is he calling Peter an "offense" or a "stumbling block." That word is not in the right form either. The form of the words "satan" and "offense/stumbling block" match each other and both are the object of the verb mistranslated as "get" and better translated as "withdraw.

This verse also uses a couple of Aramaic words, translated as "Satan" and "offence/stumbling block"  that are put into a Greek form. If Jesus's words, as some claim, are translated into Greek from Aramaic, it is hard to explain why some words aren't translated (see more in this article about why we believe that Christ taught in Greek). The word "satanas" means "adversary," "adversity,"  and the idea of "opposition." See this article on "satan".

This verse also uses an uncommon verb translated as "savorest" and "have in mind." This indicates that it was chosen for its specific meaning. It is from a root noun that Jesus never uses that means "midrift," but which the Greeks use like we use "a gut feeling" or "having the guts" or "my gut tells me. So the sense is "having a gut feeling." However, we can simplify this to the idea of "comprehend," though I think the literal sense has more feeling. So Jesus is saying that Peter is like him, not having a gut feeling to things of the Divine, but for this of people.

This NIV version is embellished with words like "concerns" that Jesus doesn't use. The NIV also strips out the parallel constructions that Jesus used.

KJV w/Translation Issues :

Get(CW) thee behind me, Satan(UW,WF): thou art an offence(WF) unto(WW) me: for thou savourest(CW) not the(IW) things [that be(IP)] of (MW) God, but(CW) those [that be(IP)] of (MW)men.

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.