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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together

The larger context is the agreement between people that heal the divisions.

Spoken to
audience

Matthew 18:20 οὗ γάρ εἰσιν δύο ἢ τρεῖς συνηγμένοι εἰς τὸ ἐμὸν ὄνομα, ἐκεῖ εἰμὶ ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν.

KJV Verse

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.

What His Listeners Heard:

Because, where There are two or three having been brought together for this my name,  there I am in midst of them.

Lost In Translation:

The "two" or "three" here echoes the earlier verse, Matthew 18:16, and may refer to the same people.

The "in my name" here is different than the more common way that Jesus says "in my name," having a different preposition and following word form. To distinguish this phrase, it would be better translated as "for my name" or "for honoring my name." See this article for more.

KJV w/Translation Issues :

For where two or three are(CW) gathered(WT,WF) together in(CW) my name, there am I in the(IW) midst of them.

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.