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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 18:27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion,

In a section about forgiving debts and mistakes people make.

Spoken to
audience

Matthew 18:27  σπλαγχνισθεὶς δὲ ὁ κύριος τοῦ δούλου [ἐκείνου] ἀπέλυσεν αὐτόν, καὶ τὸ δάνιον ἀφῆκεν αὐτῷ.

KJV Verse

Matthew 18:27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 18:27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

What His Listeners Heard:

Being moved, however, the master of that slave there released him and that loan? He let it go.

Lost In Translation:

This verse begins with a reference to a "gut feelng" which translated as "move with compassion" and "took pity". In Greek, the "bowels" were considered the seat of compassion. We describe this as "being moved" in a very similar sense. This words begins the sentence, setting up the rest.

The "forgave" is set up as a punchline by it phrasing, "And that debt? He forgave him/it." The last word is in a form where it could refer to the slave, as an indirect object, or to the debt, as an object.

KJV w/Translation Issues :

Then(WW) the lord of that (MW) servant was moved(WF,WP) with compassion, and(WP) loosed(CW) him, and forgave him the debt(CW).

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.