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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 21:37 But last of all he sent unto them his son,...

This continues the lesson about authority and trust to a story about how not trusting those in power leads to a predictable result.

Spoken to
audience

Matthew 21:37 ὕστερον δὲ ἀπέστειλεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ λέγων Ἐντραπήσονται τὸν υἱόν μου.

KJV Verse

Matthew 21:37 But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 21:37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

What His Listeners Heard:

The last, however, he sent to them that son of his, saying, "They will feel fear on account of this son of mine."

Lost In Translation:

The key to this verse is the word translated as "reverence" which means "to be turned around." Christ commonly uses this idea of "turning around" to describe changing behavior but that idea is lost in translation. For example. the word "repent" in the phrase, "Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand" means to "turn around."

Missing in this verse is the little joke that appears in the version in Mark Mark 12:6. A lot happened before you came.

KJV w/Translation Issues :

But last of all(IW) he sent unto them his (MW) son, saying, They will reverence my (MW) son.

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.