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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 23:19 Fools and blind... greater, the gift, or the altar

A long condemnation of the religious leaders of the time, now focusing on swearing oaths.

Spoken to
audience

Matthew 23:19  τυφλοί, τί γὰρ μεῖζον, τὸ δῶρον ἢ τὸ θυσιαστήριον τὸ ἁγιάζον τὸ δῶρον;

KJV Verse

Matthew 23:19 Fools and blind: for whether [is] greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift?

NIV Verse:

Matthew 23:19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?

What His Listeners Heard:

You blind! Because what is better? The gift or the altar? The one purifying that gift ?

Lost In Translation:

The adjective "blind" that begins this verse could also be a verb. The form is the second person in the middle voice, having the sense of "you make yourselves blind."

There is no "is" in the phrase, "what is better" it is assumed from the two subject words (what,better) without a verb. 

The word translated as "sanctify" and "make holy" has the sense of "purifying" something, setting it apart for the worship of the Divine. Purification rituals always involved some form of cleansing, with water or, on an altar, with fire. The "gift" here was burnt on an altar, but some of it was consumed.

KJV w/Translation Issues :

Fools and blind: for whether(WW) [is] greater, the gift, or(CW) the altar that sanctifies(WF) the gift?

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.

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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.