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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 19:26 With men this is impossible...

The apostles were astounded at being told that a rich man has a hard time entering into the realm of the divine.

Spoken to
audience

Matthew 19:26 Παρὰ ἀνθρώποις τοῦτο ἀδύνατόν ἐστιν, “παρὰ δὲ θεῷ πάντα δυνατά.”

KJV Verse

Matthew 19:26 With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 19:26 With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

What His Listeners Heard:

In the presence of people, this is impossible. However, in the presence of divinity everything is possible.

Lost In Translation:

The two "with" prepositions in this verse are not the common word translated as "with." Instead, it is a preposition that means "by the side of," from with we get the word "parallel."  The sense is that there are two sides, men and God and that we align with one or the other.

This is a rare time when Jesus does not use an article with the word translated as "God."

The word "saved" did not have the same meaning in Jesus's time and to the apostles as it does in a religious sense now, but it did have the same general sense of "rescue." We talk today about medicine saving lives, good habits saving lives, a rescue from a burning building saving lives, or spending more money saving lives. But we mean only extending life for a limited time. Everyone who has been born on earth has or will die an earthly death among men. The only way our lives are rescued is by being enfolded in the eternal.

KJV w/Translation Issues :

With(CW) men this is impossible; but with(CW) God all things are possible.

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.