Luke 22:29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom,

Spoken to
Apostles

During the Last Supper, Jesus starts praising all his apostles. 

KJV

Luke 22:29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;

NIV

Luke 22:29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me,

LISTENERS HEARD

And I myself bequeath to you even as this father of mine bequeathed by himself a realm to me.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

A verb that Jesus only used here is used twice in this verse. It is translated as "appoint" (KJV) and "confer" (NIV). It is a word that, in the middle voice used, means "to arrange as one like" and to "dispose of". It has the sense of "bequeath" as in a will or to "settle mutually" or "make a covenant with someone". My sense is that the English "bequeath" captures most of these meanings.

We can decide among these different meanings only if we know who is doing the action and what their object is. Jesus emphasizes that he himself is doing this for his apostles at the beginning of the verse and toward the end that his Father did it for him. Only at the end do we find out what is being bequeathed, a kingdom. 

MY TAKE

We inherit by blood, but we can be bequeathed as a recognition of service.

GREEK ORDER

 

κἀγὼ            διατίθεμαι      ὑμῖν,    καθὼς    διέθετό                        μοι            πατήρ     μου  βασιλείαν,
And I myself bequeathed  to you  even as  bequeathed by himself  to me. this father of mine a realm

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
6

And I appoint(CW,WF) unto you a kingdom, as my (MW) Father hath(WF) appointed(CW,WF)  unto me;

  • CW --Confusing Word -- This is not the common word usually translated appoint"appoint".
  • WV --Wrong Voice - The "appoint" here is translated as active but it is either the passive or middle voice where the subject acts on/by/for themselves.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "Father" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "have" indicates the past perfect tense, but the tense is something that happens at a specific point in time (past, present, or future).
  • CW --Confusing Word -- This is not the common word usually translated "appoint".
  • WV --Wrong Voice - The "appoint" here is translated as active but it is either the passive or middle voice where the subject acts on/by/for themselves.
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
6
And I confer(CW,WV) on you a kingdom, just as my (MW) Father conferred(CW,WV)  one(IW) on me,
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "confer" doesn't precisely mean "appoint".
  • WV --Wrong Voice - The "confer" here is translated as active but it is either the passive or middle voice where the subject acts on/by/for themselves.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "Father" is not shown in the English translation.
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "confer" doesn't precisely mean "appoint".
  • WV --Wrong Voice - The "confer" here is translated as active but it is either the passive or middle voice where the subject acts on/by/for themselves.
  • IW - Inserted Word-- The "one" doesn't exist in the source.
EACH WORD of KJV

And I -- "And I" is from a contraction of the conjunction and the first-person pronoun. The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and", but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").  Since, as the subject of the sentence, the pronoun is part of the verb, its explicit use here accentuates who is acting "I". Saying "I myself" captures this feeling in English.

appoint -- (CW, WF)"Appoint" is a Greek verb that is only used here, but it is used twice. It means to "arrange each in their several places", "distribute", "manage" and "set forth". Though it is translated as an active verb, it isn't really. It is most likely a middle (neither passive nor active) form, where the subject acts for or by themselves. In the middle form, this word also means to "arrange as one likes", "to dispose of", "arrange or settle mutually" and "spend".  The meaning of this verb isn't clear until the final word of the verse. This is not the word usually translated as "appoint". The verb here is translated as active but it is either the passive or middle voice where the subject acts on/by/for themselves. 

unto -- This word "to" comes from the indirect object form of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is a "to" for the English indirect object.

you -- The Greek pronoun "unto you" here is plural and in the form of an indirect object, "to you", "for you", etc. 

a -- There is no indefinite article in Greek, but when a noun doesn't have a definite article, the indefinite article can be added in English translation.

kingdom -- The word translated as "a kingdom" can be the region, the reign, the castle or the authority of a ruler. Jesus does not seem to use it to mean a physical region, so its translation as "reign" or "realm" seems more appropriate. This word ends the verse. By not putting it here, Jesus creates some suspense and drama as he talks. The "a" is added because the word has no definite article, "the", in front of it. There is no indefinite article in Greek.

as -- "As" is a Greek adverb which means "even as", "how" and, in relating to time, "as" and "when".

my -- "My" is the first-person possessive singular pronoun. This pronoun actually follows "father" so "of mine".

missing "the/this" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, "the", which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these" and "those"). See this article for more. 

Father -- "Father" is the Greek noun that means "father" or any male ancestor so "forefathers". It is the word that Christ uses to address his own Father. This word has an article, so "the father" or "this father".

hath -- (WT) This helping verb "have" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past. This is not the tense of the verb here. 

appointed  -- - (CW, WF) "Hath appointed" is a the same Greek verb as above. Though it is translated as an active verb in the perfect tensed, it isn't either active nor past. It is clearly the middle form, where the subject acts for or by themselves. In the middle form, this word also means to "arrange as one likes", "to dispose of", "arrange or settle mutually" and "spend".  The meaning of this verb isn't clear until the final word of the verse, but, in the Greek, this verb is separated from the object by the subject, "this father of mine". Again, the purpose seems to be to create suspense.  This is not the word usually translated as "appoint". The verb here is translated as active but it is either the passive or middle voice where the subject acts on/by/for themselves. 

me - The "unto me" is in the indirect object form on the first-person pronoun, so usually "to me", though the form has other uses in Greek. 

EACH WORD of NIV

And I -- "And I" is from a contraction of the conjunction and the first-person pronoun. The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and", but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").  Since, as the subject of the sentence, the pronoun is part of the verb, its explicit use here accentuates who is acting "I". Saying "I myself" captures this feeling in English.

confer -- (CW, WF)"Confer" is a Greek verb that is only used here, but it is used twice. It means to "arrange each in their several places", "distribute", "manage" and "set forth". Though it is translated as an active verb, it isn't really. It is most likely a middle (neither passive nor active) form, where the subject acts for or by themselves. In the middle form, this word also means to "arrange as one likes", "to dispose of", "arrange or settle mutually" and "spend".  The meaning of this verb isn't clear until the final word of the verse. This is not the word usually translated as "confer". The verb here is translated as active but it is either the passive or middle voice where the subject acts on/by/for themselves. 

on -- This word "on" comes from the indirect object form of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is a "to" for the English indirect object.

you -- The Greek pronoun "unto you" here is plural and in the form of an indirect object, "to you", "for you", etc. 

a -- There is no indefinite article in Greek, but when a noun doesn't have a definite article, the indefinite article can be added in English translation.

kingdom -- The word translated as "a kingdom" can be the region, the reign, the castle or the authority of a ruler. Jesus does not seem to use it to mean a physical region, so its translation as "reign" or "realm" seems more appropriate. This word ends the verse. By not putting it here, Jesus creates some suspense and drama as he talks. The "a" is added because the word has no definite article, "the", in front of it. There is no indefinite article in Greek.

 conferred one on me,

just as -- "Just As" is a Greek adverb which means "even as", "how" and, in relating to time, "as" and "when".

my -- "My" is the first-person possessive singular pronoun. This pronoun actually follows "father" so "of mine".

missing "the/this"  -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, "the", which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these" and "those"). See this article for more. 

Father -- "Father" is the Greek noun that means "father" or any male ancestor so "forefathers". It is the word that Christ uses to address his own Father. This word has an article, so "the father" or "this father".

conferred -- (CW,WF) "Conferred" is a the same Greek verb as above. Though it is translated as an active verb in the perfect tense, it is neither active nor past. It is clearly the middle form, where the subject acts for or by themselves. In the middle form, this word also means to "arrange as one likes", "to dispose of", "arrange or settle mutually" and "spend". The meaning of this verb isn't clear until the final word of the verse, but, in the Greek, this verb is separated from the object by the subject, "this father of mine". Again, the purpose seems to be to create suspense. This word doesn't precisely mean "confer". 

one -- (IW) This word is not in the Greek source

on - This word "on" comes from the indirect object form of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is a "to" for the English indirect object. However, the translator can choose other prepositions: "with", "in", "of", "as", "by", "for", "at" or "on" depending on the context.

me - The "unto me" is in the indirect object form on the first-person pronoun, so usually "to me", though the form has other uses in Greek.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

κἀγὼ (conj pron) "And I" is kago, a contraction of kai ego. "And" is kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and" or "but". After words implying sameness, "as" (the same opinion as you). Used in series, joins positive with negative "Not only...but also". Also used to give emphasis, "even", "also" and "just". "I" is ego, which is the first-person singular pronoun meaning "I". It also means "I at least", "for my part", "indeed" and "for myself".

διατίθεμαι [1 verse]( verb 1st sg pres ind mp ) "Appoint" is diatithēmi, which means to "arrange each in their several places", "distribute", "manage" and "set forth". In the middle form, it means to "arrange as one likes", "to dispose of", "to dispose property by a will", "arrange or settle mutually" and "spend".

ὑμῖν, (pron 2nd pl dat) "Unto you" is humin the plural form of su the pronoun of the second person, "you".

καθὼς (adv) "As" is kathos, which means "even as", "how" and, in relating to time, "as" and "when".

διέθετό [1 verse]( verb 3rd sg aor ind mid ) "Hath appointed" is diatithēmi, which means to " arrange each in their several places", "distribute", "manage" and "set forth". In the middle form, it means to "arrange as one likes", "to dispose of", "arrange or settle mutually" and "spend".

μοι (pron 1st sg dat) "Me" is moi, which means "I", "me" and "my". 

[821 verses](article sg masc nom)  Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). It usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. When not preceding a word that can become a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones".

πατήρ ( noun sg masc nom ) "Father" is pater, which means "father", "grandfather", "author", "parent" and "forefathers".

μου (pro sg masc gen) "My" is mou, which means "my" or "mine".

βασιλείαν, (noun sg fem acc) "A kingdom" is basileia, which means "kingdom", "dominion", "hereditary monarchy", "kingly office" (passive), "being ruled by a king" and "reign".

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