Luke 19:20 And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound,

KJV

Luke 19:20 And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin:

LISTENERS HEARD

And the other showed up saying, "Master, look here! That amount of yours, which I have held laying aside in a towel.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

There is a double meaning in the word "laid aside" that is the point of the story. This verse also has two unique words. The "napkin" is not so odd as it seems.

The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and", but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). In a series, it is best translated as "not only...but also." After words implying sameness "as".

The word translated as "another" means "one of two", "other," or "different." It is an adjective used as a noun. It is introduced with an article.

The word translated as "came" primarily means "to start out" but Christ usually uses it to mean "come" but not always. It indicates movement, especially its beginning, without indicating a direction toward or away from anything, so it works either as "come" or "go," but it is more like our phrase "being underway." Our English word "show up" captures both the "start" and "come" ideas. 

The word translated as "saying," is the most common word that means "to say," and "to speak."

The word translated as "lord" is the same word that is often translated as "Lord" or "the Lord" in the NT. It also means "lord", "master of the house," and "head of the family." It is the specific terms for the master of slaves or servants, but it was a common term of respect both for those in authority and who were honored.

"Behold" is a verbal command meaning "See!" and "Look!" It is from the most common word meaning "to see" in Greek. In a humorous vein, it is also an adverbial exclamation like we use the phrase "tah-dah" in a magic show, or "voila" in French. "Look!" or "See!" comes closest in English. Jesus uses it both ways.

There is no "here is" in the source Greek. This is a good example of creating a complete written sentence out of perfecting good spoken words.

The word translated as "thy" is the possessive form of the second person pronoun.

"Pound" is the Greek word for a "a weight", "a sum of money", and the amount of about "100 drachmas". 

The word translated as "which" is a demonstrative pronoun ("this" "that"), but it often acts as a pronoun ("the one that), especially a connective pronoun ("the one that") introducing a dependent clause.

The word translated as "I have" means to "have", "possess", "bear", "keep close", "have means to do",  "to have due to one", or "keep" and many specific uses.

"Laid up" is from a verb that Jesus only uses here. It is a verb that means "to be laid up in store" when referring to money, as it does here. But it also means  "to be laid aside neglected", which is the point of the story.

The word translated as "in" also means "within", "with," or "among."

"Napkin" is another word that Jesus only uses here. It means "towel" or "napkin", but the sense is a smaller square of cloth, used like a handkerchief. In Jesus's time, people often kept money tied up in cloth, creating a bag. 

 

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

καὶ (conj/adv) "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." --

ἕτερος ( adj sg masc nom ) "Another" is heteros, which means "one or the other of two", "the second", "the secondary", "the minor", "other things [of like kind]", "another", "different," "other than", "different from", "other than should be," and "in another or a different way." As an adverb, it means "in one or the other way", "differently", "otherwise than should be", "badly," and "wrongly."

ἦλθεν ( verb 3rd sg aor ind act ) "Come" is erchomai, which means "to start," "to set out", "to come", "to go," and any kind of motion. It means both "to go" on a journey and "to arrive" at a place.

λέγων ( part sg pres act masc nom ) "Saying" is lego, which means "to recount", "to tell over", "to say", "to speak", "to teach", "to mean", "boast of", "tell of", "recite," nominate," and "command." It has a secondary meaning "pick out," "choose for oneself", "pick up", "gather", "count," and "recount." A less common word that is spelled the same means "to lay", "to lay asleep" and "to lull asleep." --

Κύριε, ( noun sg masc voc ) "Lord" is kyrios (kurios), which means "having power", "being in authority" and "being in possession of." It also means "lord", "master of the house," and "head of the family." -

ἰδοὺ (adv, verb 2nd sg aor imperat mid) "Behold is idou, which means "to behold", "to see," and "to perceive." It acts as an adverbial phrase in this form meaning "Lo! Behold!" and "See there!' It is a form of the verb eido, which means "to see."

μνᾶ (noun sg fem nom ) "Pound" is mna, which means "a weight", "a sum of money", and "100 drachmas".

σου (adj sg masc gen) "Thy" is sou which means "of you" and "your."

ἣν ( pron sg fem acc ) "Which" is hos, which means "this", "that", "he", "she", "which", "what", "who", "whosoever", "where", "for which reason," and many similar meanings.

εἶχον ( verb 1st sg imperf ind act ) "I have" is echo, which means "to have", "to hold", "to possess", "to keep", "to have charge of", "to have due to one", "to maintain", "to hold fast", "to bear", "to carry", "to keep close", "to keep safe," and "to have means to do."

ἀποκειμένην [unique] ( part sg pres mp fem acc ) "Kept laid up" is  apokeimai, which means to " to be laid away from", "to be laid up in store", "to be laid aside neglected", "to be exposed", and "to lie open to".

ἐν (prep) "In" is en, which means "in", "on", "at", "by", "among", "within", "surrounded by", "in one's hands", "in one's power," and "with". --

σουδαρίῳ: [unqiue]( noun sg neut dat ) "Napkin" is soudarion, which means a "towel" or "napkin".

Front Page Date