Luke 19:22 And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee

KJV

Luke 19:22 And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:

LISTENERS HEARD

He says to him, "From that speech of yours I might criticize you, worthless slave. You see that I myself, a man harsh, I am, carrying off what I didn't place and cutting off what I didn't seed.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

Some interesting things going on with tenses here both in the original and in translation.

The word translated as "He said" is the most common word that means "to say," and "to speak," but it also means "to teach". Strangely, it is in the present tense.

The word translated as "unto him" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English. 

The Greek preposition translated as "out of" means "out of" or "from." In Greek, they use the genitive case instead of a preposition for the types of phrases with usually use with "of."

The word translated as "thy own" is the possessive form of the second person pronoun. It is not the more intense form that would indicate an "own".

The Greek word translated as "mouth" is  means "mouth" and therefore, "speech" or "utterance." In English, we say someone has a "foul mouth" when we mean they use bad language. The Greek use to mean speech was a little more direct.

The term used here for "will judge" is a much more complicated idea. Unlike most words, which Christ uses specifically, he uses this word in a variety of senses simply because no English word corresponds to it precisely. He can mean "judge", "criticize", "decide", "discriminate," and "separate," depending on the context. The tense and mood is also hard to determine. It could be future, as translated, but it could also be present or the aorist. The mood could be indicative or it could be subjective, "might".

The "thee" here is singular, meaning that the line was likely addressed to an individual instead of all his listeners.

The word translated as "evil" means "second-rate" or "worthless." This article explores it meaning in more detail. It is an adjective.

The noun translated as "servant" means "slave." It is translated as "servant" to update the Bible.

The verb translated as "thou knowest" means "to see" but it is used like we use the word "see" to mean "to know" or "to perceive."

The word translated as "that" introduces a statement of fact or cause.

The pronoun "I" is used here. Since, as the subject of the sentence, it is part of the verb, its explicit use accentuates who is speaking "I." Saying "I myself" captures this feeling in English.

- The verb "was" here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition. It also equates terms or assigns characteristics.  It is not the past tense so it should be "am".

"Austere" is an adjective that Jesus only uses in this story. It means "harsh", "rough" and "bitter".

The Greek word for "man" means "man", "person" and "humanity" in the singular.

"Taking up" is one of Christ's favorite "multiple meaning" words. It is a verb that means "to raise up", "elevate", "to bear", "to carry off", "to take and apply to any use," and "to cause to cease." It is in the form of an adjective.

The word translated as "that" 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 Greek wrd translated as "I laid...down" is translated from a Greek word that means primarily "to put," and "to place," but which has many related meanings as well. This verb is in a form that indicates it is possible but not certain.

The Greek word translated as "not" is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It makes a negative statement of fact. Adding "really" to the sentence captures the same idea.

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 Greek word translated as "reaping " means "to do summer work" and "to reap."

The word translated as "that" 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 form is singular neutral.

The Greek word translated as "I did...sow:" means specifically to "sow seeds" and "to scatter" as in sowing seeds.

The Greek word translated as "not" is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It makes a negative statement of fact. Adding "really" to the sentence captures the same idea.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

λέγει ( verb 3rd sg pres ind act ) "He said" 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."

αὐτῷ (adj sg masc dat)  "Unto him" is autos, which means "the same," and the reflexive pronouns, "myself", "yourself", "himself", "herself", "itself," or the oblique case of the pronouns, "him", "her," and "it." It also means "one's true self," that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of one's own accord." In the adverbial form, it  means "just here" or "exactly there." -- 

Ἐκ (prep) "Out of" is ek, which means 1) [of motion] "out of", "from", "by", "away from;" 2) [of place] "beyond", "outside of", "beyond;" 3) [of succession] "after", "from;" 4) [of rest] "on", "in," 5) [of time] "since", "from", "at", "in;" 5) [of materials] "out of", "made from."

τοῦ στόματός ( noun sg neut gen ) "Mouth" is stoma, which means "mouth" and therefore, "speech" or "utterance." In English, we say someone has a "foul mouth" when we mean they use bad language. The Greek use to mean speech was a little more direct.

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

κρίνω ( verb 1st sg pres/aor/fut ind/subj act ) "Judge" is krino, which primarily means "to separate", "to put asunder," and "to distinguish." It has a lot of other secondary meanings, including "to pick out", "to choose", "to decide" disputes or accounts, "to win" a battle, "to judge" especially in the sense of "estimate", "to expound," or "to interpret" in a particular way.

σε, (pron 2nd sg acc) "Thee" is from se, the second person singular accusative pronoun. -- 

πονηρὲ ( adj sg masc voc ) "Evil" is poneros, which means "burdened by toil", "useless," and "worthless." In a moral sense, it means "worthless", "base," and "cowardly."

δοῦλε: (noun sg masc voc ) "Servant" is doulos, which means a "slave," a "born bondsman," or "one made a slave." --

ᾔδεις ( verb 2nd sg plup ind act ) "Thou knowest" is eido which means "to see", "to examine", "to perceive", "to behold", "to know how to do", "to see with the mind's eye," and "to know."

ὅτι (adv/conj) "That" is hoti, which introduces a statement of fact "with regard to the fact that", "seeing that," and acts as a causal adverb meaning "for what", "because", "since," and "wherefore."

ἐγὼ (pron 1st sg masc nom) "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. -

ἄνθρωπος (noun sg masc nom) "Of man" is anthropos, which is "man," and, in plural, "mankind." It also means "humanity" and that which is human and opposed to that which is animal or inanimate.

αὐστηρός [only this story]( adj sg masc nom ) "Austere" is austēros, which means "harsh", "rough" and "bitter".

εἰμι, (verb 1st sg pres ind act) "Was" is eimi, which means "to be", "to exist", "to be the case," of circumstance and events "to happen",  and "is possible." (The future form is esomai. The 3rd person present indicative is "esti.") -

αἴρων ( part sg pres act masc nom ) "Taking up" is airo, which means "to lift up", "to raise", "to raise up", "to exalt", "to lift and take away," and "to remove." In some forms, it is apaomai, which means to "pray to," or "pray for." --

(pro sg neut acc ) "That" is hos, which means "this", "that", "he", "she", "which", "what", "who", "whosoever", "where", "for which reason," and many similar meanings.

οὐκ (partic) "Not" is ou which is the negative adverb for facts and statements, negating both single words and sentences. The other negative adverb, μή applies to will and thought; οὐ denies, μή rejects; οὐ is absolute, μή relative; οὐ objective, μή subjective.

ἔθηκα ( verb 1st sg aor ind act ) "I laid...down" is tithemi which means "to put", "to place", "to propose", "to suggest", "o deposit", "to set up", "to dedicate", "to assign", "to award", "to agree upon", "to institute", "to establish", "to make", "to work", "to prepare oneself," "to bear arms [military]," "to lay down and surrender [military]," "to lay in the grave", "to bury," and "to put words on paper [writing]," and a metaphor for "to put in one's mind." --

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."

θερίζων( verb 1st sg pres ind act ) "Reapest" is therizô (therizo), which means "to do summer work", "to reap", "to mow", "to cut off," and, in some areas, "to plunder." --

( pron sg neut acc ) "That" is hos, which means "this", "that", "he", "she", "which", "what", "who", "whosoever", "where", "for which reason," and many similar meanings. -- The word translated as "who" 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.

οὐκ (partic) "Not" is ou which is the negative adverb for facts and statements, negating both single words and sentences. The other negative adverb, μή applies to will and thought; οὐ denies, μή rejects; οὐ is absolute, μή relative; οὐ objective, μή subjective.

ἔσπειρα; ( verb 1st sg aor ind act ) "Thou didst...sow" is speiro, which means "to sow a seed", "to beget offspring", "to scatter like a seed," and "to sow a field." --

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