Luke 6:10 Stretch forth thy hand.

Spoken to
an individual

This phrase ia addressed to a crippled man.

KJV

Luke 6:10 Stretch forth thy hand.

NIV

Luke 6:10 Stretch out your hand.

LISTENERS HEARD

Reach out that hand of yours.  

MY TAKE

We must reach out for what we need.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page)
GREEK ORDER

Ἔκτεινον   τὴν  χεῖρά     σου:
Reach out that hand of yours.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

Even the smallest Jesus's verses have hidden meanings. The word translated as "stretch"  also mean "to extend" in the sense of offering help. The Greek word translated as "hand" also means "helping another" (like the English "lending a hand"). This is both a command given to the man with the withered hand and an answer to Jesus's question about whether we can do good on the Sabbath.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
1

Stretch forth thy (MW-this) hand.

  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "hand" is not shown in the English translation.
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
1

Stretch out your  (MW-this) hand.

  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "hand" is not shown in the English translation.
EACH WORD of KJV

Stretch   "Stretch forth" is  a verb that means "to stretch out," but also means "to offer food", "to prostrate yourself," and "to extend." The Greek word for "stretch" has the same meaning as the word in English with all its related ideas of extending yourself and your abilities. This extension of abilities has the same sense of being work and a struggle. It is a command.

forth -- This is from the prefix of the previous verb that means "out of."

thy: The word translated as "thy" is the possessive form of the second person pronoun. This appears after the noun, so "of yours."

missing "the/this"  -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article," the," which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," and "those"). See this article for more. 

hand: "Hand" is a noun "the hand" but has a host of meanings in Greek beyond a simple body part. It means "helping another" (like the English "lending a hand") and it means "an act or deed," especially in the sense of going beyond words.  Christ used the hand, both in his actions and words, as symbolic of an individual's personal power. Every time he used the word (or used his hands), they were an expression of power. Being "in someone's hands" means being in their power (Matthew 17:22). He said that we are better off losing our abilities as symbolized by our hands (Matthew 5:30) than misusing them.

EACH WORD of NIV

Stretch   "Stretch forth" is  a verb that means "to stretch out," but also means "to offer food", "to prostrate yourself," and "to extend." The Greek word for "stretch" has the same meaning as the word in English with all its related ideas of extending yourself and your abilities. This extension of abilities has the same sense of being work and a struggle. It is a command.

out -- This is from the prefix of the previous verb that means "out of."

your -- The word translated as "your" is the possessive form of the second person pronoun. This appears after the noun, so "of yours."

missing "the/this"  -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article," the," which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," and "those"). See this article for more. 

hand: "Hand" is a noun "the hand" but has a host of meanings in Greek beyond a simple body part. It means "helping another" (like the English "lending a hand") and it means "an act or deed," especially in the sense of going beyond words.  Christ used the hand, both in his actions and words, as symbolic of an individual's personal power. Every time he used the word (or used his hands), they were an expression of power. Being "in someone's hands" means being in their power (Matthew 17:22). He said that we are better off losing our abilities as symbolized by our hands (Matthew 5:30) than misusing them.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

Ἔκτεινον  [4 verses](2nd sg aor imperat act) "Stretch forth" is ekteinô, which means "to stretch out," "to offer food," "to prostrate yourself," "to straighten," "spread out," to extend," "spin out, "prolong," "put forth" and, in the passive, "be unfolded," "be smoothed."

τὴν [821 verses](article sg fem acc)  Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").  -

χεῖρά  [25 verses] (noun sg fem acc) "Hand" is from cheir which means "the hand and arm," and "with the help of agency of another." Like "hand" in English, it has a lot of meanings including "an act or deed", "a body of people," and the measurement "handful."

σου [144 verses](pron 2nd sg gen) "Thy" is sou is the genitive form of the second-person, singular pronoun that

Wordplay

The phrase meaning "stretch out your hand" also means to "go beyond words to deeds with your abilities." 

parallel comparison

The parallel verse in Mark 3:5 is identical, while the difference in Matthew 12:13 is only the position of the pronoun, "your". 

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