Jesus begins teaching in the plain of Judea, attracting people from all over wanting to be healed.
Luke 6:36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
Luke 6:36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Become compassionate even as that Father of yours is compassionate.
The nature of the Divine is being. Our nature is becoming.
This verse is a great example of how verses that look similar in translation are a lot different in the Greek. This verse is translated to look like Matthew 5:48, but the words translated as "be" "merciful" and "as"are all different.
The word translated as "be" means "to become," that is, to enter into a new state. In Greek, especially as used by Jesus, it is the opposite of "being," which is existence in the current state. This verse is a contrast between us and the Divine. We can become compassionate, but He is compassionate." This contrast is lost by trying to make this verse sound like the other.
The rare Greek word translated as "merciful" means "merciful" but it comes from the verb "to pity" and "to have compassion" in the sense of "feel sorry for". Translating this adjective as "compassionate" would eliminate confusion.
Be(WW) ye therefore(OS) merciful(CW), as your (MWthe) Father also(OS) is merciful(CW).
- WW --Wrong Word -- The word translated as "be" should be something more like "happen."
- OS -- Outdated Source -- The Greek word translated as "therefore " existed in the KJV Greek source but not the source we use today.
- CW --Confusing Word -- This is not the common word usually translated as "merciful."
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "father" is not shown in the English translation.
- OS -- Outdated Source -- The Greek word translated as "also" existed in the KJV Greek source but not the source we use today.
- CW --Confusing Word -- This is not the common word usually translated as "merciful."
Be(WW) merciful(CW), just as your (MWthe) Father is merciful(CW).
- WW --Wrong Word -- The word translated as "be" should be something more like "happen."
- CW --Confusing Word -- This is not the common word usually translated as "merciful."
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "father" is not shown in the English translation.
- CW --Confusing Word -- This is not the common word usually translated as "merciful."
Be -- (WW) The word translated as "be" means "to become," that is, to enter into a new state. When applied to events, this word means "to happen," "to occur," or "take place." For things, it can be "to be produced." When the participle takes a predicate, the sense is "coming into" something. The form of the verb's object can indicate the time or to whom it "happens." This is not the specific meaning of the word in this situation.
ye -- This is from the second-person, singular form of the verb.
therefore -- (OS) There is nothing in the Greek that can be translated as "therefore " in the source we use today but it does exist in the source that the KJV translators used.
merciful, . - (CW) The rare Greek word translated as "merciful" means "merciful" but it comes from the verb "to pity" in the sense of "feel sorry for". It is from a verb meaning "to feel pity," and "to have compassion."A completely different word is used in Matthew 5:7 for "merciful", from a verb that means "to help one afflicted." This verse is the only use of this word by Jesus Translating it as "compassionate" would avoid confusion.
as -- "As" is from a Greek word that means which means "even as," "how," and, in relating to time, "as" and "when."
your-- The word translated as "your" is a plural, second-person pronoun in the genitive case. This pronoun follows the noun so the possessive "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." Before an adjective, participle, or infinitive it changes the following word 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.
also -- (OS) There is nothing in the Greek that can be translated as "also" in the source we use today but it does exist in the source that the KJV translators used.
is -- The verb "is" 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. The word also means "to exist" and where it doesn't connect to characteristics or conditions.
merciful. \, . - (CW) The rare Greek word translated as "merciful" means "merciful" but it comes from the verb "to pity" in the sense of "feel sorry for". It is from a verb meaning "to feel pity," and "to have compassion."A completely different word is used in Matthew 5:7 for "merciful", from a verb that means "to help one afflicted." This verse is the only use of this word by Jesus Translating it as "compassionate" would avoid confusion.
Be -- (WW) The word translated as "be" means "to become," that is, to enter into a new state. When applied to events, this word means "to happen," "to occur," or "take place." For things, it can be "to be produced." When the participle takes a predicate, the sense is "coming into" something. The form of the verb's object can indicate the time or to whom it "happens." This is not the specific meaning of the word in this situation.
merciful, . - (CW) The rare Greek word translated as "merciful" means "merciful" but it comes from the verb "to pity" in the sense of "feel sorry for". It is from a verb meaning "to feel pity," and "to have compassion."A completely different word is used in Matthew 5:7 for "merciful", from a verb that means "to help one afflicted." This verse is the only use of this word by Jesus Translating it as "compassionate" would avoid confusion.
just as -- "Just as" is from a Greek word that means which means "even as," "how," and, in relating to time, "as" and "when."
your-- The word translated as "your" is a plural, second-person pronoun in the genitive case. This pronoun follows the noun so the possessive "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." Before an adjective, participle, or infinitive it changes the following word 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.
is -- The verb "is" 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. The word also means "to exist" and where it doesn't connect to characteristics or conditions.
merciful. \, . - (CW) The rare Greek word translated as "merciful" means "merciful" but it comes from the verb "to pity" in the sense of "feel sorry for". It is from a verb meaning "to feel pity," and "to have compassion."A completely different word is used in Matthew 5:7 for "merciful", from a verb that means "to help one afflicted." This verse is the only use of this word by Jesus Translating it as "compassionate" would avoid confusion.
Γίνεσθε [117 verses](verb 2nd pl pres imperat mp) "Be ye" is ginomai, which means "to become," "to come into being," "to happen," of things "to be produced," of events "happen," (passive) "take place," "come to pass," "to be engaged in," math "to be multiplied into," "become one of," "turn into." It means changing into a new state of being. When the participle takes a predicate, the sense is "coming into" something. This verb also has a number of special meanings with different prepositions. It is the complementary opposite of the verb "to be" (eimi) which indicates existence in the same state. A genitive object indicates the time during which it "happens" or a date on which it "falls." A dative object indicates to whom it happens.
οἰκτίρμονες [1 verse](adj pl masc nom) "Merciful" is oiktirmon, which means "merciful." It is from a verb meaning "to feel pity," and "to have compassion."
καθὼς [36 verses] (adv) "How" is kathos, which means "even as," "how," and, in relating to time, "as" and "when."
ὁ [821 verses](article sg masc nom) Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). When not preceding a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones." Proper nouns do normally not take articles but they are needed when the noun ending cannot be changed to show the noun's role in the sentence as an object, indirect object, or genitive (possessive) form. However, the Greek article is very close to "this" so the purpose of an article like this can also be demonstrative. See this article. -
πατὴρ [191 verses](noun sg masc nom) "Father" is pater, which means "father," "grandfather," "author," "parent," and "forefathers."
ὑμῶν [168 verses](pron 2nd pl gen) "Your/you" is humon, the plural possessive form of su the pronoun of the second person, "you." It is either a possessive pronoun or the object of a preposition.
οἰκτίρμων [1 verse](adj pl masc nom) "Merciful" is oiktirmon, which means "merciful". - The rare Greek word translated as "merciful" means "merciful" but it comes from the verb "to pity" in the sense of "feel sorry for". A completely different word is used in Matthew 5:7 for "merciful", from a verb that means "to help one afflicted." This verse is the only use of this word by Jesus.
ἐστίν.[614 verses](3rd sg pres ind act) "Is" is eimi, which means "to be," "to exist," "to be the case," of circumstance and events "to happen," and "is possible." With the genitive object, it means "is descended from," "is the type of," "belongs to," "is made of," "is a duty of," "is at the mercy of," or " is dependent on." With the dative object, the object acts like a possessive and "it is to him" becomes "it is his." With the preposition, εἰς, the sense is "consist of."
You might think that this verse would follow the pattern of Matthew 5:48, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." However, not only are the keywords "merciful" and "perfect" different, but the words translated as "be", "ye", and "as" are also different. The word translated as "merciful" is also a different word than the word translated as "merciful" in Matthew 5:7 Blessed [are] the merciful.