To John's Followers, describing himself
Matthew 11:6 And blessed is [he], whoever shall not be offended by me.
Matthew 11:6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.
Also, lucky is that one when he does not seem tripped up around me.
We are lucky when the truth trips us up.
A lot of the humor here is lost in translation. The Greek words translated as "blessed" is the same adjective used in the Beatitudes that means "fortunate" and "lucky."
The "offended" are more interesting than the way they are translated. It is a word that means "tripped up."
The negative here, "not," is the negative of thought or desire. The sense is "want to be" or "seems to be."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "blessed" only means "blessed" in the sense of "fortunate" or "lucky."
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "whoever" should be something more like "when."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "shall" does not mean the future tense.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "not" is the subjective negative of opinion with the sense of "not wanting," "not thinking" or not seeming when used with a non-opinion verb.
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "offended" should be something more like "tripped up."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "by" only means "by" in the sense of "near."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "blessed" only means "blessed" in the sense of "fortunate" or "lucky."
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "who" should be something more like "when."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "not" is the subjective negative of opinion with the sense of "not wanting," "not thinking" or not seeming when used with a non-opinion verb.
- WV - Wrong Voice - The "Stumble" here is translated as active but it is passive.
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "on account of" should be something more like "around" or "near."
And - The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also") and, In a series, it can be translated as "not only...but also."
blessed - (CW) "Blessed" is a Greek word that compliments someone for their good fortune, meaning "prosperous," "happy," "fortunate," and "blissful." Though it can be translated as "blessed," it is not a religious concept except in the most general sense.
is - The word translated as "he, whosoever" is a demonstrative pronoun ("this," "that"), but it often acts as a pronoun, especially a connective pronoun introducing a dependent clause.
he - -- The word translated as "he whoever" 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.
whoever -- (WW) The Greek word translated as "whoever" is the conjunction that means "if maybe" and which is used like our "when."
shall -- (CW) This helping verb "shall" does not indicate the future tense, but that the verb describes a possibility, the subjunctive voice. A "might" or "should" in English is more appropriate, but is assumed in an "if/when/whoever/except" clause. Helping verbs are not needed in Greek since the main verb carries this information in its form.
not -- (CW) The negative used here is the Greek negative of a subjective opinion, commands, and requests. The sense is that "you don't want" to do something, not that it isn't done or don't think something that might be true. With the verb "to be," the sense is "doesn't seem." When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause. When it precedes other words, its force is limited to those words. This is the negative used with commands or requests.
be -- This helping verb "be" indicates that the verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
offended - (WW) "Offended" is a verb that means "to cause to stumble" or "to trip up." From there it is assumed by its translators to mean "to give offense" and "to scandalize." Our word "scandalize" come directly from the Greek. However, this interpretation of the word only comes from the translators of the Gospels. This is a Koine word that is found originally only in the New Testament, but based on a noun found only in the Greek Old Testament meaning "snare," or "stumbling block." The noun is changed to a verb by adding an ending very much like we add "ize" to a noun in order to make it a verb. So, literally it would mean to "stumblize." In English, we would simply say, "trips up" capturing the same idea exactly.
by -- (CW) The word translated as "in" means "in," "within," "with," or "among" with a dative object as the one here. With the accusative, it means "into," "on," and "for." When referring to time, it means "during." It can mean "on," "at," or "by" in the sense of "near." In the context of stumbling perhaps "around" works best.
me. - The "me" here is an indirect object.
missing "and" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also") and, In a series, it can be translated as "not only...but also."
blessed - (CW) "Blessed" is a Greek word that compliments someone for their good fortune, meaning "prosperous," "happy," "fortunate," and "blissful." Though it can be translated as "blessed," it is not a religious concept except in the most general sense.
is - The word translated as "he, whosoever" is a demonstrative pronoun ("this," "that"), but it often acts as a pronoun, especially a connective pronoun introducing a dependent clause.
anyone -- (CW) The word translated as "anyone" 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. This is not the Greek pronoun that has our sense of "anyone."
who -- (WW) The Greek word translated as "who" is the conjunction that means "if maybe" and which is used like our "when."
does -- This helping verb is used to create questions, commands, negative statements, and smooth word flow in English, but the Greek could be either a question or a statement.
not -- (CW) The negative used here is the Greek negative of a subjective opinion, commands, and requests. The sense is that "you don't want" to do something, not that it isn't done or don't think something that might be true. With the verb "to be," the sense is "doesn't seem." When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause. When it precedes other words, its force is limited to those words. This is the negative used with commands or requests.
stumble - (WV) "Offended" is a verb that means "to cause to stumble" or "to trip up." From there it is assumed by its translators to mean "to give offense" and "to scandalize." Our word "scandalize" come directly from the Greek. However, this interpretation of the word only comes from the translators of the Gospels. This is a Koine word that is found originally only in the New Testament, but based on a noun found only in the Greek Old Testament meaning "snare," or "stumbling block." The noun is changed to a verb by adding an ending very much like we add "ize" to a noun in order to make it a verb. So, literally it would mean to "stumblize." In English, we would simply say, "trips up" capturing the same idea exactly. The verb is passive, not active so, "is tripped up."
on account of -- (WW) The word translated as "on account of " means "in," "within," "with," or "among" with a dative object as the one here. With the accusative, it means "into," "on," and "for." When referring to time, it means "during." It can mean "on," "at," or "by" in the sense of "near." In the context of stumbling perhaps "around" works best. It is not the Greek word that means "on account of," nor is the preposition used that way.
me. - The "me" here is an indirect object.
καὶ (conj) "And" is from kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and," or "also." 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."
μακάριός (adj sg masc nom ) "Blessed" is from makarios which means "blessed," "prosperous," "happy," "fortunate," and "blissful."
ἐστιν (3rd sg pres ind act) "Is" is from eimi, which means "to be," "to exist," "to be the case," and "is possible." It can also mean "must" with a dative.
ὃς (pron sg masc nom) "He, whosoever" is from hos, which means "this," "that," "he," "she," "which," "what," "who," "whosoever," "where," "for which reason," and many similar meanings.
ἂν (conj) Untranslated is ghe Greek word meaning "when" indicates more of an expectation of something happening than "if" alone. This is often how we use the word "when."
μὴ (partic) "Not" is me , which is the negative used in prohibitions and expressions of doubt meaning "not" and "no." As οὐ (ou) negates fact and statement; μή rejects, οὐ denies; μή is relative, οὐ absolute; μή subjective, οὐ objective.
σκανδαλισθῇ (3rd sg aor subj pass) "Offended" is skandalizô, which means "to cause to stumble" or "to give offense" in the active and "to stumble" or "to be offended" in the passive.
ἐν (prep) "By" is from en, which means "in," "on," "at," "by," "among," "within," "surrounded by," "in one's hands," "in one's power," and "with."
ἐμοί. (pron 1st sg masc dat) "Me" is from emoi, which is 1st person,singular dative pronoun meaning "me' as the indirect object of a verb.
“But your words all have multiple meanings,” complained one.
“We find so much of what you say confusing, because you play with words,” complained another.
“The more we are around you, the more confused we are,” said a third.
Brother James and Johnny Boy, who were with him, laughed and agreed with the man.
The Master chuckled, nodding his head sympathetically in agreement.
“Also, lucky is that one,” added the Master, “when he does not seem tripped up around me.”