Matthew 15:28 O woman, great [is] your faith:...

Spoken to
an individual

A Canaanite (that is, non-Judean) woman, makes a humorous play on words when asking for Jesus to cure child.

KJV

Matthew 15:28 O woman, impressive is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.

NIV

Matthew 15:28 Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.

LISTENERS HEARD

Oh, woman! Great, yours this trust! Let it happen to you as you desire.

MY TAKE

We get what we desire.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

There is no verb "to be" in the first clause as in the KJV, but it can be assumed by the form of the other words. The "you have" in the NIV is just wrong. The verb translated as "be it/is granted" in the second clause means "to become" or "to happen." The form is a third-person command which came be translated as "let it happen" or "it must happen."

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
4
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "impressive" is usually translated as "great" or "big."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "fatih" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "be" should be something more like "happen."
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "wilt" indicates the past tense, but the verb is the present.
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
7
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "O" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "you" is not a subject but a possessive, "your."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "you" should be something more like "your."
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as  the noun "request" should be the verb  "desire."
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "is granted" should be something more like "happens."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "just as" is not shown in the English translation.
EACH WORD of KJV

O -- "Oh!" is used as a mode of address.  

woman,  - "Woman" is from the Greek noun that means "woman (as opposed to man)," "wife," and "mortal woman (as opposed to a goddess)."

impressive  -  (CW) The word translated as "impressive " means "big," "high," "great," and "impressive." However, it usually means "impressive" when referring to an action.

is - There is no verb "to be" here in the Greek. However, when nouns, pronouns or adjectives appear in the form of a subject without a verb, the verb "to be" can be assumed.

thy  - The word translated as "thy" is the possessive form of the second person pronoun. It appears before the article and noun.

missing "the"  -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, 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," "those"). See this article for more. 

faith:  - The term translated as "faith" was much closer to our general idea of having confidence or trust in people and especially their words rather than the general sense of religious belief.

be  -  (WW) The word translated as "be" means "to become," or, for events "to happen," that is, to enter into a new state of being. In Greek, especially as used by Jesus, it is the opposite of "being," which is existence in the current state. It is in a 3rd person passive command. These are best translated in English as "let it happen."

it -- This is from the third-person, singular form of the verb.

unto -- This word "to" comes from the dative case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is a "to" for the English indirect object.

thee -- The word for "thee" is the indirect object form of the singular, second-person pronoun. 

even as  - The word translated as "even as" has a very broad meaning, translated as "when," "where," "just as," "like," and related words.

thou -- This is from the second-person, singular form of the verb.

wilt.  - (WT) The Greek word translated as "wilt" primarily expresses consent and even a delight in doing something, so "want," "wish," "desire," and "to delight in." The tense is not the past, but the present.

EACH WORD of NIV

missing "O"  -- (MW) The untranslated word "Oh!" is used as a mode of address.  

Woman,  - "Woman" is from the Greek noun that means "woman (as opposed to man)," "wife," and "mortal woman (as opposed to a goddess)."

you - (WF) The word translated as "you" is the possessive form of the second person pronoun. It appears before the article and noun. It is not a subject of a verb.

have  -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "you have" in the Greek source. I

great  - The word translated as "great" means "big," "high," "great," and "impressive." However, it usually means "impressive" when referring to an action.

missing "the"  -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, 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," "those"). See this article for more. 

faith:  - The term translated as "faith" was much closer to our general idea of having confidence or trust in people and especially their words rather than the general sense of religious belief.

Your -- (WF) the "you" is the indirect object form of the singular, second-person pronoun not a subject.

request .  - (WW) The Greek verb translated as "request" primarily expresses consent and even a delight in doing something, so "want," "wish," "desire," and "to delight in."  It is not a noun nor the verb "request."

is granted. -  (WW) The word translated as "be" means "to become," or, for events "to happen," that is, to enter into a new state of being. In Greek, especially as used by Jesus, it is the opposite of "being," which is existence in the current state. It is in a 3rd person passive command. These are best translated in English as "let it happen."

missing "just as"  -- (MW) The untranslated word "just as" has a very broad meaning, translated as "when," "where," "just as," "like," and related words.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

(exclm) "O" is from o, which means "o!" or "oh!."

γύναι, (noun sg fem voc) "Woman" is from gyne, which means "woman (as opposed to man)," "wife," "spouse," "mortal woman (as opposed to a goddess)," and "female mate (among animals)."

μεγάλη (adj sg fem nom ) "Great" is from megas, which means "big," "full-grown," "vast," "high," "great," "mighty," "strong (of the elements),"l "Loud" (of sounds), "over-great,(with a bad sense), "impressive" (of style), AND "long" ( of days).

σου (pron 2nd sg gen) "Thy" is from sou which means "you" and "your."

(article sg fem nom)  Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").

πίστις: (noun sg fem nom) "Faith" is from pistis, which means "confidence," "assurance," "trustworthiness," "credit," "a trust," "that which give confidence," and, as a character trait, "faithfulness."-

γενηθήτω (verb 3rd sg aor imperat pass) "Be it" is from ginomai, which means "to become," "to come into being," "to happen," and "to be produced." It means changing into a new state of being. It is the complementary opposite of the verb "to be" (eimi)which indicates existence in the same state.

σοι (pron 2nd sg dat) "You" is from soi which is the singular, second person pronoun, "you."

ὡς (adv) "As" is from hos, an adverb which means to "thus," "as," "how," "when," "where," "like," "just as," "so far as," "as much as can be," "that," "in order that," "nearly (with numbers)," and "know that."

θέλεις. (verb 2nd sg pres ind act) "Thy will" is from thelo, which as a verb means "to be willing (of consent rather than desire)," "to wish," "to ordain," "to decree," "to be resolved to a purpose ""to maintain," "to hold," "to delight in, and "will (to express a future event when used with inanimate things).)." As an adverb, "willingly," and "gladly." and "to desire." As an adjective, it means "wished for" and "desired." --

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