After meeting a crowd and having a man brought to him who his students couldn't cure.
Matthew 17:17 .O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
Matthew 17:17 You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me
Oh, you distrusting and having been diverted type! Until when will I be with you? Until when will I attach myself to you? Fetch him to me here!
Jesus expects more of us, but in the end, all we can sometimes do is bring a problem to him.
Jesus addresses his students here as he usually addresses his opponents, the Phrarisees. This comes across, in Greek, as teasing. It isn't as negative and critical as the English translation. Jesus isn't saying that he "suffers" his generation but that he must "content himself with them." There are a number of uncommon Greek words here, used only in this verse and its parallels in Luke and Mark. The word translated as "how long" is not a measure of time, but the adverb that means "until."
- WF -- Wrong Form - This is not an adjective but a participle ending in "ing."
- WT --Wrong Tense - The English verb "diverted" is not the present tense, but Greek is in the past perfect, a completed action, "having diverted."
- WV --Wrong Voice - The verb "perverted" here is translated as active but it is passive.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "how long" is not the common word usually translated as "how long."
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "when" is not shown in the English translation.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The second "how long" is not the common word usually translated as "how long."
- MW - Missing Word -- The second "when" is not shown in the English translation.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "suffer" is not the word translated as "suffer" in previous Jesus verse.
- WV - Wrong Voice - The verb is in the middle voice requiring the concept of "myself" as its object.
- WF - Wrong Form - The "you" is not a direct object but an ancillary "with you."
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "Oh" is not shown in the English translation.
- WF -- Wrong Form - This is not an adjective but a participle ending in "ing."
- WT --Wrong Tense - The English verb "diverted" is not the present tense, but Greek is in the past perfect, a completed action, "having diverted."
- WV --Wrong Voice - The verb "perverted" here is translated as active but it is passive.
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "stay" should be something more like "be."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "how long" is not the common word usually translated as "how long."
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "when" is not shown in the English translation.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The second "how long" is not the common word usually translated as "how long."
- MW - Missing Word -- The second "when" is not shown in the English translation.
- WV - Wrong Voice - The verb is in the middle voice requiring the concept of "myself" as its object.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "boy" is not the common word usually translated as "boy."
O -- "Oh!" is used as a mode of address.
faithless - The Greek word translated as "faithless" means literally "no faith," but it meant "not to be trusted" and "mistrustful."
and " -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").
perverse - (WF, WT, WV) "Perverse" is from a Greek verb (used in the form of an adjective) meaning "turn different ways," and "twist about," and metaphorically meant "to distort," and "to pervert." It has the same sense as the English "having been diverted" or "having been turned around." This is not an adjective but a participle ending in "ing." This is not the present but the past perfect tense, "having been diverted."The verb here is translated as active but it is passive.
generation, - The word translated as "generation" means "race," "family," and "generation." The sense is a "type" or a "specimen" of a particular type. Jesus uses this term frequently in criticism, but that criticism seems more aimed at a particular type of people than his generation. It is the word from which we get the scientific "genus."
how long -- (CW) The word translated as "how long" means "until" but it also means "in order that." It is not the Greek word used for "how long."
missing "when" -- (MW) The untranslated word "when" is from an adverb meaning "when," "at what time," "at some time or other," "at some unknown time, and "at some time in the future."
shall -- This helping verb "shall" indicates that the verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.
be -- The verb "be" here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition.
with - With genitive, this word means generally, "with," "together with," "in the midst of," "among," "between."
you? -- The word translated as "your" is a plural, second-person pronoun in the genitive case. This pronoun follows the noun so "of yours."
how long -- (CW) The word translated as "how long" means "until" but it also means "in order that." It is not the Greek word used for "how long."
missing "when" -- (MW) The untranslated word "when" is from an adverb meaning "when," "at what time," "at some time or other," "at some unknown time, and "at some time in the future."
shall -- This helping verb "shall" indicates that the verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.
missing "myself"-- (WV) A phrase is necessary because the form of the previous verb is a middle voice, which means that the subject is to act on "myself," "for myself" or "by myself."
suffer - (CW) The word translated as "suffer" primarily means "to hold up," "to lift up," "sustain," "appear," with a lot of related meanings about supporting yourself or others. It also means "to bear with patience" or "suffer" but with a direct object. In the middle voice, it means "attach one's self to." This word is only used in this verse and its parallel in Mark and Luke. "Suffer" is not the specific meaning of the word in this situation.
you? -- (WF) The word translated as "your" is a plural, second-person pronoun in the genitive case. This pronoun follows the noun so "of yours." This noun is a genitive since it is not a direct object, so "of you" or "with you."
bring - The word translated as "bring" means "to bear," "to carry," "to bring," "to produce," and "to fetch." It is the base of a lot of words Christ uses commonly, including the words that mean "bring together," "bring to," and "bring through." Its use is more like our use of the word "get."
him -- The word translated as "him" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.
hither = The word translated as "hither" means in manner, "in this way," referring to the manner, or "here," referring to place.
to -- 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.
me. -- The "me" is in the indirect object form on the first-person pronoun, so usually "to me," though the form has other uses in Greek.
missing "Oh" -- (MW) The untranslated word"Oh!" is used as a mode of address.
You -- This is added to indicate that the following word is in the form of address, using it as a term to identify someone.
unbelieving - The Greek word translated as "unbelieving " means literally "no faith," but it meant "not to be trusted" and "mistrustful."
and " -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").
perverse - (WF, WT, WV) "Perverse" is from a Greek verb (used in the form of an adjective) meaning "turn different ways," and "twist about," and metaphorically meant "to distort," and "to pervert." It has the same sense as the English "having been diverted" or "having been turned around." This is not an adjective but a participle ending in "ing." This is not the present but the past perfect tense, "having been diverted."The verb here is translated as active but it is passive.
generation, - The word translated as "generation" means "race," "family," and "generation." The sense is a "type" or a "specimen" of a particular type. Jesus uses this term frequently in criticism, but that criticism seems more aimed at a particular type of people than his generation. It is the word from which we get the scientific "genus."
how long -- (CW) The word translated as "how long" means "until" but it also means "in order that." It is not the Greek word used for "how long."
missing "when" -- (MW) The untranslated word "when" is from an adverb meaning "when," "at what time," "at some time or other," "at some unknown time, and "at some time in the future."
shall -- This helping verb "shall" indicates that the verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.
stay -- (WW) The verb "stay " here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition.
with - With genitive, this word means generally, "with," "together with," "in the midst of," "among," "between."
you? -- The word translated as "your" is a plural, second-person pronoun in the genitive case. This pronoun follows the noun so "of yours."
how long -- (CW) The word translated as "how long" means "until" but it also means "in order that." It is not the Greek word used for "how long."
missing "when" -- (MW) The untranslated word "when" is from an adverb meaning "when," "at what time," "at some time or other," "at some unknown time, and "at some time in the future."
shall -- This helping verb "shall" indicates that the verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.
missing "myself"-- (WV) A phrase is necessary because the form of the previous verb is a middle voice, which means that the subject is to act on "myself," "for myself" or "by myself."
put up - The word translated as "put up" primarily means "to hold up," "to lift up," "sustain," "appear," with a lot of related meaning about supporting yourself or others. This word is only used in this verse and its parallel in Mark and Luke. The middle voice form here specifically means "content myself."
with -- -- This word "with" comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession. However, it can also mean "belonging to," "part of," "which is," "than" (in comparisons), or "for," "concerning" or "about" with transitive verbs.
you? -- The word translated as "your" is a plural, second-person pronoun in the genitive case. This pronoun follows the noun so "of yours."
bring - The word translated as "bring" means "to bear," "to carry," "to bring," "to produce," and "to fetch." It is the base of a lot of words Christ uses commonly, including the words that mean "bring together," "bring to," and "bring through." Its use is more like our use of the word "get."
the boy -- (W) The word translated as "the boy" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English. It is masculine.
here = The word translated as "here " means in manner, "in this way," referring to the manner, or "here," referring to place.
to -- 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.
me. -- The "me" is in the indirect object form on the first-person pronoun, so usually "to me," though the form has other uses in Greek.
Ὦ [5 verses](exclam) "O" is from o, which is an exclamation "O!" or "Oh!" often used as a mode of address.
γενεὰ [19 verses](noun sg fem voc) "Generation" is genea, which means "race," "family," "generation," "class," and "kind." It is a form of the word from which we get the scientific word,"genus.
ἄπιστος [5 verses](adj sg fem voc/n0m) "Faithless" is apistos, which means "not to be trusted" "mistrustful," "incredulous," disobedient, "disloyal," or "suspicious."
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."
διεστραμμένη, [2 verses](part sg perf mp fem voc/nom) "Perverse" is diastrephô, which means "turn different ways," "twist about," "turn aside," "divert," and metaphorically, "distort," and "pervert."
ἕως [63 verses](con) "How long" is from heos which means "until," "till," and "in order that" and "up to the point that." -- The word translated as "until" means "until" but it also means "in order that."
πότε [26 verses](partic) Untranslated is pote, which means "when," "at what time," "at some time or other," "at some unknown time, and "at some time in the future."
μεθ᾽ (prep) "With" is from meta, which means "in the midst of," "among," "between," "in common," "along with," "by the aid of," "in one's dealings with," "into the middle of," "coming into," "in pursuit of," "after," "behind," "according to," and "next afterward"
ὑμῶν [168 verses](pron 2nd pl gen) "You" is from humon, the plural form the pronoun of the second person, "you."
ἔσομαι; .[614 verses](verb 1st sg fut ind mid) "Shall I be" is from eimi, which means "to be," "to exist," "to be the case," and "is possible." (The future form is esomai.)
ἕως [63 verses](conj) "How long" is from heos which means "until," "till," and "in order that" and "up to the point that."
πότε [26 verses](partic) Untranslated is pote, which means "when," "at what time," "at some time or other," "at some unknown time, and "at some time in the future."
ἀνέξομαι [3 verses](verb 1st sg fut ind mid) "Suffer" is anechomai, which means "to hold up," "to lift up," "sustain," "appear," "show oneself," "stand up," "come forth," "hold on," "keep doing," "hold up," "cease," "hold up what is one's own," "hold oneself up," "bear up," "be of good courage," rarely, "hold on by one another," "hang together," (of events) "arise,""happen," and, metaph., "uphold," and "maintain."
ὑμῶν; (pron 2nd pl gen) "You" is from humon, the plural form the pronoun of the second person, "you."
φέρετέ [15 verses](verb 2nd pl pres imperat act) "Bring " is phero, which means to "bear," "tarry," "bring," "produce," "fetch, "endure," "suffer," "bring to bear," "lead," "direct," "bear along [of wind]," "offer," "present," "produce," "cause," "adduce," "bring forward," "pay something due or owing," "bring in," "yield as rent [of property]," "apply," and "refer.
μοι (pron sg masc dat) "Me" is from emoi, which is 1st person,singular dative pronoun meaning "me' as the indirect object of a verb.
αὐτὸν [124 verses](pron/(adj sg masc acc)) "Him" is auton, is the masculine, accusative case of the third-person, singular adjective that is used as a pronoun. The word also means "the same," and "of one's own accord."
ὧδε. [29 verses] (adv) "Hither" is hode, the demonstrative pronoun which means "this" in the sense of "what is present" and "what can be seen." With verbs of action and with a person (its use here), it means "here" as in "here I am" in the sense of "I am present."