Answering the Pharisees for implied criticism in telling someone their mistakes are letting go of them.
Matthew 9:5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
Matthew 9:5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?
Because, what is less tiring? To say, "Those mistakes are letting go of you!" or to say "Arise and walk around."
Jesus has no problem doing what is easier.
This verse seems to be a light-hearted answer to a question. The word "because" is left out of more recent translations because it seems out of place without a preceding question. The "easier" word is actually a humorous reference. It has the sense of "less tiring." This may be a hint that healing people takes effort on Jesus's part, but it also may be a reference to how tiring it is to answer these questions. The "arise and "walk" statement has a double meaning of "awake and live."
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "whether" should be "what."
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "thy" should be "the."
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "sin" should be "mistakes."
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "forgive" should be "let go."
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "for" is not shown in the English translation.
- WP -- Wrongly Placed -- The word "your" doesn't appear after "sins" but after the verb.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "mistakes" is not shown in the English translation.
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "sin" should be "mistakes."
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "forgiven" should be "let go."
For - The word translated as "for" can be treated as supporting a dependent clause, or, in written English, as "this is because..." to start a new sentence. The "because" here naturally follows the "why" of a short question.
whether - (WW) The Greek word translated as "whether" primarily means "someone" and "something," but it has a lot of uses including the introduction of short questions such as "what", "why", etc.
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.
easier, The word translated as "easier" is a compound words. It is an uncommon word, appearing only a seven times in the NT and only five times in the rest of ancient Greek literature. The word is only used by Jesus in the NT, not other writers. The prefix here means "good" or rather, "better," because the word is comparative. The base word primarily means "beating" or "fatigue". So the sense is "better fatigue", which has the sense of "less tiring".
to -- This "to" is added because the infinitive form of the verb requires a "to" in English.
say, - The word translated as "to say" is the primary verb used in the NT to refer to speaking, telling, or saying. It also means "proclaiming," which works pretty well when Christ is referring to this type of statement.
thy --(WW) The word translated as "thy" is the Greek definite article; without a noun, it has the sense of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more.
sins - (WW) The word translated as "sins" is a form of a word that means "to fail in one's purpose", "to neglect," and "to be deprived of." It has no sense of doing malicious evil in Greek. The best English translation is "mistake," "fault," or "failure" rather than what we commonly think of as the evils of "sin." More about this word in this article.
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.
forgiven -- (WW) The word translated as "be forgiven" primarily means "to let go" or "to send away." This same word is translated as "leave", "forgive", "suffer," and "let" in the New Testament. With the word translated as "sin" it is translated as "forgive" even though it doesn't really mean that in Greek. Its form is that in which the subject is acted upon by itself. It is in the present tense so "are being let go by themselves".
thee. --- The word translated as "thee" is the genitive form of the singular, second-person pronoun, which is most commonly the possessive form. However, if this were meant to describe the "mistakes," Jesus would almost always put it after that word. Here, it appears before the untranslated article and after the verb. This possibly makes it an "objective" genitive with a transitive verb where instead of inserting "of" we use words like ‘for’, ‘about’, ‘concerning’, ‘toward’ or ‘against. The sense is "being let go of you".
or - The word translated as "or" also means "than" in comparison.
to -- This "to" is added because the infinitive form of the verb requires a "to" in English.
say, - The word for "to say" is the same word in the same form as the earlier "to say."
Arise, - - The word for "arise" means "awaken" The word is the same word Christ uses to describe God raising the dead and false prophets arising.
and - The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and", but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").
walk? -- The word translated as "walk" means "walk around" and it is a metaphor meaning "making your way", "progress", "to use your opportunities," and "to live."
missing "for" -- (MW) The untranslated word "for" can be treated as supporting a dependent clause, or, in written English, as "this is because..." to start a new sentence. The "because" here naturally follows the "which" of a short question.
Which - The Greek word translated as "which" primarily means "someone" and "something," but it has a lot of uses including the introduction of short questions such as "what", "why", etc.
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.
easier, The word translated as "easier" is a compound words. It is an uncommon word, appearing only a seven times in the NT and only five times in the rest of ancient Greek literature. The word is only used by Jesus in the NT, not other writers. The prefix here means "good" or rather, "better," because the word is comparative. The base word primarily means "beating" or "fatigue". So the sense is "better fatigue", which has the sense of "less tiring".
to -- This "to" is added because the infinitive form of the verb requires a "to" in English.
say, - The word translated as "to say" is the primary verb used in the NT to refer to speaking, telling, or saying. It also means "proclaiming," which works pretty well when Christ is referring to this type of statement.
Your --(WP)--- The word translated as "your" is the genitive form of the singular, second-person pronoun, which is most commonly the possessive form. However, if this were meant to describe the "mistakes," Jesus would almost always put it after that word. Here, it appears before the untranslated article and after the verb. This possibly makes it an "objective" genitive with a transitive verb where instead of inserting "of" we use words like ‘for’, ‘about’, ‘concerning’, ‘toward’ or ‘against. The sense is "being let go of you".
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.
sins - (WW) The word translated as "sins" is a form of a word that means "to fail in one's purpose", "to neglect," and "to be deprived of." It has no sense of doing malicious evil in Greek. The best English translation is "mistake," "fault," or "failure" rather than what we commonly think of as the evils of "sin." More about this word in this article.
are -- This helping verb "are" indicates that the verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
forgiven -- (WW) The word translated as "be forgiven" primarily means "to let go" or "to send away." This same word is translated as "leave", "forgive", "suffer," and "let" in the New Testament. With the word translated as "sin" it is translated as "forgive" even though it doesn't really mean that in Greek. Its form is that in which the subject is acted upon by itself. It is in the present tense so "are being let go by themselves".
or - The word translated as "or" also means "than" in a comparison, as it is used here.
to -- This "to" is added because the infinitive form of the verb requires a "to" in English.
say, - The word for "to say" is the same word in the same form as the earlier "to say."
Get up, - -The word for "arise" means "awaken" The word is the same word Christ uses to describe God raising the dead and false prophets arising.
and - The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and", but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").
walk? -- The word translated as "walk" means "walk around" and it is a metaphor meaning "making your way", "progress", "to use your opportunities," and "to live."
τί [252 verses](irreg sg neut nom/acc) "Whether" is from tis which can mean "someone", "anyone", "everyone", "they [indefinite]", "many a one", "whoever", "anyone", "anything", "some sort", "some sort of", "each", "any", "the individual", "such," and so on. In a question, it can mean "who", "why," or "what."
γάρ [205 verses](partic) "For" comes from gar which is the introduction of a clause explaining a reason or explanation: "for", "since," and "as." In an abrupt question, it means "why" and "what."
ἐστιν [614 verses](3rd sg pres ind act ) "Is" is from eimi, which means "to be", "to exist", "to be the case," and "is possible."
εὐκοπώτερον, [7 verses](adj sg neut nom/acc comp) "Easier" is eukopo, which is a comparative form of "easy." It is a compound eu, the word for "well", "thoroughly", "competently", "fortunately," and "happily." and kopos, which means "striking", "beating", "toil and trouble", "fatigue," and "work."
εἰπεῖν [162 verses](aor inf act ) "To say" is from eipon, which means "to speak", "to say", "to recite", "to address", "to mention", "to name", "to proclaim", "to plead", "to promise," and "to offer."
Ἀφίενταί [73 verses](3rd pl pres ind mp) "Be forgiven" is from aphiemi, which means "to let fall", "to send away", "give up", "hand over", "to let loose", "to get rid of", "to leave alone", "to pass by", "to permit," and "to send forth from oneself."
σου [144 verses](pron 2nd sg gen ) "Thy" is from sou which means "you" and "your."
αἱ [821 verses] (article pl fem nom) "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
ἁμαρτίαι, [28 verses](noun pl fem nom) "Sin" is from hamartia, which means "to miss the mark", "failure", "fault," and "error." Only in religious contexts does it become "guilt" and "sin."
ἢ [92 verses](conj) "Or" is e which is a particle meaning "either", "or," or "than."
εἰπεῖν [162 verses](aor inf act ) "To say" is from eipon, which means "to speak", "to say", "to recite", "to address", "to mention", "to name", "to proclaim", "to plead", "to promise," and "to offer."
Ἔγειρε [41 verses] (2nd sg pres imperat act) "Arise" is from egeiro, which means "to awaken", "to stir up," and "to rouse."
καὶ [1089 verses](conj) "And" is 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."
περιπάτει; [13 verses](2nd sg pres imperat act) "Walk" is from peripateo, which means "to walk up and down", "to walk about," and "to walk about while teaching."
The phrase "awake and walk around" also has the sense of "awake and live"
Though the boy seemed comforted by being told that his mistakes were behind him, those who had brought him were disappointed.
“We brought him to you to be healed,” a woman with the group, possibly the boy’s mother, complained.
“Why do you say that his mistakes are letting go of him?” One of the men carrying the young man’s litter asked.
“Because what is easier?” the Master said in his light-hearted way. “To say, ‘They are letting go of you, those mistakes,” or ‘Awaken and walk?’”