Matthew 9:9 Follow me.

Spoken to
an individual

Spoken to Matthew as he worked at a tax collector's

KJV

Matthew 9:9 Follow me.

NIV

Matthew 9:9 Follow me.

LISTENERS HEARD

Follow. For me.

MY TAKE

We follow Jesus for his purposes not our own.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page)
LOST IN TRANSLATION

The term "follow" means "to follow," or "go with," in a physical sense, but it is also a metaphor meaning "to be guided by" or "to follow the meaning of." The term also specifically means "to follow the thread" of a discourse.

The "me" is in the form of an indirect object, which the verb normally takes when the one being followed is a person.

 

 

 

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
0
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
0
EACH WORD of KJV

Follow  - The term "follow" means "to follow," or "go with," in a physical sense, but it is also a metaphor meaning "to be guided by" or "to follow the meaning of." The term also specifically means "to follow the thread" of a discourse.

me.  - The "me" is in the form of an indirect object, so it is not the object of "follow," which would be in a different form. The sense is that the person following does not act directly on the person they follow, but rather indirectly. The form has a number of uses in Greek. Most commonly it is an indirect object ("follow this road [the object] to Rome [the indirect object].

EACH WORD of NIV

Follow  - The term "follow" means "to follow," or "go with," in a physical sense, but it is also a metaphor meaning "to be guided by" or "to follow the meaning of." The term also specifically means "to follow the thread" of a discourse.

me.  - The "me" is in the form of an indirect object, so it is not the object of "follow," which would be in a different form. The sense is that the person following does not act directly on the person they follow, but rather indirectly. The form has a number of uses in Greek. Most commonly it is an indirect object ("follow this road [the object] to Rome [the indirect object].

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

Ἀκολούθει (2nd sg pres imperat act) "Follow" is from akoloutheo, which means "to follow," and "to go with." It also means "to be guided by" and means following a leader as a disciple.

μοι (pron 1st masc dat) "Me" is from moi, which means "I," "me," and "my."

Unimportant Opinions and Imaginings

One of the tax collectors was just taking a seat as we passed. We recognized him as one of the men asking questions of the Master during the meeting.
As we passed, the Master went over to him and said, “Follow!”
“For what purpose?” asked the tax collectors, whose name was Matthew.
“For me,” replied the Master.
At that, the tax collector got up and followed. The two of  them talked together as we walked.

Front Page Date