Luke 11:52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge:

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After Jesus has fun with the Pharisees, a lawyer also takes offense.

KJV

Luke 11:52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

NIV

Luke 11:52 Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”

LISTENERS HEARD

Sadly, for you... These lawyers! Because you lifted the latch of this means of knowing. You yourselves did not enter and those entering? You hinder.

MY TAKE

Those who preach the law, don't seek to understand it and prevent those who want to understand from doing so.

GREEK ORDER

οὐαὶ     ὑμῖν     τοῖς νομικοῖςὅτι        ἤρατε       τὴν κλεῖδα   τῆς   γνώσεως:
Sadly, for you, these lawyers, because you lifted the latch    of this means of knowing.

αὐτοὶ         οὐκ       εἰσήλθατε     καὶ τοὺς  εἰσερχομένους ἐκωλύσατε.
yourselves did not You enter      and those entering.          you hinder

LOST IN TRANSLATION

"Woe" is from an exclamation of grief, meaning "woe" or "alas," but Jesus uses it as a signal that he is using humor. Today, we would say "sadly [for you]" or "boo-hoo to you." More about this phrase in this article on Jesus’s exaggeration.

This humor of the rest of the verse is lost, because the translation reverses the meaning of Jesus's words with the phrase, “taken away the key to knowledge. The word translated as "key" means "latch" or "door bar." The verb translated as "taken away" primarily means "lift" though it can also mean "remove." Lifting a latch or a door bar, unlocks the door. It doesn’t keep it locked. If the door was locked, no one could “enter.” This verse starts with praise for the lawyers. A classic example of a setup.

But there is more. The word translated as "knowledge" means "inquiry" or "means of knowing." The reference most likely is to the scrolls of the Old Testament, which those “experts in the law” open to study and quote. Though they open those books, they don't "enter" them. The word translated as "enter," also means "to come into mind." They didn't let the Law penetrate their minds. This contradicts the initial praise in the verse.

The final setup is by "and those entering?" To which the punchline is "You hinder!" This is the present tense, something they are doing now, not the past. They wouldn’t need to “hinder” them if the “knowledge” was still locked.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
7
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "have" indicates the past perfect tense, but the tense is something that happens at a specific point in time (past, present, or future).
  • WW --Wrong Word -- The word translated as "key" should be something more like "latch."
  • IW - Inserted Word-- The "in" doesn't exist in the source.
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The "that" doesn't exist in the source.
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The "were" indicates the past tense but the tense is present .
  • CW --Confusing Word -- This is not one of the common words usually translated as "them."
  • IW - Inserted Word-- The "in" doesn't exist in the source.
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
8
  • IP - Inserted Phrase-- The "experts in" doesn't exist in the source.
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "law" does not capture the word's specific meaning in this situation.
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "have" indicates the past perfect tense, but the tense is something that happens at a specific point in time (past, present, or future).
  • WW --Wrong Word -- The word translated as "key" should be something more like "latch."
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "have" indicates the past perfect tense, but the tense is something that happens at a specific point in time (past, present, or future).
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "have" indicates the past perfect tense, but the tense is something that happens at a specific point in time (past, present, or future).
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The "who " doesn't exist in the source.
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The "were" indicates the past tense but the tense is present .
EACH WORD of KJV

Woe -- "Woe" is an exclamation of grief, meaning "woe" or "alas." Jesus uses it humorously. Today we would say "so sad for you" or "boo-hoo to you." The word is very like the Jewish, "oy vey" which can be used to express sorrow but is more commonly used cynically. More about this phrase in this article on Christ's humor using exaggeration.

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

you, -- The Greek pronoun "you" here is plural and in the form of an indirect object, "to you," "for you," etc.

lawyers!  - -The Greek word translated as "lawyers" means "relating to laws", "legals," "relating to points of law", "forensic", "conventional", "lawyer", "notary", and "legal advisor". 

for -- The word translated as "for" introduces a statement of fact or cause, "for what," "because," "since," "seeing that," "that," and "wherefore." Jesus usually uses this word to mean "because" in statements that seem like an answer to a question because of the change of context. It means "because" when answering a "why" question and "that" when explaining a "what" question.

ye -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.

have -- (WT) This helping verb "have" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past. This is not the tense of the verb here.

taken away -- "Taken away" is one of Christ's favorite "multiple meaning" words. It is a verb that means "to raise up," "elevate," "to bear," "to carry off," "to take and apply to any use," "lifted" in the sense of "removed," and "to cause to cease." Jesus uses this verb to refer to what will happen to "the son of man," which can apply either to his being raised from the dead or lifted up on the cross. The verb also came to mean "remove" in the same way we describe stealing as "shoplifting."

the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, "the," which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more. 

key - - (WW) "Key" is a noun that describes "that which serves for closing," meaning the devices that holds a door closed. It means " a bar", "a bolt", "a catch," and "a hook." Later, it came to mean "key" but in the sense of something that holds something shut rather than opens something. This word doesn't mean "key." 

of -- This word "of"  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.

missing "the/this"  -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article," the," which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," and "those"). See this article for more. MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "knowledge" is not shown in the English translation.

knowledge: - -The Greek word translated as "knowledge" means "seeking to know", "inquiry", "investigation", "result of investigation", "decision", "higher, esoteric knowledge", "acquaintance with" a person, "recognizing", "means of knowing", "being known", " means of knowing": hence, "statement in writing".

ye -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.

entered  -- "Entered" is a word that means "enter," "go or come into" of an accuse "come into court," and has the double meaning of "coming into one's mind."

not -- The Greek word translated as "not" is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It means "no," "not," or"no truly." It makes a negative statement of fact. When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause. When it precedes other words, its force is limited to those words. 

in -- (IW) This word is not in the Greek source.

yourselves-"Yourselves" is the nominative case of the third-person, plural adjective that means "themselves," "ourselves,""yourselves," "the same," "one's true self," and "the soul" as opposed to the body. While other forms of this word are used as pronouns, this form is used for emphasis, since the subject pronoun is part of the verb. Without a verb, the sense is "they are."

and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis, "even," "also," and "just."

them -- (CW) The word translated as "them" is the Greek definite article, "the," which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more.  This is not one of the common words usually translated as "them."

that -- (IW) This word is not in the Greek source. It was added because the next verb was translated as active rather than as a participle.

were -- (WT) This helping verb "were" indicates that the verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English. This helping verb indicates the past tense of the verb. This verb is in the present tense so "are" is correct. 

entering-- "Entering" is a word that means "enter," "go or come into" of an accuse "come into court," and has the double meaning of "coming into one's mind."

in -- (IW) This word is not in the Greek source.

ye -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.

hindered.   - "Hindered" is from a verb that means "to hinder" and "to prevent."

EACH WORD of NIV

Woe to you

Woe -- "Woe" is an exclamation of grief, meaning "woe" or "alas." Jesus uses it humorously. Today we would say "so sad for you" or "boo-hoo to you." The word is very like the Jewish, "oy vey" which can be used to express sorrow but is more commonly used cynically. More about this phrase in this article on Christ's humor using exaggeration.

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

you, -- The Greek pronoun "you" here is plural and in the form of an indirect object, "to you," "for you," etc.

experts in-- (IP) There is nothing that can be translated as this phrase in the Greek source.

the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, "the," which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more. 

law - - (CW) The Greek word translated as "lawyers" means "relating to laws", "legals," "relating to points of law", "forensic", "conventional", "lawyer", "notary", and "legal advisor". This word doesn't precisely mean "law."

because -- The word translated as "because " introduces a statement of fact or cause, "for what," "because," "since," "seeing that," "that," and "wherefore." Jesus usually uses this word to mean "because" in statements that seem like an answer to a question because of the change of context. It means "because" when answering a "why" question and "that" when explaining a "what" question.

you -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.

have -- (WT) This helping verb "have" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past. This is not the tense of the verb here.

taken away -- "Taken away" is one of Christ's favorite "multiple meaning" words. It is a verb that means "to raise up," "elevate," "to bear," "to carry off," "to take and apply to any use," "lifted" in the sense of "removed," and "to cause to cease." Jesus uses this verb to refer to what will happen to "the son of man," which can apply either to his being raised from the dead or lifted up on the cross. The verb also came to mean "remove" in the same way we describe stealing as "shoplifting."

the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, "the," which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more. 

key - - (WW) "Key" is a noun that describes "that which serves for closing," meaning the devices that holds a door closed. It means " a bar", "a bolt", "a catch," and "a hook." Later, it came to mean "key" but in the sense of something that holds something shut rather than opens something. This word doesn't mean "key." 

of -- This word "of"  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.

missing "the/this"  -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article," the," which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," and "those"). See this article for more. MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "knowledge" is not shown in the English translation.

knowledge: - -The Greek word translated as "knowledge" means "seeking to know", "inquiry", "investigation", "result of investigation", "decision", "higher, esoteric knowledge", "acquaintance with" a person, "recognizing", "means of knowing", "being known", " means of knowing": hence, "statement in writing".

You -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.

yourselves-"Yourselves" is the nominative case of the third-person, plural adjective that means "themselves," "ourselves,""yourselves," "the same," "one's true self," and "the soul" as opposed to the body. While other forms of this word are used as pronouns, this form is used for emphasis, since the subject pronoun is part of the verb. Without a verb, the sense is "they are."

have -- (WT) This helping verb "have" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past. This is not the tense of the verb here.

entered  -- "Entered" is a word that means "enter," "go or come into" of an accuse "come into court," and has the double meaning of "coming into one's mind."

not -- The Greek word translated as "not" is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It means "no," "not," or"no truly." It makes a negative statement of fact. When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause. When it precedes other words, its force is limited to those words.

and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis, "even," "also," and "just.

you -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.

have -- (WT) This helping verb "have" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past. This is not the tense of the verb here.

hindered.   - "Hindered" is from a verb that means "to hinder" and "to prevent."

those -- The word translated as "those " is the Greek definite article, "the," which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more. 

who -- (IW) This word is not in the Greek source. It was added because the next verb was translated as active rather than as a participle.

were -- (WT) This helping verb "were" indicates that the verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English. This helping verb indicates the past tense of the verb. This verb is in the present tense so "are" is correct. 

entering-- "Entering" is a word that means "enter," "go or come into" of an accuse "come into court," and has the double meaning of "coming into one's mind."

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

οὐαὶ [27 verses](exclam)"Woe" is ouai, which is an exclamation of pain or anger meaning "woe" or "alas" but it can be used sarcastically.

ὑμῖν [289 verses](pron 2nd pl dat) "To you" is humin the plural form of the pronoun of the second person, "you." As the object of a preposition, this form implies no movement, but in a fixed position or events occur at a specified time or while the action was being performed. With the "to be," it acts as a possessive, "yours."

τοῖς [821 verses](article pl masc dat)  "Ye" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").   It usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. When not preceding a a word that can become a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones." 

νομικοῖς [2 verses] (adj pl masc dat) "Lawyers" is nomikos, which means "relating to laws", "legal," "relating to points of law", "forensic", "conventional", "lawyer", "notary", and "legal advisor". 

οὐαὶ [27 verses](exclam)"Woe" is ouai, which is an exclamation of pain or anger meaning "woe" or "alas" but it can be used sarcastically.

ὅτι [332 verses](adv/conj) "for" is hoti, which introduces a statement of fact "with regard to the fact that," "seeing that," and acts as a causal adverb meaning "for what," "because," "since," and "wherefore." This is the same word can be translated as both "because" and "that" in the same verse when answering two different types of questions.

ἤρατε [56 verses] (verb 2nd pl aor ind act) "Ye have taken away" is airo, which means "to lift up," "to raise," "to raise up," "to exalt," "to lift and take away," and "to remove." In some forms, it is the same as apaomai, which means to "pray to," or "pray for."

τὴν [821 verses](article sg fem acc)  "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").   It usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. When not preceding a a word that can become a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones." 

κλεῖδα [2 verses](noun sg fem acc) "Key" is from kleis, which means generally "that which serves for closing." It means " a bar", "a bolt", "a catch", "the tongue of a hasp," and "a hook." Later, it came to mean "key" but more in the sense of a thing that locks rather than a thing that opens. - -

τῆς [821 verses](article sg fem gen)  Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). It usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. When not preceding a a word that can become a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones."  --

γνώσεως: [1 verse](noun sg fem gen) "Knowledge" is gnosis, which means "seeking to know", "inquiry", "investigation", "result of investigation", "decision", "higher, esoteric knowledge", "acquaintance with" a person, "recognizing", "means of knowing", "being known", " means of knowing": hence, "statement in writing."

αὐτοὶ [32 verses](pron/adj pl masc nom) "Yourselves" is autoi. the nominative case of the third-person, plural adjective that means "themselves," "ourselves," "yourselves," "the same," "one's true self," and "the soul" as opposed to the body. It also means "of one's own accord."  While other forms of this word are used as pronouns, this form is used for emphasis, since the subject pronoun is part of the verb.

οὐκ [269 verses](adv) "Not" is ou , the negative adverb for facts and statements, negating both single words and sentences.  The negative, οὐ, denies, is absolute, and objective.

εἰσήλθατε  [68 verses] (verb 2nd pl aor ind act) "Enter " is eiserchomai which means both "to go into," "to come in," "to enter," "to enter an office," "to enter a charge," (as in court) and "to come into one's mind."

καὶ [1089 verses](conj/adv) "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." In a series, it can be translated as "not only...but also." After words implying sameness "as."

τοὺς [821 verses](article pl masc acc)  "Them" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").   It usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. When not preceding a a word that can become a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones." 

εἰσερχομένους   [68 verses] (part pl pres mp masc acc) "Were entering" is eiserchomai which means both "to go into," "to come in," "to enter," "to enter an office," "to enter a charge," (as in court) and "to come into one's mind."

ἐκωλύσατε. [7 verses] (verb 2nd pl aor ind act) "Hindered" is kolyo, which means "to hinder," "withhold," and "to prevent."

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