The addition of new ideas in the context of teaching like the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 18:17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
Matthew 18:17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
When, however, he misunderstands them, speak to the group. When, however, he also misunderstands the group, should he be to you the same as the foreigner and the tax collector?
We should always treat our brothers as brothers, not matter how much misunderstanding there is between us.
This is a particularly sad mistranslation. Jesus is addressing in individual here about a specific situation and the specific situation is about a "brother," which is either a relative or a friend. If we assume that we only get Jesus's half of the discussion, we have to fill in the blanks logically, according to Jesus's practice, not the practices of Christians when the Bible was first translated to English. Note, four verses from now, Mattthew 18:21, Peter takes this to mean we must forgive our brothers. To see how much has been done to misconstrue the Greek of this verse, look at the word-by-word analysis of its translations below.
First, Jesus doesn't say "if," but "when." This is an expected situation, not an uncommon one. The word translated as "neglect to hear/refuse to listen" is only used by Jesus here, but the Greek word means "overhear," "hear incorrectly, or, in this context, "misunderstand." It is translated into stronger language to make the brother's crime greater. The word translated as "church," did not mean that it Jesus's time. It meant "assembly" or as we more commonly say today, a "meeting." However, it is introduced by a definite article, so "the meeting," likely a regular community meeting.
So if someone misunderstands the argument of those who come to him and of the community meeting, what is to be done? The verb translated as "let him be" is a third-person command form of "to be," which has the sense of "he must be." However, this verb begins the sentence, it could easily be phrased as a question, "Must he be?" Without hearing the words, it is impossible to know.
However, the words "heathen man/pagan, (better translated as "foreigner" and "publican/tax-collector" are uncommon for Jesus. Though he uses these terms disparagingly, in a light-hearted way, he never shunned such people in his life, healing foreigners and dining with tax collectors. The words are joined by an "and" not an "or," and both introduced with articles, so they are combined in the sense of a "this foreigner, that tax-collector," making the description worse. So Jesus asks the very logical question, "Must a brother be like that foreigner tax collector if he disagrees with you?" He assumes that the obvious answer is "no." We can see this clearly in all the following verses.
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "and" should be something more like "however."
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "if" should be something more like "when."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "shall" does not mean the future tense and is unnecessary.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "neglect to hear" has more sense of "misunderstand."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "tell" has more sense of "speak."
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "it" doesn't exist in the source.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "church" has more sense of "meeting."
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "if" should be something more like "when."
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "also" is not shown in the English translation.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "neglect to hear" has more sense of "misunderstand."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "church" has more sense of "meeting."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "let" is better translated as "must."
- WF - Wrong Form - The "him" is not an object but a subject, "he."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "thee" is singular, not referring to the community.
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "an" should be something more like "the."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "heathen man" is the word usually translated as "gentile."
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "a" should be something more like "the."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "publican" is the word usually translated as "tax-collector."
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "however" is not shown in the English translation.
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "if" should be something more like "when."
- WN - Wrong Number- The word "they" is translated as plural but the Greek word is singular.
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "still" doesn't exist in the source
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "refuse to listen" has more sense of "misunderstand."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "tell" has more sense of "speak."
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "it" doesn't exist in the source.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "church" has more sense of "meeting."
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "and" should be something more like "however."
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "if" should be something more like "when."
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "also" is not shown in the English translation.
- WN - Wrong Number- The word "they" is translated as plural but the Greek word is singular.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "refuse to listen" has more sense of "misunderstand."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "church" has more sense of "meeting."
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "treat" should be something more like "be."
- WF - Wrong Form - The "treat" is a third-person command, not a second-person command.
- WF - Wrong Form - The "them" is not an object but a subject, "he."
- WN - Wrong Number- The word "them" is translated as plural but the Greek word is singular.
- WF - Wrong Form - The "you" is not a subject but an indirect object, "to you."
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "would" doesn't exist in the source.
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "a" should be something more like "the."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "heathen man" is the word usually translated as "gentile."
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "or" should be something more like "and.
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "a" should be something more like "the."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "publican" is the word usually translated as "tax-collector."
And - (WW) The Greek word translated as "and" is usually translated as "but" because it joins phrases in an adversarial way. Since it always falls in the second position, translating it as "however" often captures its feeling better.
if - (WW) The Greek word translated as "if" means "if might" and indicates more of an expectation of something happening than the normal "if" alone. It is like we use the word "when."
he -- This is from the third-person, singular form of the verb.
shall -- (CW) This helping verb "shall" does not indicate the future tense, but that the verb describes a possibility, the subjunctive voice. A "might" or "should" in English is more appropriate, but is assumed in an "if/when/whoever/except" clause. Helping verbs are not needed in Greek since the main verb carries this information in its form.
neglect to hear - (CW) "Neglect to hear" is from a verb which means literally "to hear beside," which is used to mean "to hear imperfectly," "to misunderstand," and "to pretend not to hear."
them, -- The word translated as "them" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.
tell - (CW) "Tell" is a verb that means "to say" and "to speak" also. However, it has less a sense of teaching and more a sense of addressing and proclaiming. The sense here is clearly "speak" not "tell" or "say" because there is not object.
it -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "it" in the Greek source.
unto -- This word "unto" 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.
the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more.
church: - (CW) The word translated here as "church" came to mean "church" but this was later in history. Jesus only uses this word twice. In his time, it means an assembly of local people, like a town meeting but less formal than we think of meetings. Jesus uses this word here and in Matthew 16:18 (not at all in Mark, Luke, or John). In these two contexts. the word "community" works well. The word only came into extensive use in the Act of the Apostles, which describes the local meeting of the Christian community. Jesus could not have used to term in that sense or at least those listening to him would not have heard it that way.
but - The Greek word translated as "but" is usually translated as "but" because it joins phrases in an adversarial way. Since it always falls in the second position, translating it as "however" often captures its feeling better.
if - (WW) The Greek word translated as "if" means "if might" and indicates more of an expectation of something happening than the normal "if" alone. It is like we use the word "when."
he -- This is from the third-person, singular form of the verb.
missing "also" -- (MW) The untranslated word "also" here that is usually the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").
neglect to hear - (CW) "Neglect to hear" is from a verb which means literally "to hear beside," which is used to mean "to hear imperfectly," "to misunderstand," and "to pretend not to hear."
the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more.
church, - (CW) The word translated here as "church" came to mean "church" but this was later in history. Jesus only uses this word twice. In his time, it means an assembly of local people, like a town meeting but less formal than we think of meetings. Jesus uses this word here and in Matthew 16:18 (not at all in Mark, Luke, or John). In these two contexts. the word "community" works well. The word only came into extensive use in the Act of the Apostles, which describes the local meeting of the Christian community. Jesus could not have used to term in that sense or at least those listening to him would not have heard it that way.
let - (CW) The "let" here is the Greek verb "to be" in the form of a 3rd person command (something uncommon in English), which is usually translated into English as "let it (verb)." However, in English, this "command" is best translated as something that must happen. So the sense is, "He must be." However, there was no punctuation in the original Greek, so we have to wonder if this isn't a question, "must he be?." This flows much better with the following statements, especially when Peter asks if we must always forgive our brothers, which is not what he seems to be saying here.
him -- (WF) This is from the third-person, singular form of the verb. It is a subject, not an object. I usually let this error go in the translation of the Greek third-person command form, but here it only offers more distortion.
be - -- 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. It also equates terms or assigns characteristics.
unto -- This word "unto" 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 -- (CW) This is from the second-person, singular form of the verb. In English, we cannot tell that it isn't about the community, but just the individual.
as -- The Greek word translated as "as" indicates a match with a person or thing, "the very thing, which," "the same as."
an -- (WW) The word translated as "an" is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more.
heathen man - (CW) "Heathen man" is from the Greek word meaning "foreigner" and it has the same root as our word "ethnic." It was used as we would use "foreigner" or "stranger." This word is usually translated as "gentile" but here it is made more extreme.
and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). Note that the word here is "and," which makes the man not only a foreigner but a foreign tax collector.
a -- (WW) The word translated as "a" is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more.
publican. - (CW) The Greek term translated as "publican" means "farmer" and "tax collector." By Jesus's time, they were no tax farmers, that is, private individuals who bought the right to collect taxes. Historically, these tax-collectors or rent collectors were notoriously corrupt. Jesus is often criticized for being a friend of tax collectors, so this reference is in a sense, self-deprecating.
missing "however" -- (MW) The untranslated word "however" is usually translated as "but" because it joins phrases in an adversarial way. Since it always falls in the second position, translating it as "however" often captures its feeling better.
If - (WW) The Greek word translated as "if" means "if might" and indicates more of an expectation of something happening than the normal "if" alone. It is like we use the word "when."
they -- (WN) This is from the third-person, singular form of the verb.
still -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "still" in the Greek source.
refuse to listen - (CW) "Refuse to listen" is from a verb which means literally "to hear beside," which is used to mean "to hear imperfectly," "to misunderstand," and "to pretend not to hear."
them, -- The word translated as "them" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.
tell - (CW) "Tell" is a verb that means "to say" and "to speak" also. However, it has less a sense of teaching and more a sense of addressing and proclaiming. The sense here is clearly "speak" not "tell" or "say" because there is not object.
it -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "it" in the Greek source.
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.
the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more.
church: - (CW) The word translated here as "church" came to mean "church" but this was later in history. Jesus only uses this word twice. In his time, it means an assembly of local people, like a town meeting but less formal than we think of meetings. Jesus uses this word here and in Matthew 16:18 (not at all in Mark, Luke, or John). In these two contexts. the word "community" works well. The word only came into extensive use in the Act of the Apostles, which describes the local meeting of the Christian community. Jesus could not have used to term in that sense or at least those listening to him would not have heard it that way.
and - (WW) The Greek word translated as "and" is usually translated as "but" because it joins phrases in an adversarial way. Since it always falls in the second position, translating it as "however" often captures its feeling better.
if - (WW) The Greek word translated as "if" means "if might" and indicates more of an expectation of something happening than the normal "if" alone. It is like we use the word "when."
they -- (WN) This is from the third-person, singular form of the verb.
refuse to listen - (CW) "Refuse to listen" is from a verb which means literally "to hear beside," which is used to mean "to hear imperfectly," "to misunderstand," and "to pretend not to hear."
even -- The word "even" here is usually the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). Also used to give emphasis, "even," "also," and "just."
to -- This word "to" comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English.
the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more.
church, - (CW) The word translated here as "church" came to mean "church" but this was later in history. Jesus only uses this word twice. In his time, it means an assembly of local people, like a town meeting but less formal than we think of meetings. Jesus uses this word here and in Matthew 16:18 (not at all in Mark, Luke, or John). In these two contexts. the word "community" works well. The word only came into extensive use in the Act of the Apostles, which describes the local meeting of the Christian community. Jesus could not have used to term in that sense or at least those listening to him would not have heard it that way.
treat - (WW, WF) The "treat" here is the Greek verb "to be" in the form of a 3rd person command (something uncommon in English), which is usually translated into English as "let it (verb)." However, in English, this "command" is best translated as something that must happen. So the sense is, "He must be." However, there was no punctuation in the original Greek, so we have to wonder if this isn't a question, "must he be?." This flows much better with the following statements, especially when Peter asks if we must always forgive our brothers, which is not what he seems to be saying here.
them -- (WF, WN) This is from the third-person, singular form of the verb. It is a singular subject, not a plural object. I usually let this error go in the translation of the Greek third-person command form, but here it only offers more distortion.
as -- The Greek word translated as "as" indicates a match with a person or thing, "the very thing, which," "the same as."
you -- (WF) This is from the second-person, singular form of the verb. In English, we cannot tell that it isn't about the community, but just the individual. It is not a subject, but an indirect object, "to you" singular.
would -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "wold" in the Greek source.
a -- (WW) The word translated as "a" is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more.
pagan - (CW) "Pagan " is from the Greek word meaning "foreigner" and it has the same root as our word "ethnic." It was used as we would use "foreigner" or "stranger." This word is usually translated as "gentile" but here it is made more extreme.
or -- (WW) The Greek word translated as "or" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). Note that the word here is "and," which makes the man not only a foreigner but a foreign tax collector.
a -- (WW) The word translated as "a" is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more.
tax collector - The Greek term translated as "tax collector." means "farmer" and "tax collector." By Jesus's time, they were no tax farmers, that is, private individuals who bought the right to collect taxes. Historically, these tax-collectors or rent collectors were notoriously corrupt. Christ is often criticized for being a friend of tax collectors, so this reference is in a sense, self-deprecating.
ἐὰν (conj) "If" is from ean, which is a conditional particle (derived from ei (if)and an (might)) which makes reference to a time and experience in the future that introduces but does not determine an event.
δὲ (conj) "And" is from de which means "but" and "on the other hand." It is the particle that joins sentences in an adversarial way but can also be an explanation of cause ("so").
παρακούσῃ [1 verse](verb 3rd sg aor subj act) "Neglect to hear" is parakouo, which means "to hear beside," "to overhear," "to hear imperfectly," "to overhear," "to misunderstand," "to hear carelessly," and "to pretend not to hear."
αὐτῶν, (adj pl masc gen) "Them" is from autos, which means "the same," and the reflexive pronouns, "myself," "yourself," "himself," "herself," "itself," or the oblique case of the pronouns, "him," "her," and "it." It also means "one's true self," that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of one's own accord."
εἰπὸν [162 verses](verb 2nd sg aor imperat act) "Tell" 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."
τῇ (article sg neut dat) "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
ἐκκλησίᾳ: [2 verses](noun sg fem dat) "The church" is ekklesia, which means an "assembly duly called." It comes from two Greek words meaning "to call away from." It describes an impromptu assembly of local people called away from their jobs to meet. The idea here is something less formal than to our idea of a jury, but a group of peers rather than a government organ.
ἐὰν (conj) "If" is from ean, which is a conditional particle (derived from ei (if)and an (might)) which makes reference to a time and experience in the future that introduces but does not determine an event.
δὲ (conj) "But" is from de which means "but" and "on the other hand." It is the particle that joins sentences in an adversarial way but can also be an explanation of cause ("so").
καὶ (conj/adv) Untranslated 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."
τῆς (article sg neut gen) "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
ἐκκλησίας [2 verses](noun sg fem gen) "The church" is ekklesia, which means an "assembly duly called." It comes from two Greek words meaning "to call away from." It describes an impromptu assembly of local people called away from their jobs to meet. The idea here is something less formal than to our idea of a jury, but a group of peers rather than a government organ.
παρακούσῃ, [1 verse](verb 3rd sg aor subj act) "He neglected to hear" is from parakouô, which means "to hear beside," "to overhear," "to hear imperfectly," "to overhear," "to misunderstand," "to hear carelessly," and "to pretend not to hear."
ἔστω (verb 3rd sg pres imperat act) "Let him be" is from eimi, which means "to be," "to exist," "to be the case," and "is possible." OR ( verb 2nd sg aor ind mid ) "Let be" could be histemi, which means "to make to stand," "to stand," "to set up," "to bring to a standstill," "to check," "to appoint," "to establish," "to fix by agreement," "to be placed," "to be set," "to stand still," "to stand firm," "to set upright," "to erected," "to arise," and "to place.
σοι (pron 2nd sg dat) "You" is from soi which is the singular, second person pronoun, "you."
ὥσπερ [13 verses](adv/prep) "As" is from hosper, which means "the very man who," "the very thing, which," "the same as," "wherefore," and "although." It indicates a match with a person or thing.
ὁ (article sg masc nom) "An" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
ἐθνικὸς [4 verses](adj sg masc nom) "Heathen man" is ethnikos, which means "national," "provincial," "foriegn," and "gentile." It was used in the same way we would describe someone as an "ethnic" or "foreigner." Foreigners, the Greeks and Romans, were the rulers of the nation in Christ's time.
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."
ὁ (article sg masc nom) "A" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
τελώνης. (noun sg masc nom) "Publican" is from telônês, which means "farmer" and "tax collector" and refers to any number of types of tax collectors. Originally tax collectors were "tax farmers," which explains the terms. These people worked as government agents.
This verse ends a joke, with Christ saying that someone (and perhaps the community) should treat someone like a stranger, or, even worse, a tax collector. This job is a bit self-deprecating because Christ was condemned because he refused to honor the shunning of tax-collectors (Matthew 11:19).