Matthew 20:13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend,

Spoken to
audience

A parable comparing the realm of the skies to hiring workers throughout the day.

KJV

Matthew 20:13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?

NIV

Matthew 20:13 But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?

LISTENERS HEARD

The one, however, answering to one of them said, "Friend, I did not harm you. Not, really. You agreed on a silver with me."

MY TAKE

People should be free to agree and disagree.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

Jesus echoes the same words used at the beginning of this parable in Matthew 20:2. He uses three uncommon words, for him meaning "friend," "did not harm," and "agee." All are used in only two or three other verses of his. The sentence at the end is not likely a question. The negative it begins with means "not really" and seems like it emphasizes the idea that no harm was done. The final sentence, however, could also be a negative question that expects a positive answer, as we might way, "we agreed on a denarius, didn't we?"

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
4
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "he" should be something more like "the one."
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "answered" is not an active verb but a participle, "answering."
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "and" doesn't exist in the source.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "not" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
7
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "he" should be something more like "the one."
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "answered" is not an active verb but a participle, "answering."
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "being unfair" should be something more like "harm."
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "to you" is not an indirect object but a direct one, "you."
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "not" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "with me" is not shown in the English translation.
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "to work" doesn't exist in the source.
EACH WORD of KJV

But -- The Greek word translated as "but" means "but," "however," and "on the other hand." It joins phrases in an adversarial way. Since it always falls in the second position, translating it as "however" often captures its feeling better. 

he -- (WW)  The word translated as "he"  is the Greek definite article, which when not preceding a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more. 

answered  -  (WF) "Answered" is from a verb that means to "set apart," "choose," "answer" a question, "answer charges," and "defend oneself." In the Gospels, it is always translated as "answered." However, it is used as a noun and in the passive but our English word "answer" doesn't quite work that way. Perhaps, "defending himself" comes closest in English.

one  - -- The Greek word translated as "one " means "one" (as opposed to other numbers), "single," and "one and the same."

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.

them, " -- The word translated as "his" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.

and -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "and" in the Greek source.  It was added because the previous verb was translated as active rather than a participle.

said, - The word translated as "said" means "to say" and "to speak." It is one of the two most common words translated "speak," "say" and "tell," but it has more a sense of addressing and proclaiming.

Friend,  - "Friend" is from a noun that means "comrade," "companion," "pupil," "disciple," of political "partisans," "members of a religious guild," and "courtesan." Christ uses it to mean "friend" and usually as an address.

I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.

do -- This helping verb is used to create questions, commands, negative statements, and smooth word flow in English, but the Greek could be either a question or a statement.

thee -- This is from the second-person, singular form of the verb.

no -- 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. Adding "really" to the sentence captures the same idea. When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause.

wrong:  - "I do...wrong" is from a word that as a verb, as used here, means "to be or do wrong" "to harm," and "to injure," and as a noun means "wrongdoing," and "harm." Jesus only uses this verb twice.

didst -- This helping verb is used to create questions, commands, negative statements, and smooth word flow in English, but the Greek could be either a question or a statement.

not -- (CW)  The word translated as "not" is a different form of the usual Greek negative of fact meaning "no truly," "assuredly not," "not however," "nevertheless," and "notwithstanding." This word can have a reversing effect, making a negative into a positive, with questions. Used in questions where an affirmative answer is expected. Used in answers where a "yes" must be supplied. Perhaps best translated as an "isn't it?" at the end of the sentence.  The fact that ancient Greek has no clear verb form for questions makes interpreting it difficult.

thou -- This is from the second-person, singular form of the verb.

agree - The phrase "Did thou...agree" is from a single word, a verb that "to sound together." It means "to make an agreement or bargain" and it is a metaphor for harmonizing. Jesus only uses this verb twice.

with -- This word "with" 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. However, the translator can choose other prepositions: "with,"  "in,"   "of,"  "as," "by," "for," "at," or "on" depending on the context.

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.

for  - -- This word "for"  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.

a -- There is no indefinite article in Greek, but when a word doesn't have a definite article, the indefinite article can be added in English translation.

penny? -- "Penny is from the Greek word for a denarius, which was a coin of silver, which had the purchasing power of about $70-$80 today (though comparisons are obviously not very meaningful). It was the standard wage for a day's labor by a general laborer, which for most of human history was an agricultural worker. To offer and agree to work for this wage would be considered the expected practice for hundreds of years around the birth of Christ in the Roman Empire.

EACH WORD of NIV

But -- The Greek word translated as "but" means "but," "however," and "on the other hand." It joins phrases in an adversarial way. Since it always falls in the second position, translating it as "however" often captures its feeling better. 

he -- (WW)  The word translated as "he"  is the Greek definite article, which when not preceding a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more. 

answered  -  (WF) "Answered" is from a verb that means to "set apart," "choose," "answer" a question, "answer charges," and "defend oneself." In the Gospels, it is always translated as "answered." However, it is used as a noun and in the passive but our English word "answer" doesn't quite work that way. Perhaps, "defending himself" comes closest in English.

one  - -- The Greek word translated as "one " means "one" (as opposed to other numbers), "single," and "one and the same."

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.

them, " -- The word translated as "his" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.

missing "said"  -- (MW) The untranslated word "said" means "to say" and "to speak." It is one of the two most common words translated "speak," "say" and "tell," but it has more a sense of addressing and proclaiming.

I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.

am -- This helping verb is used to create questions, commands, negative statements, and smooth word flow in English, but the Greek could be either a question or a statement.

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. Adding "really" to the sentence captures the same idea. When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause.

being unfair:  - (WW) "Being unfair" is from a word that as a verb, as used here, means "to be or do wrong" "to harm," and "to injure," and as a noun means "wrongdoing," and "harm." Jesus only uses this verb twice. It has no relationship to the concept of "fairness" or the "equal" used in the last verse.

to -- (WF) This word "to" usually comes from the dative case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. However, the following word is not an indirect object but a direct one.

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

friend,  - "Friend" is from a noun that means "comrade," "companion," "pupil," "disciple," of political "partisans," "members of a religious guild," and "courtesan." Christ uses it to mean "friend" and usually as an address.

Did--- This helping verb is used to create questions, commands, negative statements, and smooth word flow in English, but the Greek could be either a question or a statement.

n't -- (CW)  The word translated as "not" is a different form of the usual Greek negative of fact meaning "no truly," "assuredly not," "not however," "nevertheless," and "notwithstanding." This word can have a reversing effect, making a negative into a positive, with questions. Used in questions where an affirmative answer is expected. Used in answers where a "yes" must be supplied. Perhaps best translated as an "isn't it?" at the end of the sentence.  The fact that ancient Greek has no clear verb form for questions makes interpreting it difficult.

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

agree - The phrase "Did thou...agree" is from a single word, a verb that "to sound together." It means "to make an agreement or bargain" and it is a metaphor for harmonizing. Jesus only uses this verb twice.

missing "with me"  -- (MW) The untranslated word "with me" is in the indirect object form on the first-person pronoun, so usually "to me," though the form has other uses in Greek.

to work -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "to work" in the Greek source.

for  - -- This word "for"  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.

a -- There is no indefinite article in Greek, but when a word doesn't have a definite article, the indefinite article can be added in English translation.

denarius? -- "Denarius" is from the Greek word for a denarius, which was a coin of silver, which had the purchasing power of about $70-$80 today (though comparisons are obviously not very meaningful). It was the standard wage for a day's labor by a general laborer, which for most of human history was an agricultural worker. To offer and agree to work for this wage would be considered the expected practice for hundreds of years around the birth of Christ in the Roman Empire.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

(article sg masc nom) This is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun but here it is separated from its "noun" by the conjunction.

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").

ἀποκριθεὶς [17 verses](part sg aor pass masc nom) "Answered" is apokrinomai that means to "set apart," "choose," "exclude," "reject on examination," "decide," "answer" the question, "answer charges," and "defend oneself" and, in the passive, "to answer," "to reply," and "to be parted or separated." In the Gospels, it is always translated as "answered."

ἑνὶ [85 verses](noun sg masc dat) "One" is from heis, which means "one," "single," and "one and the same." This adjective is irregular, having a number of forms depending on gender and case.

αὐτῶν (adj pl masc gen) "Of 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."

εἶπεν  [162 verses] (verb 3rd sg aor ind act) "Said" 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." -- "Speak you" (a different Greek word from "I tell" Christ uses to describe his speaking) is from means "to say" and "to speak" also. However, it has less a sense of teaching and more a sense of addressing and proclaiming.

Ἑταῖρε, [3 verses](noun sg masc voc) "Friend" is hetairos, which means "comrade," "companion," "pupil," "disciple," of political "partisans," "members of a religious guild," and "courtesan."

οὐκ (partic) "Not" is from ou which is the negative adverb for facts and statements, negating both single words and sentences. The other negative adverb, μή applies to will and thought; οὐ denies, μή rejects; οὐ is absolute, μή relative; οὐ objective, μή subjective.

ἀδικῶ [2 verses](verb 1st sg pres ind act) "I do...wrong" is adikeo, which, as a verb means to "be or do wrong," "injure," "harm," in games or contests, "play foul," "sin," and as a noun, "wrong doing," "a wrong," "harm" and "injury."

σε: (pron 2nd sg acc) "Thee" is from su which means "you" and "your."

οὐχὶ [23 verses](adv) "Not" is from ouchi, an adverb which means "no," "no truly," "assuredly not," "not however," "nevertheless," "notwithstanding," "yet," "still," "never yet," "for not," "indeed," "for surely not," "no,—certainly not," "for I don't suppose," and "for in no manner." " Sometimes it is used to create negative questions where a positive answer is expected.

δηναρίου [8 verses](noun sg neut gen) "Penny" is denarion, which was the principle silver coin of the Roman Empire in NT times.

συνεφώνησάς [2 verses](verb 2nd sg aor ind act) "Didst thou...agree" is sumphoneo, which means "to sound together." It means "to make an agreement or bargain" and it is a is a metaphor for harmonizing.

μοι; (pron 1st sg masc dat) "Me" is from emoi, which is 1st person,singular dative pronoun meaning "me' as the indirect object of a verb.

Possible Symbolic Meaning
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