Mark 12:24 Do you not therefore err, because you know not...

Spoken to
challengers

Asked by the Sadducees about resurrection of the dead and whose wife a woman who widowed and remarried would be.

KJV

Mark 12:24 Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?

NIV

Mark 12:24 Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?

3RD (NLT, if not otherwise identified)

NLT Mark 12:24 Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.

LISTENERS HEARD

No. By this, you lead yourselves astray, not wanting to know these writings nor the power of the Divine.

MY TAKE

We cannot know what we do not want to know.

GREEK ORDER

Οὐ  διὰ τοῦτο πλανᾶσθε                       μὴ                    εἰδότες τὰς    γραφὰς μηδὲ τὴν δύναμιν     τοῦ θεοῦ;
No. By this,   you lead yourselves astray, not wanting to know   these writings nor  the power     of the Divine.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

English translations miss the main point here, avoiding the beginning word of the verse, "no," where Jesus initially denies the challenge objectively.  He then continues with two other words that are not translated, "by this," referring to the challenge regarding multiple marriages that the Pharisees have posed.

The word translated as "err" means "to lead astray." It is in the passive or the middle voice. So either "you are led astray or "you lead yourselves astray.

The word used here for "know" is not the word meaning learning through study but knowing by simply baty having seen something. Jesus uses these two ideas very differently, indicating that some things are hard to learn whiles others are obvious. It is a negative, but it is negated in a subjective way, which has the sense of "not wanting" something. The form of "know" is a participle, to the sense is "not wanting to know."

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
7
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "therefore" is not the common word usually translated as "therefore."
  • WV -- Wrong Voice -- This verb is a middle voice, which requires a "by/for yourselves" or a "yourselves" as an object. 
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "because" doesn't exist in the source and isn't otherwise justified.
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "know" is not an active verb but a participle, "having known."
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "not" does not capture the word's specific meaning.
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "scripture" is more specific than the word's general meaning.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The article "the" before "God" is not shown in the English translation.

 

 

# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
11
  • MW - Missing Word -- The preposition "by" is not shown in the English translation.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The pronoun "this" is not shown in the English translation.
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "in" doesn't exist in the source and isn't otherwise justified.
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "err" is not a noun but the verb, "to err."
  • WV -- Wrong Voice -- This verb is a middle voice, which requires a "by/for yourselves" or a "yourselves" as an object. 
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "because" doesn't exist in the source and isn't otherwise justified.
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "do" indicates the present tense, but the verb is the past perfect tense.
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "know" is not an active verb but a participle, "having known."
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "not" does not capture the word's specific meaning.
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "scripture" is more specific than the word's general meaning.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The article "the" is not shown in the English translation.
# 3RD TRANSLATION ISSUES
14
  • MW - Missing Word -- The particle"no" is not shown in the English translation.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The preposition "by" is not shown in the English translation.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The pronoun "this" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "your" is not  possessive but the subject, "you."
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "mistake" is not a noun but the verb, "to err."
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "do" indicates the present tense, but the verb is the past perfect tense.
  • WV -- Wrong Voice -- This verb is a middle voice, which requires a "by/for yourselves" or a "yourselves" as an object. 
  • IP - Inserted phrase-- The phrase "is that" doesn't exist in the source and isn't otherwise justified.
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "do" indicates the present tense, but the verb is the past perfect tense.
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "know" is not an active verb but a participle, "having known."
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "not" does not capture the word's specific meaning.
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "scripture" is more specific than the word's general meaning.
  • IP - Inserted phrase-- The phrase "you don't know" doesn't exist in the source and isn't otherwise justified.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The article "the" is not shown in the English translation.
EACH WORD of KJV

Do  -- This helping verb is added to make this a question, but the Greek could be either a question or a statement.

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

not -- The Greek word translated as "not" is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It makes a negative statement of fact. This word begins the sentence with a "not." Since it doesn't come before a verb, it doesn't negate the whole clause.

therefore -- (CW) This is from two Greek words meaning "through this" or "by this." The specific meaning of this phrase is "on this account" or "on account of this."

err, --  "Err" is from a verb that means "to cause to wander", "to lead astray", "to mislead", "to wander", "to stray," and "to be misled." It is in a form where it is either passive of the subject acts on themselves, so either "you are misled" or "you lead yourselves astray."

missing "yourselves"-- (WV) A phrase is necessary because the form of the previous verb is a middle voice, which means that the subject is to  act on "yourselves," "for yourselves" or "by yourselves."

because -- (IW) There is no Greek word that is translated as "because" in the Greek source.

ye -- This is from the second-person, plural, masculine form of the following verb. However, the verb is not active, so it is not in the second-person.

know --  (WF) The word translated as "know" means primarily "to see" and is used to mean "know' as we use the word "see" to mean "know" in English. It is the past perfect tense so "have seen" but it is translated as the present tense of "know."  What someone "has seen" is what they "know" in the present. Since the past perfect of "see" forms the present tense of "know" the pluperfect tense used here, which indicates an action completed before some other action in the past, is used as the simple past tense, "knew." The form here is a participle, not an active verb, "knowing. The sense is "not wanting to know."  

not  -- (CW) The negative used here is the Greek negative of a subjective opinion, commands, and requests. If not used with a verb of subjective action--thinking, feeling, seeing, etc.--its sense is that "not wanting" or "thinking" something, not that it isn't done or thought.   When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause. When it precedes other words, its force is limited to those words. This is the negative used with commands or requests. This means that their "knowing" is not consider a fact because they only thing they know.

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"). See this article for more. 

scriptures,  - - (CW) "Scriptures" is a noun that means "writing", "the art of writing," and "that which is written," so, the "writings." It doesn't have the specific sense of religious writing that "scriptures" does. It might also be worth noting that the Greek word translated as "scriptures" literally means "a drawing." For the Greeks, both drawings and words created a "picture" or a man-made, artificial representation of reality. Its translation as "scripture" is more specific than the word's more general meaning.

neither -- The word for "nor" is the Greek subjective negative plus the Greek word for "but." "But not" works much better than "neither." This Greek word works as a "neither...nor" but only when it occurs in a series.

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"). See this article for more. 

power -- "Power" is from a word that describes abilities and capacities, what actions a person can do or has done so "power", "might", "influence", "authority," and "force." It does not carry the sense of authority over others, either people or laws.

of -- This word comes from the genitive case of the following word(s) that required the addition of a preposition in English.  The most common is the "of" of possession, but it can also mean "belonging to," "part of", "which is", "than" (in comparisons), or  "for", "concerning" or "about" with transitive verbs. 

missing "the" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these", "those"). See this article for more. 

God? -- The word translated as "God" means "God" and "deity." It is introduced with an article, so "the God." Jesus often uses it this way perhaps to indicate the one God as opposed to the pagan gods.

EACH WORD of NIV

missing "By"-- (MW) The untranslated word  means "through," in the midst of," or "by (a cause)."

missing "This"-- (MW) The untranslated word means "from here" or "this/that thing."

Are -- This helping verb is added to make this a question, but the Greek could be either a question or a statement.

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

not -- The Greek word translated as "not" is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It makes a negative statement of fact. This word begins the sentence with a "not." Since it doesn't come before a verb, it doesn't negate the whole clause.

in --  (IW) The word "in" doesn't exist in the source and isn't otherwise justified.

err, --  (WF) "Err" is not a noun, but  from a verb that means "to cause to wander", "to lead astray", "to mislead", "to wander", "to stray," and "to be misled." It is in a form where it is either passive of the subject acts on themselves, so either "you are misled" or "you lead yourselves astray."

missing "yourselves"-- (WV) A phrase is necessary because the form of the previous verb is a middle voice, which means that the subject is to  act on "yourselves," "for yourselves" or "by yourselves."

because -- (IW) There is no Greek word that is translated as "because" in the Greek source.

you -- This is from the second-person, plural, masculine form of the following verb. However, the verb is not active, so it is not in the second-person.

do -- (WT) This helping verb put the following verb in the present tense, but it is in the past perfect tense, "having known.)

know --  (WF) The word translated as "know" means primarily "to see" and is used to mean "know' as we use the word "see" to mean "know" in English. It is the past perfect tense so "have seen" but it is translated as the present tense of "know."  What someone "has seen" is what they "know" in the present. Since the past perfect of "see" forms the present tense of "know" the pluperfect tense used here, which indicates an action completed before some other action in the past, is used as the simple past tense, "knew." The form here is a participle, not an active verb, "knowing. The sense is "not wanting to know."  

no  -- (CW) The negative used here is the Greek negative of a subjective opinion, commands, and requests. If not used with a verb of subjective action--thinking, feeling, seeing, etc.--its sense is that "not wanting" or "thinking" something, not that it isn't done or thought.   When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause. When it precedes other words, its force is limited to those words. This is the negative used with commands or requests. This means that their "knowing" is not consider a fact because they only thing they know.

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"). See this article for more. 

Scriptures,  - - (CW) "Scriptures" is a noun that means "writing", "the art of writing," and "that which is written," so, the "writings." It doesn't have the specific sense of religious writing that "scriptures" does. It might also be worth noting that the Greek word translated as "scriptures" literally means "a drawing." For the Greeks, both drawings and words created a "picture" or a man-made, artificial representation of reality. Its translation as "scripture" is more specific than the word's more general meaning.

nor -- The word for "nor" is the Greek subjective negative plus the Greek word for "but." "But not" works much better than "neither." This Greek word works as a "neither...nor" but only when it occurs in a series.

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"). See this article for more. 

power -- "Power" is from a word that describes abilities and capacities, what actions a person can do or has done so "power", "might", "influence", "authority," and "force." It does not carry the sense of authority over others, either people or laws.

of -- This word comes from the genitive case of the following word(s) that required the addition of a preposition in English.  The most common is the "of" of possession, but it can also mean "belonging to," "part of", "which is", "than" (in comparisons), or  "for", "concerning" or "about" with transitive verbs. 

missing "the" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these", "those"). See this article for more. 

God? -- The word translated as "God" means "God" and "deity." It is introduced with an article, so "the God." Jesus often uses it this way perhaps to indicate the one God as opposed to the pagan gods.

EACH WORD 3RD (NLT or as noted)

NLT

missing "No"-- (MW) The untranslated word  is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It makes a negative statement of fact. This word begins the sentence with a "not." Since it doesn't come before a verb, it doesn't negate the whole clause.

missing "By"-- (MW) The untranslated word  means "through," in the midst of," or "by (a cause)."

missing "This"-- (MW) The untranslated word means "from here" or "this/that thing."

Your -- (WF) This is from the second-person, plural form of the following verb.

mistake, --  (WF) "Mistake" is not a noun, but  from a verb that means "to cause to wander", "to lead astray", "to mislead", "to wander", "to stray," and "to be misled." It is in a form where it is either passive of the subject acts on themselves, so either "you are misled" or "you lead yourselves astray."

missing "yourselves"-- (WV) A phrase is necessary because the form of the previous verb is a middle voice, which means that the subject is to  act on "yourselves," "for yourselves" or "by yourselves."

is that --  (IP) The words "is that" don't exist in the source and isn't otherwise justified.

you -- This is from the second-person, plural, masculine form of the following verb. However, the verb is not active, so it is not in the second-person.

do -- (WT) This helping verb put the following verb in the present tense, but it is in the past perfect tense, "having known.)

n't  -- (CW) The negative used here is the Greek negative of a subjective opinion, commands, and requests. If not used with a verb of subjective action--thinking, feeling, seeing, etc.--its sense is that "not wanting" or "thinking" something, not that it isn't done or thought.   When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause. When it precedes other words, its force is limited to those words. This is the negative used with commands or requests. This means that their "knowing" is not consider a fact because they only thing they know.

know --  (WF) The word translated as "know" means primarily "to see" and is used to mean "know' as we use the word "see" to mean "know" in English. It is in the forming of an adjective, "knowing." The sense is "not wanting to know."  

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"). See this article for more. 

Scriptures, - - (CW) "Scriptures" is a noun that means "writing", "the art of writing," and "that which is written," so, the "writings." It doesn't have the specific sense of religious writing that "scriptures" does. It might also be worth noting that the Greek word translated as "scriptures" literally means "a drawing." For the Greeks, both drawings and words created a "picture" or a manmade, artificial representation of reality. Its translation as "scripture" is more specific than the word's more general meaning.

and -- (WW) The word for "nor" is the Greek subjective negative plus the Greek word for "but." "But not" works much better than "neither." This Greek word works as a "neither...nor" but only when it occurs in a series.

you don't know --  (IP) The words "you don't know" don't exist in the source and isn't otherwise justified.

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"). See this article for more. 

power -- "Power" is from a word that describes abilities and capacities, what actions a person can do or has done so "power", "might", "influence", "authority," and "force." It does not carry the sense of authority over others, either people or laws.

of -- This word comes from the genitive case of the following word(s) that required the addition of a preposition in English.  The most common is the "of" of possession, but it can also mean "belonging to," "part of", "which is", "than" (in comparisons), or  "for", "concerning" or "about" with transitive verbs. 

missing "the" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these", "those"). See this article for more. 

God? -- The word translated as "God" means "God" and "deity." It is introduced with an article, so "the God." Jesus often uses it this way perhaps to indicate the one God as opposed to the pagan gods.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

Οὐ [269 verses] (adv) "Not" is 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.

διὰ τοῦτο [22 verses](prep, adj sg neut acc) "Therefore" is from two Greek words meaning "through this" or "by this." "Through" is dia, which means with the accusative, it can also be "thanks to," "because of,"  "by reasons of," and "for the sake of. "This" is touto, which means  "this [thing] there/here." With the neuter adjective, the sense is "on this account."

πλανᾶσθε [12 verses] (verb 2nd pl pres ind mp) "Ye..err" is planao which means "to cause to wander", "to lead astary", "to mislead", "to wander", "to stray," and "to be misled."

μὴ [447 verses](partic) "Not" is from me , which is the negative used in prohibitions and expressions of doubt meaning "not" and "no." As οὐ (ou) negates fact and statement; μή rejects, οὐ denies; μή is relative, οὐ absolute; μή subjective, οὐ objective. --

εἰδότες [38 verses](part pl perf act masc nom) "Knowing" is oida which has the sense of "to know." This listing is not a root word, but the past perfect tense of eido, which means "to see," "to examine," "to perceive," "to behold," "to know how to do," "to see with the mind's eye," and "to know." That which "has been seen" is that which is "known." This is a somewhat legalistic idea because the truth can only be established by eyewitnesses.

τὰς   [821 verses] (article pl fem acc) "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").

γραφὰς [13 verses](noun pl fem acc) "Scripture" is from graphe, which means "representing by means of lines", "a drawing", "writing", "the art of writing," and "that which is written."

μηδὲ [24 verses] (partic) "Neither" is mede, which means "and not," "but not," "nor," and "not." The negative is the one used in prohibitions and expressions of doubt meaning "not" and "no."

τὴν  [821 verses] (article sg fem acc) "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").

δύναμιν [21 verses](noun sg fem acc) "Power" is dynamis, which means "power," "might," "influence," "capacity," "elementary force," "force of a word," and "value of money." Elemental forces are forces such as heat and cold.

τοῦ  [821 verses](article sg masc gen)  Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"), which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones."

θεοῦ: [144 verses](noun sg masc gen) "God" is theos, which means "God," "divine," and "Deity."

Wordplay

The wordplay here juxtaposes going astray with not seeing. People go astray, wander, and get off track because they cannot see

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