Matthew 25:24

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

Then the servant who had received one talent came and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

Προσελθὼν δὲ καὶ ὁ τὸ ἓν τάλαντον εἰληφὼς εἶπεν, Κύριε, ἔγνων σε ὅτι σκληρὸς εἶ ἄνθρωπος, θερίζων ὅπου οὐκ ἔσπειρας, καὶ συνάγων ὅθεν οὐ διεσκόρπισας:

Transliteration

Proselthōn de also the [one] the one talanton eilēphōs eipen, Kyrie, egnōn you that sklēros you are anthrōpos, therizōn where not espeiras, and synagōn from where not dieskorpisas:

Grammar Details

• *proselthōn*: aorist active participle, nominative masculine singular - having come to
• *de*: postpositive particle - but/and
• *eilēphōs*: perfect active participle, nominative masculine singular - having received
• *eipen*: aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular - said
• *kyrie*: vocative masculine singular - master/lord
• *egnōn*: aorist active indicative, 1st person singular - I knew
• *sklēros*: nominative masculine singular - hard/harsh
• *anthrōpos*: nominative masculine singular - man/person
• *therizōn*: present active participle, nominative masculine singular - reaping
• *espeiras*: aorist active indicative, 2nd person singular - you sowed
• *synagōn*: present active participle, nominative masculine singular - gathering
• *dieskorpisas*: aorist active indicative, 2nd person singular - you scattered

Word Meanings

• *proselthōn*: having come to/approached/come forward
• *de*: but/and/also
• *eilēphōs*: having received/taken/accepted [completed action]
• *eipen*: said/spoke/told
• *kyrie*: master/lord/sir
• *egnōn*: I knew/understood/recognized
• *sklēros*: hard/harsh/severe
• *anthrōpos*: man/person/human being
• *therizōn*: reaping/harvesting
• *espeiras*: you sowed/planted/scattered
• *synagōn*: gathering/collecting/bringing together
• *dieskorpisas*: you scattered/dispersed/spread

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  Then he who had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  And he also that had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering where thou didst not scatter;

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:

• Tyndale Bible (1526/1534)

  Then he which had receaved ye one talent came and sayd: master I considered yt thou wast an harde man which repest where thou sowedst not and gadderest where thou strawedst no

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  Then he that had receaued the one talet, came and sayde: Syr, I knew that thou art an hard man: thou reapest where thou hast not sowen, and gatherest where thou hast not strowed,

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  Then he which had receiued the one talent, came, & said, Master, I knewe that thou wast an hard man, which reapest where thou sowedst not, and gatherest where thou strawedst not:

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  Then he which had receaued the one talent, came, and saide: Lorde I knew thee, that thou art an harde man, reapyng where thou hast not sowen, & gatheryng where thou hast not strowed.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  ‹Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:›

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  "He also who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  `And he also who hath received the one talent having come, said, Sir, I knew thee, that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering from whence thou didst not scatter;

• American Standard Version (1901)

  And he also that had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering where thou didst not scatter;

• American Standard Version (1901)

  And he also that had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering where thou didst not scatter;

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  And he who had had the one talent came and said, Lord, I had knowledge that you are a hard man, getting in grain where you have not put seed, and making profits for which you have done no work:

• World English Bible (2000)

  "He also who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter.

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  Then the one who had received the one talent came and said,‘Sir, I knew that you were a hard man, harvesting where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed,

Referenced Verses

• Job 21:14-15 : 14 Yet they say to God, 'Depart from us! We have no desire to know your ways.' 15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we profit if we entreat him?
• Isa 58:3 : 3 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?' Yet on the day of your fasting, you pursue your own desires and oppress all your workers.
• Jer 2:31 : 31 You people of this generation, consider the word of the LORD: ‘Have I been a wilderness to Israel or a land of deep darkness? Why do my people say, “We are free to roam; we will come to you no more”?’
• Jer 44:16-18 : 16 The word you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you. 17 Instead, we will do everything we promised: we will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, just as we, our ancestors, our kings, and our officials did in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. At that time, we had plenty of food, prospered, and experienced no disaster. 18 But since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by sword and famine.
• Ezek 18:25-29 : 25 Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Hear me, O house of Israel: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust? 26 If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin, they will die for it; because of the sin they have committed, they will die. 27 But if a wicked person turns away from the wickedness they have committed and does what is just and right, they will save their life. 28 Because they consider all the offenses they have committed and turn away from them, they will surely live; they will not die. 29 Yet the house of Israel says, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Are my ways unjust, house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?
• Mal 1:12-13 : 12 But you profane it by saying, 'The LORD's table is defiled, and its food is contemptible.' 13 You say, 'What a burden!' and you sniff at it with contempt, says the LORD of Hosts. When you bring stolen, lame, or sick animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands? says the LORD.
• Mal 3:14-15 : 14 You have said, 'Serving God is futile. What profit is there in keeping his requirements or walking mournfully before the Lord of Hosts? 15 Now we call the proud blessed, for those who do evil prosper, and those who test God escape.'
• Matt 7:21 : 21 Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
• Matt 20:12 : 12 'These who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'
• Luke 6:46 : 46 Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' but do not do what I say?
• Luke 15:29 : 29 But he answered his father, 'Look, all these years I have served you and never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.
• Luke 19:20-22 : 20 Another came and said, 'Master, here is your mina. I kept it laid away in a cloth.' 21 'For I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.' 22 He said to him, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a harsh man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?'
• Rom 8:7 : 7 Because the mindset of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.
• Rom 9:20 : 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its maker, 'Why have you made me like this?'