What Does Luke 15:8 Mean in the King James?
Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
A missing thing does not lose its worth; its absence sets the search in motion.
THE MEANING
When something in your life is missing, its absence does not make it worthless. The woman lights a lamp, sweeps the house, and keeps searching until she finds the coin. The search stays active for as long as what is lost remains unfound.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that what is lost is already beyond recovery, and therefore no longer worth seeking.
THE ROOT
ἀπολέσῃ
apolesē
GROWS FROM
ἀπόλλυμι
apollymi
To lose, perish, or come to ruin.
“lose” in this verse is apolesē. The Greek word can describe both losing something and perishing, though here it means that the coin is missing. The woman’s response shows that being lost does not make it worthless: she keeps looking until it is found.
ALSO GROWS
apolōlos: Lost; Luke 19:10.
ἀπολωλός
The same root describes what is lost as the object of a search.
apolētai: Perish; John 3:16.
ἀπόληται
This branch carries the root’s more severe sense, showing the wider range behind the English word “lose.”
ἐπιζητεῖ
epizētei
GROWS FROM
ζητέω
zēteō
To seek, search for, or desire.
“seek diligently” in this verse is epizētei. The verb is ἐπιζητέω, a form built on ζητέω, “to seek.” The woman’s search is directed toward finding what is missing, and the verse gives it a clear endpoint: she continues until she finds it.
ALSO GROWS
zēteite: Seek; Matthew 6:33.
ζητεῖτε
The same base verb presents seeking as purposeful pursuit.
epizētousin: They seek; Hebrews 11:14.
ἐπιζητοῦσιν
This related form uses the same compound verb for an ongoing search.
THE PATTERN
What is lost remains the object of a search that continues toward finding and restoration.
And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.THE THREAD
For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.Luke 19:10 brings together the same two movements as this verse: seeking and what is lost. “Lost” comes from the same Greek root, ἀπόλλυμι (apollymi), linking the woman’s search for her coin with the search for what has gone astray.
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