What Does Luke 17:14 Mean in the King James?

And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

Luke 17:14 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

Cleansing reaches them before the priests can confirm it, while they are still on the way.

THE MEANING

A change can meet you while you are still on the way to be seen: here, cleansing reaches the men before they arrive for inspection. The verse holds that change as real before anyone else confirms it.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

You must be visibly restored before you can move toward recognition.

THE ROOT

ἐκαθαρίσθησαν

ekatharisthēsan

GROWS FROM

καθαρ-

kathar-

Clean, pure; the verb means to make clean.

“cleansed” in this verse is ekatharisthēsan. The ⁨καθαρ-⁩ family carries both the state of being clean and the act of making clean. Here the verb names a real change taking hold along the road, before the priests can confirm what has happened.

ALSO GROWS

katharos: Clean, pure

καθαρός

The adjective shares the root’s clean/pure sense, showing that cleansing is a change into cleanness.

katharismos: Cleansing, purification

καθαρισμός

This noun names the same root as a process, illuminating cleansing as something that happens, not merely a status pronounced.

THE PATTERN

Cleansing can be a real change before it is seen or formally recognized.

Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

2 Kings 5:14 · KJVNaaman’s body changes as he goes down and dips, and the result is named as cleanness.

And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

Mark 1:42 · KJVThe same Greek verb names cleansing as an actual change, before the man is sent to show himself to the priest in the next verse.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9 · KJVThe same cleansing verb reaches beyond the body, naming what happens to unrighteousness when it is brought into the open.

THE THREAD

And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

Mark 1:42 · KJV

Mark uses the same Greek verb, ⁨καθαρίζω⁩ (katharizō), meaning to cleanse or make clean. There the cleansing is immediate; here the same root places it along the road, holding both sudden change and change discovered in motion.

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