What Does Luke 18:26 Mean in the King James?
And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?
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
The question turns on a hidden distinction: being delivered is not the same as being able to deliver yourself.
THE MEANING
When the way out seems larger than human capacity, this question is alive in you: who can be brought out? The word translated “saved” means being rescued or delivered, and its passive form presents the person as receiving that rescue. The answer that follows locates possibility with God.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that if you cannot rescue yourself, rescue cannot happen.
THE ROOT
σωθῆναι
sōthēnai
GROWS FROM
σῴζω
To rescue, deliver, preserve, or heal; the form here means “to be rescued” or “to be delivered.”
“saved” in this verse is sōthēnai. The same verb σῴζω (sōzō, rescue or deliver) appears in Luke 8:48, where the KJV says, “thy faith hath made thee whole.” Its range joins rescue with healing and restoration, so the question reaches beyond escape to who can be made whole.
ALSO GROWS
sōtēria: Deliverance or rescue; a noun in the same Greek word family.
σωτηρία
It names the rescue the question asks about, showing that “saved” and “deliverance” grow from the same word family.
sōtēr: One who rescues or delivers; a related Greek word.
σωτήρ
The question shifts attention from the rescued person’s capacity to the one able to rescue.
THE PATTERN
Deliverance becomes possible when its source exceeds the limits of human strength.
And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:THE THREAD
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:Ephesians uses the same Greek verb, σῴζω (sōzō, rescue or deliver), in a passive form: the person receives deliverance. Its language of gift opens the question toward a rescue that does not depend on the rescued person producing it.
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