What Does Luke 4:30 Mean in the King James?
But he passing through the midst of them went his way,
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 crowd surrounds him, but the Greek places his path through its very middle, and says he keeps going.
THE MEANING
When hostility surrounds you, it does not get to name the end of your way. The verse holds the danger in full view while Jesus passes through its middle and continues on.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Being surrounded by rejection means there is no way forward.
THE ROOT
μέσου
mesou from mesos
GROWS FROM
μεσ-
mes-
Middle, center
“midst” in this verse is mesou from mesos. The Greek places Jesus not at the crowd’s edge but in its center. The same μεσ- stem appears in μεσίτης (mesitēs), meaning mediator, one who stands between, so the middle can be a place of passage and relation, not only a barrier.
ALSO GROWS
mesos: Middle, central
μέσος
This is the form behind “midst”: Jesus moves through the crowd’s center.
mesitēs: Mediator, one who stands between
μεσίτης
The shared stem gives “middle” a relational sense as well as a spatial one.
διελθών
dielthōn from dierchomai
GROWS FROM
ἐρχ- (erch-), with διά (dia, through)
Come or go; with διά, move through or across
“passing through” in this verse is dielthōn from dierchomai. This participle describes an actual crossing, not merely being surrounded. The prefix διά (dia, through) marks the route through the crowd, while the underlying motion root is also used in Greek verbs for coming and going.
ALSO GROWS
erchomai: Come, go, arrive
ἔρχομαι
This is the motion verb beneath the participle; the prefix turns ordinary movement into movement through.
exerchomai: Go out, come out
ἐξέρχομαι
The same motion root takes a different prefix for movement out, showing how Greek marks the path with the prefix.
ἐπορεύετο
eporeueto from poreuomai
GROWS FROM
πορευ-
poreu-
Go, travel, proceed
“went his way” in this verse is eporeueto from poreuomai. The Greek verb is in the imperfect: Jesus was going on. The sentence holds the crossing and the continued movement together; passing through the threat does not end his way.
ALSO GROWS
poreia: Journey, travel
πορεία
This noun carries the same root from a single act of going into the idea of a journey.
ekporeuomai: Go out, proceed forth
ἐκπορεύομαι
This compound keeps the movement root and adds a direction, echoing the verse’s focus on continuing along a way.
THE PATTERN
A threatening center can be crossed without becoming the end of the way.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.THE THREAD
Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.John uses διὰ μέσου (dia mesou, through the middle) and διελθών (dielthōn, having passed through), echoing Luke’s wording for movement through the crowd’s center. The repeated Greek phrase makes the shared image hard to miss: the crowd is crossed, and the way continues.
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