What Does Matthew 19:27 Mean in the King James?
Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
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
Peter’s “forsaken” names a letting go that also carries the sense of release, so his question asks what opens beyond what he has left behind.
THE MEANING
The verse holds release and expectation together: Peter names what he has left, the one he follows, and the question of what comes next. His question stays plain and unresolved here; the cost of following does not make the desire for an answer disappear.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It loosens the belief that genuine loyalty must stay silent about what it expects in return.
THE ROOT
ἀφήκαμεν
aphēkamen
GROWS FROM
ἀφίημι (aphiēmi), from ἀπό (apo, “away from”) + ἵημι (hiēmi, “send” or “let go”)
To send away or let go; by extension, to leave behind, permit, or forgive.
“Forsaken” is a form of ἀφίημι (aphiēmi, to leave or release), a verb also used for forgiving debts. In this word family, leaving something behind and releasing a claim share the language of letting go; Peter’s question holds both the cost and the possibility of release.
ALSO GROWS
hiēmi: Send or let go.
ἵημι
This verb at the heart of ἀφίημι gives Peter’s “forsaken” the added sense of something released or sent away.
aphesis: Release, remission, or forgiveness.
ἄφεσις
The related noun names release in a form that can apply to a claim or debt, opening a connection to the forgiveness language of Matthew 6:12.
THE PATTERN
Leaving what is familiar can mark the beginning of a new following, while the question of what comes next remains part of the journey.
Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,THE THREAD
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.Matthew 19:27 uses ἀφίημι (aphiēmi, to leave or release) for what the disciples have “forsaken”; Matthew 6:12 uses the same verb for forgiving debts. The shared word opens a connection between leaving something behind and releasing a claim.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us