What Does Matthew 20:17 Mean in the King James?
And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them,
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
On the ascent to Jerusalem, Jesus makes the road itself a place of disclosure by drawing the learners aside before they arrive.
THE MEANING
The verse places you on the road where movement and disclosure meet. Jesus brings the twelve close and speaks to them while Jerusalem draws near; the way itself holds a moment of private attention. The movement toward wholeness includes what is spoken before arrival.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that truth begins only at the destination: Jesus speaks to the twelve while they are still on the road.
THE ROOT
ἀναβαίνων
anabainōn
GROWS FROM
βαίνω
to step, go, or move along a way
The Greek verb ἀναβαίνων (anabainōn, “going up”) carries the sense of stepping along a route, not merely pointing upward. Jesus speaks within the ascent itself, so the road is already part of what is being revealed.
ALSO GROWS
apobainō: go away, disembark, or turn out
ἀποβαίνω
This compound shares the βαίνω (bainō, “go”) stem and shows how the same movement can carry someone onward or bring them to an outcome.
diabainō: cross over or pass through
διαβαίνω
This compound shares the βαίνω (bainō, “go”) stem; its sense of crossing makes the ascent feel like a passage underway.
יְרוּשָׁלַיִם
Yerushalayim
GROWS FROM
שׁלם
to be whole, complete, or sound
“Jerusalem” in this verse is Yerushalayim. The name Yerushalayim carries the consonants שׁ־ל־ם of שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “wholeness”). The destination’s name therefore echoes wholeness as Jesus draws near, even as the words he is about to speak lead through what must be faced.
ALSO GROWS
shalom: wholeness, well-being
שָׁלוֹם
Its shared שׁ־ל־ם consonants make the destination echo wholeness.
shalem: whole, complete
שָׁלֵם
This branch names the completeness carried by the same consonantal family.
hishlim: complete, bring to completion
הִשְׁלִים
This verbal branch shows the movement of making whole or bringing something to its full measure.
μαθητάς
mathētas
GROWS FROM
μαθ
to learn, to acquire understanding
“disciples” in this verse is mathētas. The Greek word μαθητάς (mathētas, “learners”) names people in the process of learning. Jesus takes these learners aside on the road, so their understanding unfolds through what he says along the way.
ALSO GROWS
mathēma: lesson, something learned
μάθημα
It shares the μαθ (math) family and names what learning takes in.
mathēteuō: learn as a disciple or make someone a disciple
μαθητεύω
It shares the μαθ (math) family and extends the learner’s identity into the ongoing act of learning.
THE PATTERN
A road toward a decisive moment becomes a place of instruction and disclosure.
And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?THE THREAD
And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him,Mark uses the same Greek ascent verb, ἀναβαίνω (anabainō, “go up”), and shows Jesus going ahead while the others follow in fear. The same road leads directly into his taking the twelve aside and telling them what lies ahead.
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