What Does Matthew 26:45 Mean in the King James?

Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Matthew 26:45 · 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 verb translated “betrayed” means “handed over,” and the next phrase names the hands that receive him.

You meet the hour with those nearest you asleep and the handover already underway: the Son of Man is placed into the hands of those who miss. Sleep and exposure occupy the same moment, with neither explained away.

παραδίδοται

paradidotai

GROWS FROM

δίδωμι

didōmi

To give, grant, or put; in the compound ⁨παραδίδωμι⁩, to hand over.

The Greek verb carries the sense of being handed over. The sentence then names the destination as “into hands,” so the verb and its destination form one motion that the English word “betrayed” can leave less visible.

ALSO GROWS

apodidōmi: To give back, render, or repay.

ἀποδίδωμι

The same giving root can describe what is rendered back; the compound specifies the direction of the transfer.

metadidōmi: To share or impart.

μεταδίδωμι

The same root can describe sharing with another, showing how the added part of the word shapes the kind of giving.

ἁμαρτωλῶν

hamartōlōn

GROWS FROM

ἁμαρτάνω

hamartanō

To miss or fail to hit the mark.

The root keeps “sinners” connected to missing: the word points to those whose actions miss the mark, not simply to a fixed category of people. Here their hands are the place where that missing takes shape.

ALSO GROWS

hamartia: Missing; a miss from the mark.

ἁμαρτία

This branch names the missing carried in the word translated “sinners.”

hamartēma: An error or wrong act.

ἁμάρτημα

This branch keeps the root tied to an actual miss, bringing the word back to what is done.

Betrayal takes the form of transfer: the one betrayed is handed into another’s hands.

Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.
Psalm 41:9 · KJVThe betrayal comes through a familiar companion who shares bread, placing the breach inside closeness.
Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
Acts 2:23 · KJVThe verse sets the delivery beside the wicked hands that take him, making the transfer visible.
For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
1 Corinthians 11:23 · KJVThe same night that holds the betrayal also holds the taking of bread, keeping the handover close to the shared table.
Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
Acts 2:23 · KJV

The Greek word “delivered” here is ⁨ἔκδοτον⁩ (ekdoton), formed on the same ⁨δίδωμι⁩ (didōmi, “give”) root as ⁨παραδίδοται⁩ (paradidotai, “is handed over”) in Matthew. Acts places that handover beside “wicked hands,” making explicit the transfer Matthew compresses into “betrayed into the hands.”

Read the SDV Bible.

Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.

Get Selah Verse

The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.

Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us

Matthew 26:45 KJV Meaning