What Does Matthew 27:38 Mean in the King James?
Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.
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
At the center of the scene is someone executed in the company of plunderers, not set apart from them.
THE MEANING
You encounter Jesus between two men described by a word for bandits or plunderers. His place among the condemned is part of the scene itself: one man on either side, all sharing the same execution.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse unsettles the assumption that the central figure stands apart from the condemned; here, he is physically flanked by them.
THE ROOT
λῃσταί
lēstai
GROWS FROM
λῃστ-
Robber, bandit, or plunderer
This word can carry the sense of forceful robbery beneath the familiar English “thieves.” That shade places Jesus beside men associated with taking by force, giving the arrangement a sharper edge.
ALSO GROWS
lēstēs: Robber or bandit
λῃστής
The singular form names each of the men beside Jesus.
lēsteia: Robbery or brigandage
λῃστεία
This related noun carries the plundering sense of the word family into the act itself.
σταυρόω
stauroō
GROWS FROM
σταυρ-
Stake or cross; the instrument of crucifixion
The word family names both the cross and the act of crucifying. Here, the shared language keeps the instrument and the bodily execution joined: all three men are crucified.
ALSO GROWS
stauros: Cross or stake
σταυρός
The noun names the instrument carried in the verb “crucified.”
stauroō: Crucify
σταυρόω
The verb names the act shared by Jesus and the two men beside him.
THE PATTERN
The one at the center is counted among the condemned, sharing their place in public view.
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left.THE THREAD
And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left.Mark uses the same Greek word, λῃσταί (lēstai, bandits or plunderers), for the two men beside Jesus. That shared word opens the shade beneath “thieves”: the scene places Jesus among men associated with plundering by force.
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