What Does Mark 12:13 Mean?
And they sent to him some of the separated ones and of the Herodians, to snare him in his word.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words.THE KEY
Their mission turns speech into hunting ground: they are sent to catch him through what he says.
THE MEANING
You are shown a group sent to catch someone through his speech. The aim is capture, so his words are watched for an opening rather than received for understanding.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie this undoes is that being addressed means being heard in good faith: words can be treated as evidence for capture.
THE ROOT
ἀγρεύσωσιν
agreusōsin
GROWS FROM
ἀγρ- (agr-), from ἀγρεύω (agreō)
To hunt or catch as prey.
“snare” in this verse is agreusōsin. The verb carries the sense of hunting down prey, so “catch” is more than finding a flaw in a sentence. The words are the terrain where the hunters seek to seize their target.
ALSO GROWS
agra: Hunting, prey, or a catch.
ἄγρα
It makes the hunt beneath “catch” visible: the target is pursued like prey.
agreutēs: A hunter or catcher.
ἀγρευτής
This names the role implied by the verb: the people are acting as hunters, not listeners.
λόγῳ
logōi
GROWS FROM
λεγ- (leg-), in λόγος (logos)
To say or tell; λόγος can mean a word, speech, or account.
The Greek form is singular: literally, “by word” or “by speech,” though English naturally gives “words.” Speech itself becomes the means of the hunt, something they hope to turn into an account against him.
ALSO GROWS
legō: To say or tell.
λέγω
It points back to spoken words as the material they are watching.
logizomai: To reckon, consider, or account.
λογίζομαι
It echoes how speech can be gathered into an account and used as grounds for accusation.
ἀποστέλλουσιν
apostellousin
GROWS FROM
στέλλω (stellō), with ἀπό (apo, away)
To dispatch or send out; στέλλω also carries the sense of arranging or equipping.
“send” in this verse is apostellousin. This is a deliberate dispatch: the group is sent with a purpose. The sending and the hunting belong to one coordinated action.
ALSO GROWS
apostolos: A sent one or messenger.
ἀπόστολος
It shows how the sending root describes a person defined by being dispatched.
apostolē: A sending or commission.
ἀποστολή
It makes the purpose behind the delegation explicit: they are sent on an assigned mission.
THE PATTERN
Speech becomes a snare when its purpose is capture rather than understanding.
A man who smooths over his neighbor spreads a net for his steps.Who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even the bitter word.And they watched him, and sent out spies who played at being aligned, so that they might seize on his word, and hand him over to the rule and authority of the governor.THE THREAD
And they watched him, and sent out spies who played at being aligned, so that they might seize on his word, and hand him over to the rule and authority of the governor.Luke repeats the roots for “send” (ἀποστέλλω, apostellō) and “word” (λόγος, logos), making Mark’s hunting image concrete: spies are dispatched to seize him through his speech. The words are the intended point of capture.
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