KJV: And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
YLT: 'And, from the days of John the Baptist till now, the reign of the heavens doth suffer violence, and violent men do take it by force,
Darby: But from the days of John the baptist until now, the kingdom of the heavens is taken by violence, and the violent seize on it.
ASV: And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and men of violence take it by force.
| ἡμερῶν | days |
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Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Plural Root: ἡμέρα Sense: the day, used of the natural day, or the interval between sunrise and sunset, as distinguished from and contrasted with the night. |
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| Ἰωάννου | of John |
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Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular Root: Ἰωάννης Sense: John the Baptist was the son of Zacharias and Elisabeth, the forerunner of Christ. |
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| Βαπτιστοῦ | Baptist |
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Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular Root: βαπτιστής Sense: a baptiser. |
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| ἕως | until |
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Parse: Preposition Root: ἕως Sense: till, until. |
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| ἄρτι | now |
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Parse: Adverb Root: ἄρτι Sense: just now, this moment. |
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| βασιλεία | kingdom |
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Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular Root: βασιλεία Sense: royal power, kingship, dominion, rule. |
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| τῶν | of the |
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Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Plural Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc. |
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| οὐρανῶν | heavens |
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Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Plural Root: οὐρανός Sense: the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it. |
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| βιάζεται | is taken by violence |
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Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Singular Root: βιάζω Sense: to use force, to apply force. |
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| καὶ | and [the] |
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Parse: Conjunction Root: καί Sense: and, also, even, indeed, but. |
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| βιασταὶ | violent |
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Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural Root: βιαστής Sense: strong, forceful. |
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| ἁρπάζουσιν | claim |
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Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural Root: ἁρπάζω Sense: to seize, carry off by force. |
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Greek Commentary for Matthew 11:12
This verb occurs only here and in Luke 16:16 in the N.T. It seems to be middle in Luke and Deissmann (Bible Studies, p. 258) quotes an inscription “where βιαζομαι biazomai is without doubt reflexive and absolute” as in Luke 16:16. But there are numerous papyri examples where it is passive (Moulton and Milligan, Vocabulary, etc.) so that “there seems little that promises decisive help for the difficult Logion of Matthew 11:12; Luke 16:16.” So then in Matthew 11:12 the form can be either middle or passive and either makes sense, though a different sense. The passive idea is that the kingdom is forced, is stormed, is taken by men of violence like “men of violence take it by force” These difficult words of Jesus mean that the preaching of John “had led to a violent and impetuous thronging to gather round Jesus and his disciples” (Hort, Judaistic Christianity, p. 26). [source]
Lit., is forced, overpowered, taken by storm. Christ thus graphically portrays the intense excitement which followed John's ministry; the eager waiting, striving, and struggling of the multitude for the promised king. [source]
This was proved by the multitudes who followed Christ and thronged the doors where he was, and would have taken him by force (the same word) and made him a king (John 6:15). The word take by force means literally to snatch away, carry off. It is often used in the classics of plundering. Meyer renders, Those who use violent efforts, drag it to themselves. So Tynd., They that make violence pull it unto them. Christ speaks of believers. They seize upon the kingdom and make it their own. The Rev., men of violence, is too strong, since it describes a class of habitually and characteristically violent men; whereas the violence in this case is the result of a special and exceptional impulse. The passage recalls the old Greek proverb quoted by Plato against the Sophists, who had corrupted the Athenian youth by promising the easy attainment of wisdom: Good things are hard. Dante has seized the idea:“Regnum coelorum (the kingdom of heaven) suffereth violenceFrom fervent love, and from that living hope That overcometh the divine volition;-DIVIDER- Not in the guise that man o'ercometh man,-DIVIDER- But conquers it because it will be conquered,-DIVIDER- And conquered, conquers by benignity.”Parad., xx., 94-99. [source]
Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 11:12
This verb occurs only here and in Luke 16:16 in the N.T. It seems to be middle in Luke and Deissmann (Bible Studies, p. 258) quotes an inscription “where βιαζομαι biazomai is without doubt reflexive and absolute” as in Luke 16:16. But there are numerous papyri examples where it is passive (Moulton and Milligan, Vocabulary, etc.) so that “there seems little that promises decisive help for the difficult Logion of Matthew 11:12; Luke 16:16.” So then in Matthew 11:12 the form can be either middle or passive and either makes sense, though a different sense. The passive idea is that the kingdom is forced, is stormed, is taken by men of violence like “men of violence take it by force” These difficult words of Jesus mean that the preaching of John “had led to a violent and impetuous thronging to gather round Jesus and his disciples” (Hort, Judaistic Christianity, p. 26). [source]
Matthew has kingdom of heaven, or of the heavens ( τῶν οὐρανῶν )a phrase used by him only, and most frequently employed by Christ himself to describe the kingdom; though Matthew also uses, less frequently, kingdom of God. The two are substantially equivalent terms, though the pre-eminent title was kingdom of God, since it was expected to be fully realized in the Messianic era, when God should take upon himself the kingdom by a visible representative. Compare Isaiah 40:9, “Behold your God. ” The phrase kingdom of Heaven was common in the Rabbinical writings, and had a double signification: the historical kingdom and the spiritual and moral kingdom. They very often understood by it divine worship; adoration of God; the sum of religious duties; but also the Messianic kingdom. The kingdom of God is, essentially, the absolute dominion of God in the universe, both in a physical and a spiritual sense. It is “an organic commonwealth which has the principle of its existence in the will of God” (Tholuck). It was foreshadowed in the Jewish theocracy. The idea of the kingdom advanced toward clearer definition from Jacob's prophecy of the Prince out of Judah (Genesis 49:10), through David's prophecy of the everlasting kingdom and the king of righteousness and peace (Daniel 7:14-27; Daniel 4:25; Daniel 2:44). In this sense it was apprehended by John the Baptist. -DIVIDER- -DIVIDER- The ideal kingdom is to be realized in the absolute rule of the eternal Son, Jesus Christ, by whom all things are made and consist (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-20), whose life of perfect obedience to God and whose sacrificial offering of love upon the cross reveal to men their true relation to God, and whose spirit works to bring them into this relation. The ultimate idea of the kingdom is that of “a redeemed humanity, with its divinely revealed destiny manifesting itself in a religious communion, or the Church; asocial communion, or the state; and an aesthetic communion, expressing itself in forms of knowledge and art.”-DIVIDER- This kingdom is both present (Matthew 11:12; Matthew 12:28; Matthew 16:19; Luke 11:20; Luke 16:16; Luke 17:21; see, also, the parables of the Sower, the Tares, the Leaven, and the Drag-net; and compare the expression “theirs, or yours, is the kingdom,” Matthew 5:3; Luke 6:20) and future (Daniel 7:27; Matthew 13:43; Matthew 19:28; Matthew 25:34; Matthew 26:29; Mark 9:47; 2 Peter 1:11; 1 Corinthians 6:9; Revelation 20:1-15 sq.). As a present kingdom it is incomplete and in process of development. It is expanding in society like the grain of mustard seed (Matthew 13:31, Matthew 13:32); working toward the pervasion of society like the leaven in the lump (Matthew 13:33). God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, and the Gospel of Christ is the great instrument in that process (2 Corinthians 5:19, 2 Corinthians 5:20). The kingdom develops from within outward under the power of its essential divine energy and law of growth, which insures its progress and final triumph against all obstacles. Similarly, its work in reconciling and subjecting the world to God begins at the fountain-head of man's life, by implanting in his heart its own divine potency, and thus giving a divine impulse and direction to the whole man, rather than by moulding him from without by a moral code. The law is written in his heart. In like manner the State and the Church are shaped, not by external pressure, like the Roman empire and the Roxnish hierarchy, but by the evolution of holy character in men. The kingdom of God in its present development is not identical with the Church. It is a larger movement which includes the Church. The Church is identified with the kingdom to the degree in which it is under the power of the spirit of Christ. “As the Old Testament kingdom of God was perfected and completed when it ceased to be external, and became internal by being enthroned in the heart, so, on the other hand, the perfection of the New Testament kingdom will consist in its complete incarnation and externalization; that is, when it shall attain an outward manifestation, adequately expressing, exactly corresponding to its internal principle” (Tholuck). The consummation is described in Revelation 21,22. -DIVIDER- -DIVIDER- [source]
Rev., entereth violently. See on Matthew 11:12. Wyc., maketh violence into it. Tynd., striveth to go in. [source]
A corresponding saying occurs in Matthew 11:12 in a very different context. In both the verb βιαζεται biazetai occurs also, but nowhere else in the N.T. It is present middle here and can be middle or passive in Matthew, which see note. It is rare in late prose. Deissmann (Bible Studies, p. 258) cites an inscription where βιαζομαι biazomai is reflexive middle and used absolutely. Here the meaning clearly is that everyone forces his way into the kingdom of God, a plea for moral enthusiasm and spiritual passion and energy that some today affect to despise. [source]
See on Matthew 11:12. [source]
In John 13:31, now is νῦν , which marks the point of time absolutely. Ἄρτι marks the point of time as related to the past or to the future. Thus, “from the days of John the Baptist until now ” ( ἄρτι , Matthew 11:12). “Thinkest thou that I cannot now ( ἄρτι ) pray to my Father?” though succor has been delayed all along till now (Matthew 26:53). Here the word implies that the sorrowful announcement of Jesus' departure from His disciples had been withheld until the present. The time was now come. [source]
Better, as Rev., snatcheth; though catch is doubtless used by the A.V. in its earlier and stronger sense, from the low Latin caciare, to chase, corrupted from captare, to snatch or lay hold of. Compare the Italian cacciare, to hunt. The same word is used at John 10:28, of plucking out of Christ's hand. See on Matthew 11:12. [source]
Rev., the right. Six words are used for power in the:New Testament: βία , force, often oppressive, exhibiting itself in violence (Acts 5:26; Acts 27:41. Compare the kindred verb βιάζεται , Matthew 11:12; “the kingdom of heaven is taken by violence ): δύναμις , natural ability (see on 2 Peter 2:11): ἐνέργεια , energy, power in exercise; only of superhuman power, good or evil. Used by Paul only, and chiefly in the Epistles of the Imprisonment (Ephesians 1:19; Ephesians 3:7; Colossians 2:12. Compare the kindred verb ἐνεργέω , to put forth power, and see on Mark 6:14; see on James 5:16): ἰσχύς , strength (see on 2 Peter 2:11. Compare the kindred verb ἰσχύω , to be strong, and see on Luke 14:30; see on Luke 16:3): κράτος , might, only of God, relative and manifested power, dominion (Ephesians 1:19; Ephesians 6:10; 1 Timothy 6:16; 1 Peter 4:11. Compare the kindred verb κρατέω , to have power, to be master of, and see on Mark 7:3; see on Acts 3:11): ἐξουσία , liberty of action ( ἔξεστι , it is lawful ), authority, delegated or arbitrary (John 5:27; John 10:18; John 17:2; John 19:10, John 19:11. See on Mark 2:10; see on Luke 20:20). Here, therefore, ἐξουσία is not merely possibility or ability, but legitimate right derived from a competent source - the Word. [source]
Old word from μιστοω misthoō to hire (Matthew 20:1) from μιστος misthos (hire, wages, Luke 10:7), in N.T. only in this passage. Literally, “the hireling and not being a shepherd” Note ουκ ouk with the participle ων ōn to emphasize the certainty that he is not a shepherd in contrast with μη εισερχομενος mē eiserchomenos in John 10:1 (conceived case). See same contrast in 1 Peter 1:8 between ουκ ιδοντες ouk idontes and μη ορωντες mē horōntes The hireling here is not necessarily the thief and robber of John 10:1, John 10:8. He may conceivably be a nominal shepherd (pastor) of the flock who serves only for the money, a sin against which Peter warned the shepherds of the flock “not for shameful gain” (1 Peter 5:2). Whose own Every true shepherd considers the sheep in his care “his own” Vivid dramatic present, active indicative of τεωρεω theōreō a graphic picture. The wolf coming Present middle predicate participle of ερχομαι erchomai Leaveth the sheep, and fleeth Graphic present actives again of απιημι aphiēmi and πευγω pheugō The cowardly hireling cares naught for the sheep, but only for his own skin. The wolf was the chief peril to sheep in Palestine. See Matthew 10:6 where Jesus says: “Behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves.” And the wolf snatcheth them and scattereth them Vivid parenthesis in the midst of the picture of the conduct of the hireling. Bold verbs these. For the old verb αρπαζω harpazō see John 6:15; Matthew 11:12, and for σκορπιζω skorpizō late word (Plutarch) for the Attic σκεδαννυμι skedannumi see Matthew 12:30. It occurs in the vision of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 34:5) where because of the careless shepherds “the sheep became meat to all the beasts of the field, and were scattered.” Jesus uses αρπαζω harpazō in John 10:29 where no one is able “to snatch” one out of the Father‘s hand. [source]
Second aorist active participle of γινωσκω ginōskō It was not hard for Christ to read the mind of this excited mob. They were about Present active indicative of μελλω mellō Probably the leaders were already starting. Take him by force Present active infinitive of αρπαζω harpazō old verb for violent seizing (Matthew 11:12; Matthew 13:19). There was a movement to start a revolution against Roman rule in Palestine by proclaiming Jesus King and driving away Pilate. To make him king Purpose clause with ινα hina and the first aorist active subjunctive of ποιεω poieō with βασιλεα basilea as predicate accusative. It was a crisis that called for quick action. Himself alone At first he had the disciples with him (John 6:3). But he sent them hurriedly by boat to the western side (Mark 6:45.; Matthew 14:22.) because clearly the apostles were sympathetic with the revolutionary impulse of the crowd. Then Jesus sent the multitudes away also and went up into the mountain alone. He was alone in every sense, for no one but the Father understood him at this stage, not even his own disciples. He went up to pray (Mark 6:46; Matthew 14:23). [source]
Compare Dante:“Thou knowest, who didst lift me with thy light”“Paradiso,” i., 75.The verb suits the swift, resistless, impetuous seizure of spiritual ecstasy. See on Matthew 11:12; and compare Acts 8:39; 1 Thessalonians 4:17; Revelation 12:5. [source]
Idiomatic way of putting it, the preposition προ pro (before) before the date (Robertson, Grammar, p. 621f.) as in John 12:1. The date was probably while Paul was at Tarsus (Acts 9:30; Acts 11:25). We have no details of that period. Caught up (αρπαγεντα harpagenta). Second aorist passive participle of αρπαζω harpazō to seize (see note on Matthew 11:12). Even to the third heaven It is unlikely that Paul alludes to the idea of seven heavens held by some Jews (Test. of the Twelve Pat., Levi ii. iii.). He seems to mean the highest heaven where God is (Plummer). [source]
Second aorist passive participle of αρπαζω harpazō to seize (see note on Matthew 11:12). [source]