Part Two · Reading the New Testament · Passages 1–7

Matthew

7 passages in Greek and Latin, each with pronunciation, an English translation and a note on every word, then a practice set with answers.

Start with Matthew 5:7 → Practice: Matthew ▶ Matthew in the video

Practice: Matthew

28 questions · answers under each one

These questions use the seven passages from Matthew: the core words they introduce, forms to parse, places where the Latin differs from the Greek, and three verses to read at sight.

1. Match each Greek word with its meaning.

  1. μακάριος
  2. βασιλεύς
  3. βασιλεία
  4. χείρ
  5. πούς
  6. οὐρανός
  7. ἄνθρωπος
  8. παραβολή
  1. foot
  2. human being, person
  3. parable
  4. blessed, happy
  5. hand
  6. kingdom, reign
  7. heaven, sky
  8. king
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1–d, 2–h, 3–f, 4–e, 5–a, 6–g, 7–b, 8–c (μακάριος = blessed, happy; βασιλεύς = king; βασιλεία = kingdom, reign; χείρ = hand; πούς = foot; οὐρανός = heaven, sky; ἄνθρωπος = human being, person; παραβολή = parable)

2. Match each Greek verb with its meaning.

  1. ἀκούω
  2. λέγω
  3. ἀποστέλλω
  4. ἐκβάλλω
  5. εἰσέρχομαι
  6. ἀφίημι
  7. ἀποκρίνομαι
  8. δέχομαι
  1. to send out
  2. to go in, enter
  3. to hear, listen
  4. to say, speak
  5. to receive, welcome
  6. to throw out, drive out
  7. to let, permit; forgive
  8. to answer
Show the answer
1–c, 2–d, 3–a, 4–f, 5–b, 6–g, 7–h, 8–e (ἀκούω = to hear, listen; λέγω = to say, speak; ἀποστέλλω = to send out; ἐκβάλλω = to throw out, drive out; εἰσέρχομαι = to go in, enter; ἀφίημι = to let, permit; forgive; ἀποκρίνομαι = to answer; δέχομαι = to receive, welcome)

3. Match each Latin word with its meaning.

  1. quoniam
  2. autem
  3. enim
  4. ergō
  5. tunc
  6. ibi
  7. ante
  8. vae
  1. then, at that time
  2. before, in front of
  3. woe!
  4. for (giving a reason)
  5. but, however; now
  6. because, since
  7. there
  8. therefore, so
Show the answer
1–f, 2–e, 3–d, 4–h, 5–a, 6–g, 7–b, 8–c (quoniam = because, since; autem = but, however; now; enim = for (giving a reason); ergō = therefore, so; tunc = then, at that time; ibi = there; ante = before, in front of; vae = woe!)

4. Match each Greek word with the Latin word Jerome used for it.

  1. βασιλεύς
  2. βασιλεία
  3. οὐρανός
  4. χείρ
  5. πούς
  6. ἄνθρωπος
  7. ἀκούω
  8. εἷς
  1. ūnus
  2. pēs
  3. homō
  4. caelum
  5. audiō
  6. rēx
  7. manus
  8. rēgnum
Show the answer
1–f, 2–h, 3–d, 4–g, 5–b, 6–c, 7–e, 8–a (βασιλεύς = rēx; βασιλεία = rēgnum; οὐρανός = caelum; χείρ = manus; πούς = pēs; ἄνθρωπος = homō; ἀκούω = audiō; εἷς = ūnus)

5. Which three Greek words from Matthew never stand first in their clause?

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(a) δέ, γάρ, οὖνδέ (but), γάρ (for) and οὖν (so) are “second-position” words. Latin autem and enim behave the same way.

6. Greek has two words for “not”. In ὁ μὴ ὢν μετ’ ἐμοῦ (Matthew 12:30), why is it μή and not οὐ?

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(b) μή is the negative used with participlesοὐ negates statements of fact (οὐκ ἀδικῶ σε); μή goes with participles, commands, subjunctives and infinitives.

7. “Not” is spelled οὐ, οὐκ or οὐχ. Which spelling stands before (a) ἀδικῶ (b) ὡς (c) λέγω? Give the rule.

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(a) οὐκ ἀδικῶ (b) οὐχ ὡς (c) οὐ λέγωοὐ before a consonant; οὐκ before a vowel with smooth breathing; οὐχ before a rough breathing.

8. οὐχὶ δηναρίου συνεφώνησάς μοι; (Matthew 20:13) begins with οὐχί. What answer does the question expect, and which Latin word does the same job?

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(b) “yes”: nōnneοὐχί (a strong οὐ) opens a question that expects “yes”; so does Latin nōnne.

9. Parse ἀκούσατε (Matthew 13:18): give its dictionary form and a full parse.

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ἀκούω, “to hear, listen”: aorist active imperative, 2nd person plural-σατε: the aorist sign σα plus the 2nd-plural ending -τε; no augment, because imperatives never take one.

10. Parse δεχόμενος (Matthew 10:40): give its dictionary form and a full parse.

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δέχομαι, “to receive, welcome”: present middle participle, nominative singular masculine (deponent: middle form, active meaning)-όμενος is the present middle/passive participle ending; the meaning is active: “welcoming”.

11. Parse ἐκβάλετε (Matthew 22:13): give its dictionary form and a full parse.

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ἐκβάλλω, “to throw out, drive out”: aorist active imperative, 2nd person pluralSecond aorist: the present stem βαλλ- loses one λ (βαλ-) and takes -ετε. In context, “throw (him) out!”

12. Parse εἶπεν (Matthew 20:13): give its dictionary form and a full parse.

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λέγω, “to say, speak”: aorist active indicative, 3rd person singularεἶπον, εἶπες, εἶπεν is the aorist of λέγω, built on a different stem.

13. Parse ἔσται (Matthew 22:13): give its dictionary form and a full parse.

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εἰμί, “to be”: future middle indicative, 3rd person singularThe future of εἰμί has middle endings: ἔσομαι, ἔσῃ, ἔσται. Latin: erit.

14. Parse χεῖρας (Matthew 22:13): give its dictionary form and a full parse.

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χείρ, “hand”: noun, accusative plural feminine-ας is the accusative plural of the third declension (χείρ, χειρός).

15. Parse οὐρανῶν (Matthew 23:13): give its dictionary form and a full parse.

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οὐρανός, “heaven, sky”: noun, genitive plural masculine-ων is genitive plural in every declension: τῶν οὐρανῶν, “of the heavens”.

16. Parse ὑμῖν (Matthew 23:13): give its dictionary form and a full parse.

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σύ, “you”: personal pronoun, dative pluralὑμῖν is “to/for you (plural)”; compare ἡμῖν “to/for us”.

17. Parse εἰσελθεῖν (Matthew 23:13): give its dictionary form and a full parse.

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εἰσέρχομαι, “to go in, enter”: aorist active infinitiveThe second-aorist stem ελθ- (from ἔρχομαι) with the infinitive ending -εῖν.

18. Parse ἀποστείλαντα (Matthew 10:40): give its dictionary form and a full parse.

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ἀποστέλλω, “to send out”: aorist active participle, accusative singular masculineA liquid aorist: the stem στειλ- (present στελλ-) takes no σ, so -αντα stands where λύσαντα has -σαντα. With τόν it is the object of δέχεται: “the one who sent me”.

19. Parse the Latin audīte (Matthew 13:18): give its dictionary form and a full parse.

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audiō, audīre, audīvī, audītum, “to hear”: present active imperative, 2nd person pluralThe 4th-conjugation stem audī- plus the plural command ending -te. Greek used an aorist command, ἀκούσατε; Latin has no aorist.

20. Parse the Latin hominēs (Matthew 23:13): give its dictionary form and a full parse.

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homō, hominis, m., “human being, person”: accusative plural (after ante)-ēs is nominative or accusative plural in the 3rd declension; ante takes the accusative, so here it is accusative.

21. Matthew 10:40: Greek says ὁ δεχόμενος ὑμᾶς, “the (one) welcoming you”. Latin says quī recipit vōs, “who receives you”. Why the change?

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Latin has no article, so it cannot turn a participle into a noun with “the”. It uses a relative clause instead: quī (who) with an ordinary verb, recipit.

22. Matthew 22:13: Greek δήσαντες … πόδας καὶ χεῖρας means “having tied (his) feet and hands”. Latin has ligātīs manibus et pedibus ejus, “his hands and feet having been tied”. Why?

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Latin has no active past participle (no word for “having tied”; only deponent verbs have one). It uses the perfect passive participle ligātus in an ablative absolute: “with his hands and feet tied”.

23. Matthew 5:7: Greek ἐλεηθήσονται means “they will be shown mercy”. Latin has two words, misericordiam cōnsequentur. Why?

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Greek has a one-word future passive. Latin has no single verb for “be shown mercy”, so it uses the noun misericordia (mercy) with cōnsequor (obtain): “they will obtain mercy”.

24. Matthew 20:13: Greek οὐκ ἀδικῶ σε has σε in the accusative. Latin nōn faciō tibi injūriam has tibi in the dative. Why?

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Latin turns “I wrong you” into “I do injury to you”. Injūriam is now the object (accusative), so the person wronged goes in the dative: tibi, “to you”.

25. Matthew 23:13: Greek ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων has a genitive; Latin ante hominēs has an accusative. Why do the cases differ?

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Each preposition decides the case of its noun. ἔμπροσθεν takes the genitive; Latin ante takes the accusative. Both mean “in front of people”.

26. Sight reading (Matthew 7:1, not one of the video passages). Translate the Greek and the Latin.

Greek: Μὴ κρίνετε, ἵνα μὴ κριθῆτε·

Latin: Nolite judicare, ut non judicemini.

Help: κρίνω = to judge; κριθῆτε is its aorist passive subjunctive; ἵνα = so that; nōlīte + infinitive = do not …; jūdicō = to judge.

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Greek and Latin: “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.”Greek forbids with μή + a present imperative (κρίνετε); Latin with nōlīte (“be unwilling”) + infinitive. Both then use a purpose clause with a subjunctive: ἵνα μὴ κριθῆτε / ut nōn jūdicēminī.

27. Sight reading (Matthew 25:12, not one of the video passages). Translate the Greek and the Latin.

Greek: ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, οὐκ οἶδα ὑμᾶς.

Latin: At ille respondens, ait: Amen dico vobis, nescio vos.

Help: ἀμήν / āmēn = amen, truly; οἶδα = I know; nesciō = I do not know; ait = he says, he said.

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Greek: “But he answered and said, ‘Amen, I tell you, I do not know you.’” (word for word: “But he, answering, said …”). Latin: “But he, answering, said, ‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’”ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν is the same pattern as Matthew 20:13 (ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς … εἶπεν). Latin nesciō packs “not know” into one verb.

28. Sight reading (Matthew 16:15, not one of the video passages). Translate the Greek and the Latin.

Greek: λέγει αὐτοῖς· Ὑμεῖς δὲ τίνα με λέγετε εἶναι;

Latin: Dicit illis Jesus: Vos autem, quem me esse dicitis?

Help: τίνα = whom? (accusative of τίς); εἶναι / esse = to be; quem = whom?

Show the answer
Greek: “He says to them, ‘But you, who do you say that I am?’” (word for word: “whom do you say me to be?”). Latin: “Jesus says to them, ‘But you, who do you say that I am?’”Latin adds the name Jesus. Both languages put the subject of the infinitive in the accusative: με εἶναι / mē esse, “me to be”, so the question word is accusative too: τίνα / quem.

In the PDF: passages from page 21, practice set on page 28. Open the PDF at the practice set.

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