Matthew 11:12
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| Matthew 11:12 | |
|---|---|
← 11:11 11:13 → | |
| Book | Gospel of Matthew |
| Christian Bible part | New Testament |
Matthew 11:12 is the twelfth verse in the eleventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament.
In the original Greek according to Westcott-Hort for this verse is:
- Ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν ἡμερῶν Ἰωάννου τοῦ βαπτιστοῦ ἕως ἄρτι ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν βιάζεται, καὶ βιασταὶ ἁρπάζουσιν αὐτήν.
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
- And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
The New International Version translates the passage as:
- From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent men have been raiding it.
Analysis
This verse (and the next one) parallels Luke 16:16.[1] Lapide gives three possible interpretations for this verse. 1) Because many, being stirred up by John's preaching run to obtain it with zeal. 2) The kingdom is invaded, in such sort that sinners, publicans, harlots, Gentiles, "by the fervour of their repentance, seize it by force, away from the Pharisees and Jews, who thought that it belonged to them alone." 3) Worldly people do violence to themselves through their repentance, poverty, continence, mortification to obtain it.[2]
There appears to be some allusion to the way Canaan was taken by force to become a Jewish nation in this passage.[3]
