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Luke 18:41

What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?

A blind man cries out to Jesus as he passes by.

Spoken to:
Apostles
KJV issues:
2
KJV

Luke 18:41 What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?

NIV

Luke 18:41 What do you want me to do for you?

What His Listeners Heard

Anything you desire I might do for you?

Greek

Greek Word Order

 

 Τί            σοι       θέλεις       ποιήσω;
Anything for you you desire I might do ?

We can want anything and with the help of Jesus it is possible. 

Lost in Translation

The pronoun beginning the question translated as "what" means "anything" but it is usually translated as "what" when it begins a sentence. 

 

Vocabulary (Greek word by word)

Τί ( irreg sg neut nom/acc ) "What" is tis which can mean "someone", "any one", "everyone", "they" [indefinite], "many a one", "whoever", "anyone", "anything", "some sort", "some sort of", "each", "any", "the individual", "such" and so on. In a question, it can mean "who", "why" or "what." -- The Greek word translated as "some" in the singular means "anyone", "someone" and "anything". In the plural, it means "some", "they” and "those”.

σοι (pron 2nd sg dat) "Unto thee" is soi which is the singular, second person pronoun, "you".

θέλεις ( verb 2nd sg pres ind act ) "Wilt thou" is thelo, which as a verb means "to be willing" (of consent rather than desire), "to wish", "to ordain", "to decree", "to be resolved to a purpose", "to maintain", "to hold", "to delight in” and "will" (to express a future event with inanimate objects). As a participle, it means "being willing" or, adverbially, "willingly" and "gladly".

ποιήσω; ( verb 1st sg aor subj act ) "Do" is poieo, which means "to make", "to produce", "to create", "to bring into existence", "to bring about", "to cause", "to perform", "to render", "to consider", "to prepare", "to make ready” and "to do”.

 

KJV — word by word

What -- The word translated as "what" means primarily "anything" or "anyone", but Jesus often uses it to start a question so it means "who", "what" or even "why". 

 wilt -- The Greek word translated as "wilt" is not the same as the helper verb "will" in English, which primarily expresses the future tense. Its primary purpose is to express consent and even a delight in doing something. It means "to desire", "to consent" and "to be resolved to a purpose".

thou -- This is from the second-person, singular form of the verb.

that --  (IW) This word is not in the Greek source. There is no "that" in the Greek. The "what" at the beginning of the question is sufficient. -- 

I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.

shall -- (CW) This helping verb "shall" does not indicate the future tense, but that the verb describes a possibility, the subjunctive voice. A "might" or "should" in English is more appropriate, but is assumed in an "if/when/whoever/except" clause. Helping verbs are not needed in Greek since the main verb carries this information in its form.

do -- The Greek word translated as "I shall do" has the primary meaning of "making" or "producing" something or "causing" or "performing" like service. It describes a productive action.  It is not as broad a word as the English "do", which covers all actions, productive or not. 

unto -- This word "to" comes from the indirect object form of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is a "to" for the English indirect object. However, the translator can choose other prepositions: "with", "in", "of", "as", "by", "for", "at" or "on" depending on the context.

thee? -- The word for "thee" is the indirect object form of the pronoun.  This word follows "what" at the beginning of the question describing it. In Greek, the indirect object can mean doing something for someone's benefit as well as doing something to them.

NIV — word by word

What -- The word translated as "what" means primarily "anything" or "anyone", but Jesus often uses it to start a question so it means "who", "what" or even "why". 

do -- This helping verb is used to create questions, commands, negative statements, and smooth word flow in English.

you -- This is from the second-person, singular form of the verb.

 want -- The Greek word translated as "want" expresses consent and even a delight in doing something. It means "to desire", "to consent" and "to be resolved to a purpose".

me  -- (WF) This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb. This is not an object but a subject from the form of the verb . 

to -- This "to" is added to create the infinitive form of the following verb.

missing "should" or "might"-- (WF) A helping verb is necessary because the following verb is a verb of possibility, a subjunctive, something that "should" or "might" occur. 

do -- The Greek word translated as "do" has the primary meaning of "making" or "producing" something or "causing" or "performing" like service. It describes a productive action.  It is not as broad a word as the English "do", which covers all actions, productive or not.  This is not an infinitive verb but an verb of possibility.  

for -- This word "for" comes from the indirect object form of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is a "to" for the English indirect object. However, the translator can choose other prepositions: "with", "in", "of", "as", "by", "for", "at" or "on" depending on the context.

you? -- The word for "you" is the indirect object form of the pronoun. In Greek, the indirect object can mean doing something for someone's benefit as well as doing something to them.

Related Verses

Mark 10:36 What would you that I should do for you?

Mark 10:51 What will you that I should do unto you?