Matthew 8:7
I will come and heal him.
In Capernaum, a centurion asks Jesus to heal his servant.
Matthew 8:7 I will come and heal him.
Matthew 8:7 Shall I come and heal him.
I myself, coming. will attend him.
Greek
Greek Word Order
Jesus promises to attend to us when we ask.
Lost in Translation
In the Greek, this statement is much more humble on Christ's part, claiming no healing power, but only offering service or attending to the sick man. This was spoken to the centurion about his palsied servant. Notice that the NIV version is in the form of a question, but this is always possible because there is no specific interrogatory verb form in Greek. This means that any statement could be a question, however, since the first word is a pronoun followed by a participle, this is probably not a question. As in English, Greek questions usually begin with a verb or with a question word.
Vocabulary (Greek word by word)
Ἐγὼ (pron 1st sg masc nom ) "I" is from ego, which is the first person singular pronoun meaning "I". It also means "I at least", "for my part", "indeed," and for myself.
ἐλθὼν (part sg aor act masc nom) "Will come" is from erchomai, which means "to start," "to set out", "to come", "to go," and any kind of motion. It means both "to go" on a journey and "to arrive" at a place. --
θεραπεύσω (1st sg fut ind act) "Heal" is from therapeuo, which means "to provide service", "to be an attendant", "pay court to", "pay attention", "to consult", "attend to (things)", "take care of", "observe (a day)", "train (of animals)", "cultivate (of land)", "prepare (food or drugs)," and "mend (garments)."
αὐτόν. (adj sg masc acc) "Him" is from autos, which means "the same," and the reflexive pronouns, "myself", "yourself", "himself", "herself", "itself," or the oblique case of the pronouns, "him", "her," and "it." It also means "one's true self," that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of one's own accord."
KJV — word by word
I - (MW) The "I" is the pronoun form used as the subject. This is unusual because it is part of the verb ending in Greek so it is used only to add emphasis. This emphasis can be captured in translation by saying "I myself".
will -- (WP) The verb "will"does not apply to the verb "come," which is not in the future tense, but the word "heal" is. This is wrongly placed here.
come-- (WF) The word translated as "come" primarily means "to start out." It indicates movement, especially its beginning, without indicating a direction toward or away from anything, so it works either as "come" or "go," but it is more like our phrase "being underway." It is also not an active verb ("will come"). Instead, it is in the form of an adjective, ("coming") in a tense, indicating a specific time in past, present, or future.
and -- (IW) There is no Greek word "and" in this sentence. It is added because the sentence is translated with two active verbs, which do not exist in the Greek.
heal -- (WW) The term translated as "heal" means generally "to provide service," and "to be an attendant," but it has a number of specific meanings depending on what is being attended to. The noun form of this word primarily means "service," but it has a secondary meaning of medical service. It is the source of the English word "therapy." However, Christ doesn't promise to "heal" or "cure" the person here in any way.
him. - The word translated as "him" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English. The word means "the same" when used as an adjective.
NIV — word by word
Shall -- (WP) The verb "shall"does not apply to the verb "come," which is not in the future tense, but the word "heal" is. This is wrongly placed here. Since the verb does not begin the sentence, this in not likely a question.
I - (MW) The "I" is the pronoun form used as the subject. This is unusual because it is part of the verb ending in Greek so it is used only to add emphasis. This emphasis can be captured in translation by saying "I myself".
come-- (WF) The word translated as "come" primarily means "to start out." It indicates movement, especially its beginning, without indicating a direction toward or away from anything, so it works either as "come" or "go," but it is more like our phrase "being underway." It is also not an active verb ("will come"). Instead, it is in the form of an adjective, ("coming") in a tense, indicating a specific time in past, present, or future.
and -- (IW) There is no Greek word "and" in this sentence. It is added because the sentence is translated with two active verbs, which do not exist in the Greek.
heal -- (WW) The term translated as "heal" means generally "to provide service," and "to be an attendant," but it has a number of specific meanings depending on what is being attended to. The noun form of this word primarily means "service," but it has a secondary meaning of medical service. It is the source of the English word "therapy." However, Christ doesn't promise to "heal" or "cure" the person here in any way.
him. - The word translated as "him" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English. The word means "the same" when used as an adjective.