| The Hebrew Synoptic Gospels |
| Matthew 16: 19 |
When a Hebrew word was translated to Greek, it was one word, regardless of thevarious meanings for the word in Hebrew. When the rabbis interpreted scriptural commands, they"bound or prohibited" certain activities and "loosed or allowed" others. Using the alternatemeanings, the passage is interpreted that Jesus gives Peter the authority to make decisions inregard to the life of the church. These decisions will be honored by God. Since the church wasa new entity, decisions will have to be made in situations not covered by the Scriptures.
| AB | ..., and whatever you bind -- that is, declare to be improper and unlawful --on earth must be already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth -- declare lawful --must be what is already loosed in heaven. |
| CJB | Whatever you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and whatever you permit onearth will be permitted in heaven. |
| CNT | Whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose onearth shall be considered loosed in heaven. |
| GW | Whatever you imprison, God will imprison. And whatever you set free, God will set free. |
| IB | And whatever you bind on earth shall occur, having already been bound in Heaven. Andwhatever you may loose on the earth shall be, having been already loosed in Heaven. |
| KJV | ...; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thoushalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. |
| LB | ...; whatever doors you lock on earth shall be locked in heaven; and whatever doors youopen on earth shall be open in heaven! |
| MCT | What you bind on the earth will have been bound in heaven, and what you release on theearth will have been released in heaven. |
| NCV | ...; the things you don't allow on earth will be the things that God does not allow, andthe things you allow on earth will be the things that God allows. |
| NLV | Whatever you do not allow on earth will not have been allowed in heaven. Whatever youallow on earth will have been allowed in heaven. |
| PRS | ...; whatever you forbid on earth will be what is forbidden in Heaven and whatever youpermit on earth will be what is permitted in Heaven! Footnote: forbidding andpermitting: There is a very curious Greek construction here, viz. a simple future followedby a perfect participle passive. It seems to me [Phillips] if the words of Jesus are accuratelyreported here, and I have no reason to doubt it, then the force of these sayings is that Jesus'true disciples will be so led by the Spirit that they will be following the heavenly pattern.In other words what they "forbid" or "permit" on earth will be consonant with the Divine rule.If a simple future passive had been used it would mean an automatic heavenly endorsement of theChurch's actions, which to me, at least, is a very different thing. ... . There is no ground forsupposing that celestial endorsement automatically follows human action, however exalted. |
| REB | ...; what you forbid on earth shall be forbidden in heaven, and what you allow on earthshall be allowed in heaven. |
| SGAT | ..., and whatever you forbid on earth will be held in heaven to be forbidden, and whateveryou permit on earth will be held in heaven to be permitted. |
| TEV | ...; what you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and what you permit on earthwill be permitted in heaven. |
| WET | ...; and whatever you forbid on earth [forbid to be done], shall have been already bound[forbidden to be done] in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth [permit to be done], shallhave already been loosed in heaven [permitted to be done]. |
| WMF | ..., and I will support your promises in my name in the kingdom that is mine, and I willrefute those who refute your witness. |
| WNT | ..., and whatever you forbid on earth must be what is already forbidden in heaven, andwhatever you permit on earth must be what is already permitted in heaven. Footnote: what is already forbidden: Perfect passive participle, so things ina state of having been already forbidden. Footnote: already permitted in heaven:That is, the church, in the new order, must act in accordance with the will of heaven (God). |
| YLR | ..., and whatever thou mayest bind upon the earth shall be having been bound in theheavens, and whatever thou mayest loose upon the earth shall be having been loosed in theheavens. |
Two points of view tend to emerge. The first is that the disciples are to makedecisions in regard to the church, which God will honor. This is what Bivin and Blizzard aresaying. The second is that the decisions have already been made in heaven and that thedisciples are merely following directions. One footnote brings the passage into perspective.The first view, if carried out without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, can lead to apostasy.This can be seen today in the wide variance in religions, especially where there is a beliefof being the true church.