Matthew 21:27

Bible in Basic English (1941)

And they made answer and said, We have no idea. Then he said to them, And I will not say to you by what authority I do these things.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

Καὶ ἀποκριθέντες τῷ Ἰησοῦ, εἶπον, Οὐκ οἴδαμεν. Ἔφη αὐτοῖς Καὶ αὐτός, Οὐδὲ ἐγὼ λέγω ὑμῖν ἐν ποίᾳ ἐξουσίᾳ ταῦτα ποιῶ.

Transliteration

And apokrithentes to the Iēsou, they eipon, Not we oidamen. Ephē to them Also he, Neither I legō to you in what exousia these things I poiō.

Grammar Details

• *apokrithentes*: aorist passive participle, nominative masculine plural - having answered
• *Iēsou*: dative masculine singular - to Jesus
• *eipon*: aorist active indicative, 3rd person plural - they said
• *oidamen*: perfect active indicative, 1st person plural - we know
• *Ephē*: imperfect active indicative, 3rd person singular - he said
• *legō*: present active indicative, 1st person singular - I tell
• *exousia*: dative feminine singular - authority
• *poiō*: present active indicative, 1st person singular - I do

Word Meanings

• *apokrithentes*: having answered/responding/replying
• *eipon*: said/spoke/told
• *oidamen*: know/understand/perceive
• *Ephē*: said/declared/affirmed
• *legō*: tell/say/speak
• *exousia*: authority/power/right
• *poiō*: do/perform/make

Referenced Verses

• Isa 6:10 : 10 Make the hearts of this people fat, and let their ears be stopped, and their eyes shut; for fear that they may see with their eyes, and be hearing with their ears, and their heart may become wise, and they may be turned to me and made well.
• Isa 28:9 : 9 To whom will he give knowledge? and to whom will he make clear the word? Will it be to those who have newly given up milk, and who have only now been taken from the breast?
• Isa 29:10-12 : 10 For the Lord has sent on you a spirit of deep sleep; and by him your eyes, the prophets, are shut, and your heads, the seers, are covered. 11 And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book which is shut, which men give to one who has knowledge of writing, saying, Make clear to us what is in the book: and he says, I am not able to, for the book is shut: 12 And they give it to one without learning, saying, Make clear to us what is in the book: and he says, I have no knowledge of writing.
• Isa 42:19-20 : 19 Who is blind, but my servant? who has his ears stopped, but he whom I send? who is blind as my true one, or who has his ears shut like the Lord's servant? 20 Seeing much, but keeping nothing in mind; his ears are open, but there is no hearing.
• Isa 56:10-11 : 10 His watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all dogs without tongues, unable to make a sound; stretched out dreaming, loving sleep. 11 Yes, the dogs are for ever looking for food; while these, the keepers of the sheep, are without wisdom: they have all gone after their pleasure, every one looking for profit; they are all the same.
• Jer 8:7-9 : 7 Truly, the stork in the heavens is conscious of her fixed times; the dove and the swallow and the crane keep to the times of their coming; but my people have no knowledge of the law of the Lord. 8 How is it that you say, We are wise and the law of the Lord is with us? But see, the false pen of the scribes has made it false. 9 The wise men are shamed, they are overcome with fear and taken: see, they have given up the word of the Lord; and what use is their wisdom to them?
• Mal 2:6-9 : 6 True teaching was in his mouth, and no evil was seen on his lips: he was walking with me in peace and righteousness, turning numbers of people away from evil-doing. 7 For it is right for the priest's lips to keep knowledge, and for men to be waiting for the law from his mouth: for he is the servant sent from the Lord of armies. 8 But you are turned out of the way; you have made the law hard for numbers of people; you have made the agreement of Levi of no value, says the Lord of armies. 9 And so I have taken away your honour and made you low before all the people, even as you have not kept my ways, and have given no thought to me in using the law.
• Matt 15:14 : 14 Let them be: they are blind guides. And if a blind man is guiding a blind man, the two will go falling into a hole together.
• Matt 16:3 : 3 And in the morning, The weather will be bad today, for the sky is red and angry. You are able to see the face of heaven, but not the signs of the times.
• Matt 23:16-28 : 16 A curse is on you, blind guides, who say, Whoever takes an oath by the Temple, it is nothing; but whoever takes an oath by the gold of the Temple, he is responsible. 17 You foolish ones and blind: which is greater, the gold, or the Temple which makes the gold holy? 18 And, Whoever takes an oath by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever takes an oath by the offering which is on it, he is responsible. 19 You blind ones: which is greater, the offering, or the altar which makes the offering holy? 20 He, then, who takes an oath by the altar, takes it by the altar and by all things on it. 21 And he who takes an oath by the Temple, takes it by the Temple and by him whose house it is. 22 And he who takes an oath by heaven, takes it by the seat of God, and by him who is seated on it. 23 A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you make men give a tenth of all sorts of sweet-smelling plants, but you give no thought to the more important things of the law, righteousness, and mercy, and faith; but it is right for you to do these, and not to let the others be undone. 24 You blind guides, who take out a fly from your drink, but make no trouble over a camel. 25 A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you make clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of violent behaviour and uncontrolled desire. 26 You blind Pharisee, first make clean the inside of the cup and of the plate, so that the outside may become equally clean. 27 A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you are like the resting-places of the dead, which are made white, and seem beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and of all unclean things. 28 Even so you seem to men to be full of righteousness, but inside you are all false and full of wrongdoing.
• Luke 20:7-8 : 7 And they made answer that they had no idea where it came from. 8 And Jesus said, And I will not make clear to you by what authority I do these things.
• John 9:30 : 30 The man said in answer, Why, here is a strange thing! You have no knowledge where he comes from though he gave me the use of my eyes.
• John 9:40-41 : 40 These words came to the ears of the Pharisees who were with him and they said to him, Are we, then, blind? 41 Jesus said to them, If you were blind you would have no sin: but now that you say, We see; your sin is there still.
• Rom 1:18-22 : 18 For there is a revelation of the wrath of God from heaven against all the wrongdoing and evil thoughts of men who keep down what is true by wrongdoing; 19 Because the knowledge of God may be seen in them, God having made it clear to them. 20 For from the first making of the world, those things of God which the eye is unable to see, that is, his eternal power and existence, are fully made clear, he having given the knowledge of them through the things which he has made, so that men have no reason for wrongdoing: 21 Because, having the knowledge of God, they did not give glory to God as God, and did not give praise, but their minds were full of foolish things, and their hearts, being without sense, were made dark. 22 Seeming to be wise, they were in fact foolish,
• Rom 1:28 : 28 And because they had not the mind to keep God in their knowledge, God gave them up to an evil mind, to do those things which are not right;
• 2 Cor 4:3 : 3 But if our good news is veiled, it is veiled from those who are on the way to destruction:
• 2 Thess 2:9-9 : 9 Even the one whose coming is marked by the working of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 And with every deceit of wrongdoing among those whose fate is destruction; because they were quite without that love of the true faith by which they might have salvation.