Greetings,
How have you been going with your own journey in the beautiful Koine Greek? Are you making progress or do you still feel that it is just beyond reach? Wherever you are at, my aim with these weekly reminders is just that, a reminder for each of us to do something, no matter how small.
There is a lot of information below to help you keep chipping away at your Greek. So once again, please use whatever you need, when you need it or simply use the email as a reminder for the week ahead.
May God richly bless you as you read and study his word in one of the original languages.
Memory Verse
Try memorising the following verse during this month and look out for a new one each month.
John 3:16 (NA28) — 16 οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν κόσμον, ὥστε τὸν υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ ἔδωκεν, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται ἀλλʼ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον.
John 3:16 (ESV) — 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Dr Rob Plummer’s Daily Dose of Greek
One daily habit that will really help you keep your Greek, is Dr Rob Plummer’s Daily Dose of Greek videos. You can subscribe to receive a daily email at his website https://dailydoseofgreek.com
An option I prefer, is to use his handy app with notifications. You can download it free for iOS or Android.
Vocabulary Acquisition
An important part of growing in any language is vocabulary acquisition. To assist with this, I have created the following Quizlet sets for various word frequencies. Simply, take the time to open up one of the links and test yourself. Why not take a few minutes each day to go through one list?
Note: All the data has been taken from Accordance Bible Software. The Quizlet app can be downloaded for free on your phone.
NT Greek Word Frequencies:
Monday: 100 to 50
Tuesday: 50 to 30
Wednesday: 30 to 20
Thursday: 20 to 15
Friday: 15 to 14
Saturday: 13 to 12
Sunday: 11 to 10
Greek Reading and Translation
In this section you can move sequentially through Matthew’s Gospel, reciting and translating ten verses over the coming week. (To assist with your translation work you can use the Excel spreadsheet or print off a PDF copy, for handwritten translations)
Excel: (184) Matthew 25.16-25
PDF: (184) Matthew 25.16-25
Matthew 25:16–25 (NA28) — 16 πορευθεὶς ὁ τὰ πέντε τάλαντα λαβὼν ἠργάσατο ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐκέρδησεν ἄλλα πέντε· 17 ὡσαύτως ὁ τὰ δύο ἐκέρδησεν ἄλλα δύο. 18 ὁ δὲ τὸ ἓν λαβὼν ἀπελθὼν ὤρυξεν γῆν καὶ ἔκρυψεν τὸ ἀργύριον τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ. 19 μετὰ δὲ πολὺν χρόνον ἔρχεται ὁ κύριος τῶν δούλων ἐκείνων καὶ συναίρει λόγον μετʼ αὐτῶν. 20 καὶ προσελθὼν ὁ τὰ πέντε τάλαντα λαβὼν προσήνεγκεν ἄλλα πέντε τάλαντα λέγων· Κύριε, πέντε τάλαντά μοι παρέδωκας· ἴδε ἄλλα πέντε τάλαντα ἐκέρδησα. 21 ἔφη αὐτῷ ὁ κύριος αὐτοῦ· Εὖ, δοῦλε ἀγαθὲ καὶ πιστέ, ἐπὶ ὀλίγα ἦς πιστός, ἐπὶ πολλῶν σε καταστήσω· εἴσελθε εἰς τὴν χαρὰν τοῦ κυρίου σου. 22 προσελθὼν [δὲ] καὶ ὁ τὰ δύο τάλαντα εἶπεν· Κύριε, δύο τάλαντά μοι παρέδωκας· ἴδε ἄλλα δύο τάλαντα ἐκέρδησα. 23 ἔφη αὐτῷ ὁ κύριος αὐτοῦ· Εὖ, δοῦλε ἀγαθὲ καὶ πιστέ, ἐπὶ ὀλίγα ἦς πιστός, ἐπὶ πολλῶν σε καταστήσω· εἴσελθε εἰς τὴν χαρὰν τοῦ κυρίου σου. 24 προσελθὼν δὲ καὶ ὁ τὸ ἓν τάλαντον εἰληφὼς εἶπεν· Κύριε, ἔγνων σε ὅτι σκληρὸς εἶ ἄνθρωπος, θερίζων ὅπου οὐκ ἔσπειρας καὶ συνάγων ὅθεν οὐ διεσκόρπισας, 25 καὶ φοβηθεὶς ἀπελθὼν ἔκρυψα τὸ τάλαντόν σου ἐν τῇ γῇ· ἴδε ἔχεις τὸ σόν.
Matthew 25:16–25 (ESV) — 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’
Keep Your Greek Fit:
Below you can keep your Greek fit by reciting foundational aspects of the language.
Recite the Greek Alphabet.
Write out or recite the Article.
Write out or recite the following selected Prepositions with their cases
Write out or recite the 1st & 2nd Personal Pronouns
Write out or recite the paradigm for the verb I am.
Conjunctions and Particles by Frequency
You can also test your knowledge using the Quizlet set Conjunctions and Particles
Paradigms:
1) Write out or recite the 1st singular verbs of λυω – to loose, in the: Indicative, Subjunctive, Imperative and Infinitive moods
2) Write out or recite the Nominative Masculine Participles of λυω – to loose
Note: The idea of remembering the 1st singular verbs and Nominative Masculine Participles is that often if you can remember these then reciting the remaining conjugates and declensions should be relatively straightforward, particularly if you have put the time in previously to retain them. If you would like to check the full paradigms now then take a look at the Paradigms PDF
Paradigm Exercises:
1) Write out or recite the 1st singular verbs of λυω – to loose, in the: Indicative, Subjunctive, Imperative and Infinitive moods
2) Write out or recite the Nominative Masculine Participles of λυω – to loose
Indicative Mood – Affirms the reality of an action
λυω, ἐλυον, λυομαι, ἐλυομην, λυσω, λυσομαι, ἐλυσα, ἐλυσαμην, λελυκα,(ἐ)λελυκειν, λελυμαι, (ἐ)λελυμην, ἐλυθην, λυθησομαι
Subjunctive Mood – Indicates the probability of an actionλυω, λυωμαι, λυσω, λυσωμαι, λυθω
Imperative Mood – Expresses a command for action
λυε, λυου, λυσον, λυσαι, λυθητι
Infinitive (Mood) – Verbal noun (no conjugates)
λυειν, λυεσθαι, λυσαι, λυσασθαι, λελυκεναι, λελυσθαι, λυθηναι
Participles (Mood) – Verbal adjective
Present Participles
[3 1c 3] (A) λυων, λυουσα, λυον
[2 1a 2] (MP) λυομενος, λυομενη, λυομενον
1st Aorist Participles
[3 1c 3] (A) λυσας, λυσασα, λυσαν
[2 1a 2] (M) λυσαμενος, λυσαμενη, λυσαμενον
[3 1c 3] (P) λυθεις, λυθεισα, λυθεν
2nd Aorist Participles
[3 1c 3] (A) βαλων, βαλουσα, βαλον
[2 1a 2] (M) βαλομενος, βαλομενη, βαλομενον
[3 1c 3] (P) βληθεις, βληθεισα, βληθεν
Perfect Participles
[3 1b 3] (A) λελυκως, λελυκυια, λελυκος
[2 1a 2] (MP) λελυμενος, λελυμενη, λελυμενον
Use the Paradigms PDF to check the full paradigms
Notes: The [3 1c 3] key is how they decline i.e., 3rd declension, 1st declension, 3rd declension. The 1st declension follows the standard grammatical pattern. (1a) Consonant stem ending in η as in γραφη. (1b) Vowel or ρ ending in α as in αληφεια. (1c) Consonant stem in α as in δοξα.
Keep Your Greek 