Mat 19:14 Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come to me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

The premise of this site is that Christ wasn't speaking just to those around him, addressing his situation, but that everything he said was addressed to all people of all time, including us today. So it is no coincidence that after discussing marriage between a man and a woman, Christ moves to the topic of children.

In the standard translation, it seems like Christ is saying, as he has before, that children represent our condition in the kingdom of heaven, but looking at the Greek, it seems as if Christ is saying that the kingdom of heaven is the reason or cause for the kingdom of heaven. If we think of the kingdom of heaven as our progress toward a more advanced civilization, children could be considered both why and how we make that progress.

Alternative version: Let the little children pass, and do not hinder them from making their way to me: the kingdom of heaven is for such as these.

Alternative version 2: Let the little children pass, and do not hinder them from making their way to me: for such as these cause the kingdom of heaven.


"Suffer" is from aphiêmi, which means "to let fall," "to send away," "to let loose," "to get rid of," "to leave alone," "to pass by," "to permit," and "to send forth from oneself."

"Forbid" is from kôluô, which means "to hinder" and "to prevent."

"Come" is from erchomai, which means "to come" and "to go." It means "to set out" and "to arrive at." It is a little like we use the phrase "he is on his way,"or "to be under way," which can mean either that he is coming or going with no direct reference to the position of the speaker.

"For" is from gar, which means "for," "since," and "why." It introduces the reason or cause for something. It preceeds the fact explained.

"Of such" is from toioutos, which means "such as this."