Speak, Say.
Amongst the many Greek words thus translated, we may consider two, laleo and lego.
The former word refers to the power of speech itself (Matthew 10:33; Mark 7:37;16. 17; Luke 11:14; Acts 2:4; 1 Corinthians 12:30); lego is not only to articulate but to speak words, and it is rather the mind that speaks, than the fact of uttering words, which a parrot might do. Thus in Revelation 13:15, where the image of the beast speaks, it is not that it uses the mind (lego), but merely that it utters words like an automaton (laleo). We find the meaning of the two words beautifully distinguished in John 8:43, “Why do ye not understand my speech (from laleo)? Even because ye cannot hear my word (from lego).” The true meaning of this remarkable passage being that they who do not in their hearts lay hold of the meaning, the spirit, the power of the truth cannot understand the letter or the speech by which the word is conveyed. Thus while in one sense we understand the spirit by the letter of the word, in another it is equally true that we can only rightly understand the letter by having His word abiding in us.
Temple.
Two Greek words are thus translated in the New Testament —the one, hieron, meaning the whole of the temple, its courts, and all buildings connected with it; the other, naos, meaning the proper dwelling-place of God. This distinction is interesting and helpful in many places. Zacharias (Luke 1:9) entered i nto the naos, those that waited without were still in the hieron. We often find Christ teaching in the latter, but into the former He never entered, none but priests being allowed there. “Between the temple and the altar” (Matthew 23:35) is naos, and there means between the temple itself, and the altar in the court. Judas, in his despair, rushed into the naos itself to cast down the money. A third word, oikos, is translated “temple” in Luke 11:51. The usual meaning is simply house, and it is so translated everywhere else.
Thief or Robber.
There are two distinct words in the Greek as in the English. In our translation, however, the distinction has not always been strictly preserved. We find both in John 10:8, the word thief meaning the secret stealer, and robber the violent and open plunderer. Thief occurs Matthew 24:43; John 12:6; robber Matthew 11:13; 26:55; Luke 10:30; John 18:40; 2 Corinthians 11:26; Matthew 27:38,44. It will be observed that the word thief is always so translated, whereas the second word is sometimes rendered thief, sometimes robber. In no place is the distinction more important than in the last passage we have quoted. These two were probably fellow-insurgents with Barabbas (Mark 15:7). He was a robber, but by no means a thief, and possibly in the first place a mistaken zealot, of whom there were many at that time who undertook to deliver the nation from the Roman yoke.