“salt of the earth”
KING JAMES VERSION (KJV)
TRANSLATION, MEANING, CONTEXT
WORDS OF JESUS IN RED
Jesus says in this scripture that believers are the “salt of the earth” which means acting with wisdom and grace exhibited in speech. If we do not behave in this way as Christians we are “good for nothing”, that is, rejected and essentially useless in upholding the ideals of living Christianity. As a result of this Bible scripture, the quote “salt of the earth” has become a popular metaphor for being good in the world.
To get what Matthew 5:13 means in detail, scroll down or follow these links for the original scriptural meaning , biblical context and relative popularity.
“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”
What does this verse really mean? Use this table to get a word-for-word translation of the original Greek Scripture. This shows the English words related to the source biblical texts along with brief definitions. Follow the buttons in the right-hand column for detailed definitions and verses that use the same root words. Use this reference information to gain deeper insight into the Bible and enrich your understanding. Information based on Strong's Exhaustive Concordance[1].
| KJV Verse | Original Greek | Meaning/ Definition This is a simplified translation of the original Greek word. Follow the buttons on the right to get more detail. | More Use the buttons below to get details on the Greek word and view related Bible verses that use the same root word. |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Ye” | Ὑμεῖς | You (as subjective of verb) | Ye |
| “are” | ἐστε | Ye are | are |
| “the salt” | τὸ | The (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom) | salt |
| “of the” | τῆς | The (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom) | of the |
| “earth:” | γῆς· | Soil; by extension a region, or the solid part or the whole of the terrene globe (including the occupants in each application) | earth |
| “but” | δὲ | But, and, etc | but |
| “if” | ἐὰν | A conditional particle; in case that, provided, etc.; often used in connection with other particles to denote indefiniteness or uncertainty | if |
| “the salt” | τὸ | The (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom) | salt |
| “have lost his savour,” | μωρανθῇ | To become insipid; figuratively, to make (passively, act) as a simpleton | lost savour |
| “wherewith” | ἐν | "in," at, (up-)on, by, etc | wherewith |
| “shall” | τίνι | An interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions) | shall |
| “it be salted?” | ἁλισθήσεται | To salt | salted |
| “it is” | ἰσχύει | To have (or exercise) force (literally or figuratively) | it is |
| “thenceforth” | ἔτι | "yet," still (of time or degree) | thenceforth |
| “good” | ἰσχύει | To have (or exercise) force (literally or figuratively) | good |
| “for” | εἰς | To or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etc.); also in adverbial phrases | for |
| “nothing,” | οὐδὲν | Not even one (man, woman or thing), i.e., none, nobody, nothing | nothing |
| “but” | μὴ | (adverb) not, (conjunction) lest; also (as an interrogative implying a negative answer (whereas G3756 expects an affirmative one)) whether | but |
| “to be cast” | βληθῆναι | To throw (in various applications, more or less violent or intense) | cast |
| “out,” | ἔξω | Out(-side) (of doors), literally or figuratively | out |
| “and” | καὶ | And, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words | and |
| “to be trodden under foot” | καταπατεῖσθαι | To trample down; figuratively, to reject with disdain | trodden under foot |
| “of” | ὑπὸ | Under, i.e., (with the genitive case) of place (beneath), or with verbs (the agency or means, through); (with the accusative case) of place (whither (underneath) or where (below) or time (when (at)) | of |
| “men.” | ἀνθρώπων | Man-faced, i.e., a human being | men |
See Matthew 5:13 with its adjacent verses in bold below. Follow either of the two large buttons below to see these verses in their broader context of the King James Bible or a Bible concordance.
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11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
The King James Bible (1611) and Strong's Concordance (1890) with Hebrew and Greek dictionaries are sourced from the BibleForgeDB database (https://github.com/bibleforge) within the BibleForge project (http://bibleforge.com). Popularity rankings are based on search volume data from the Google AdWords Keyword Planner tool.