[SaraJohnson]

This is an important question. I know Jesus would not tell people to hate their families. I told myself something was lost in translation. From the context I knew he said that we must place our love of Him above all others.

[Cronos]

A friend who knows Greek just told me mise/ein means “to hate” in classical Greek

In biblical Greek it has a wider meaning, to include “esteem less”

“hate your own life” (the climax of the text), cannot really mean “hate” in the classic sense.

In this usage, it really had to mean “esteem less”.

I think the best way to translate the word is in the obvious way it is being used, “to esteem less”.

So many other words had shifted their meanings from the original classical use.

Why the KJV et al decided to go with “hate” points to me that, in 1600s, “hate” could have also meant “to esteem less”.

We already know that the English words since 1600s have changed their meanings — best example that comes to mind is “suffer the little children to come unto me”.