After Lazarus's death, Jesus comes to Martha and tells her he will rise again. She responds that she knows that he will on the last day. This is the second part of Jesus's response.
John 11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
John 11:26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
And everyone living and trusting as much as me should never die in this age. Do you trust this?
We need to this about what "in this age" means.
All English translations of this verse leave out key aspects in the Greek source because they contradict Christian teaching. First, the phrase translated as "believe in me" more likely means "as much as me" (see this article). The Greek says, "never die in this age." The "in this age" is left out. The verb "die" is made to look like the future tense, but it is in the form of possibility. It is not "will never die" but "should never die" or "might never die." This is rather blatant dishonesty, especially in a verse about trusting Jesus's words. If we are not given Jesus's words, how can we trust them?
The Vulgate translated "in this age" a way that can mean "in eternity." See this article on "eternal life" to understand why this is possibly misleading as well.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "every" is not shown in the English translation.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "whosoever" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
- WF - Wrong Form - The "lives" is not an active verb but a participle, "living."
- WF - Wrong Form - The "believe" is not an active verb but a participle, "believing."
- CW --Confusing Word -- The "in" does not capture the word's specific meaning.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "shall" does not mean the future tense.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "in" is not shown in the English translation.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "this" is not shown in the English translation.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "age" is not shown in the English translation.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "every" is not shown in the English translation.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "whoever" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
- WF - Wrong Form - The "lives" is not an active verb but a participle, "living."
- WF - Wrong Form - The "believe" is not an active verb but a participle, "believing."
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "by" should be something more like "and."
- CW --Confusing Word -- The "in" does not capture the word's specific meaning.
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "will" should be something more like "should."
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "in" is not shown in the English translation.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "this" is not shown in the English translation.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "age" is not shown in the English translation.
And -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). In a series, it is can be translated as "not only...but also." After words implying sameness "as."
missing "every" -- (MW) The untranslated word "every" is the Greek adjective meaning "all," "the whole," "every," and similar ideas. When it is used as a noun, we would say "everything."
whosoever -- (CW)- The word translated as "whosoever" is the Greek definite article, without a noun, it has the sense of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more. The pronoun form would mean "whosoever" but this as a neuter pronoun, so it is the masculine article,, which, with the "every" would be "everyone."
liveth -- (WF) The verb means "live," "to be alive,” “to be full of life," "to be strong," and "to be fresh." So it is life in the sense of having a vital life, strong and growing. Perhaps in English, “thrive” would be more precise. This is a participle, not an active verb.
and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). In a series, it is can be translated as "not only...but also." After words implying sameness "as."
believeth -- (WF) The Greek word translated as "believe" does not apply to religious belief as much but trusting or relying upon other people, especially their words. Jesus usually uses it in contexts, such as the one here, that apply to trusting words. This is a participle, not an active verb.
in -- (CW) The word translated as "in" means "into" a place, "towards" as a direction, "in regards to" a subject, and "up to" limits in time and measure. This does not likely mean "in me" here, but "as much as."
me -- "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek as the object of the verb or preposition. As the object of a preposition, an accusative object indicates movement towards something or a position reached as a result of that movement.
shall -- (CW) This helping verb "shall" does not indicate the future tense, but that the verb describes a possibility, the subjunctive voice. A "might" or "should" in English is more appropriate, but is assumed in an "if/when/whoever/except" clause. Helping verbs are not needed in Greek since the main verb carries this information in its form.
never -- The "never" here is both of the Greek negatives used together. Greek has two negatives, one objective, one subjective. The use of both together is more extreme, like saying, "never" or literally, "you cannot really think." When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause. When it precedes other words, its force is limited to those words.
die. - "Die" is a Greek verb that means "to die" and "to die off." Since the root word also means "to die," and the prefix means "away," the sense is to "pass away" or to "die off."
missing "in" -- (MW) The untranslated word"in" means "into" a place, "towards" as a direction, "in regards to" a subject, and "up to" limits in time and measure.
missing "this" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article," the," which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.
missing "age" -- (MW) The untranslated word means "lifetime," "life," "a space of time," "an age," an epoch," and "the present world." See this article on words translated as "world" in Jesus's words.
Believest-- The Greek word translated as "believe" does not apply to religious belief as much but trusting or relying upon other people, especially their words. Jesus usually uses it in contexts, such as the one here, that apply to trusting words.
thou -- This is from the second-person, singular form of the verb.
this? -- The word translated as "this" means "from here" "from there" or "this/that thing/person here/there." It usually comes after the noun, emphasizing it.
and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). In a series, it is can be translated as "not only...but also." After words implying sameness "as."
missing "every" -- (MW) The untranslated word "every" is the Greek adjective meaning "all," "the whole," "every," and similar ideas. When it is used as a noun, we would say "everything."
whoever -- (CW)- The word translated as "whoever" is the Greek definite article, without a noun, it has the sense of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more. The pronoun form would mean "whosoever" but this as a neuter pronoun, so it is the masculine article,, which, with the "every" would be "everyone."
lives -- (WF) The verb means "live," "to be alive,” “to be full of life," "to be strong," and "to be fresh." So it is life in the sense of having a vital life, strong and growing. Perhaps in English, “thrive” would be more precise. This is a participle, not an active verb.
by -- (WW) The Greek word translated as "by" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). After words implying sameness "as."
believing --The Greek word translated as "believe" does not apply to religious belief as much but trusting or relying upon other people, especially their words. Jesus usually uses it in contexts, such as the one here, that apply to trusting words. This is a participle, not an active verb.
in -- (CW) The word translated as "unto" means "into" a place, "towards" as a direction, "in regards to" a subject, and "up to" limits in time and measure. This does not likely mean "in me" here, but "as much as."
me -- "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek as the object of the verb or preposition. As the object of a preposition, an accusative object indicates movement towards something or a position reached as a result of that movement.
will -- (WW) This helping verb "will" does not indicate the future tense, but that the verb describes a possibility, the subjunctive voice. A "might" or "should" in English is more appropriate, but is assumed in an "if/when/whoever/except" clause. Helping verbs are not needed in Greek since the main verb carries this information in its form.
never -- The "never" here is both of the Greek negatives used together. Greek has two negatives, one objective, one subjective. The use of both together is more extreme, like saying, "never" or literally, "you cannot really think." When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause. When it precedes other words, its force is limited to those words.
die. - "Die" is a Greek verb that means "to die" and "to die off." Since the root word also means "to die," and the prefix means "away," the sense is to "pass away" or to "die off."
missing "in" -- (MW) The untranslated word"in" means "into" a place, "towards" as a direction, "in regards to" a subject, and "up to" limits in time and measure.
missing "this" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article," the," which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.
missing "age" -- (MW) The untranslated word means "lifetime," "life," "a space of time," "an age," an epoch," and "the present world." See this article on words translated as "world" in Jesus's words.
Do -- This English helping verb is used to create questions, commands, negative statements, and smooth word flow in translation from Greek
you -- This is from the second-person, singular form of the verb.
believe-- The Greek word translated as "believe" does not apply to religious belief as much but trusting or relying upon other people, especially their words. Jesus usually uses it in contexts, such as the one here, that apply to trusting words.
this? -- The word translated as "this" means "from here" "from there" or "this/that thing/person here/there." It usually comes after the noun, emphasizing it.
καὶ [1089 verses](conj/adv) "And" is kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and," or "also." After words implying sameness, "as" (the same opinion as you). Used in series, joins positive with negative "Not only...but also." Also used to give emphasis, "even," "also," and "just."
πᾶς [212 verses](adj sg masc nom) Untranslated is pas, which means "all," "the whole," "every," "anyone," "all kinds," and "anything." In the adverbial form, it means "every way," "on every side," "in every way," and "altogether."
ὁ [821 verses](article sg masc nom) "Whosoever" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
ζῶν [15 verses] (part sg pres act masc nom) "Liveth" is zao, which means "to live," "the living," and "to be alive." It is a metaphor for "to be full of life," "to be strong," and "to be fresh."
καὶ [1089 verses](conj/adv) "And" is kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and," or "also." After words implying sameness, "as" (the same opinion as you). Used in series, joins positive with negative "Not only...but also." Also used to give emphasis, "even," "also," and "just."
πιστεύων [69 verses] (part sg pres act masc nom) "Believeth".believe" is pisteuo, which means "to trust, put faith in, or rely on a person," "to believe in someone's words," "to comply," "to feel confident in a thing," and "to entrust in a thing."
εἰς [325 verses](prep) "Into" is eis, which means "into (of place)," "up to (of time)," "until (of time)," "as much as (of measure or limit)," "as far as (of measure or limit)," "towards (to express relation)," "in regard to (to express relation)," "of an end or limit," and "for (of purpose or object)."
ἐμὲ [49 verses](pron 1st sg masc acc) "Me" is eme, which is the objective first-person, objective, singular pronoun that means "me."
οὐ μὴ [39 verses](partic) "Never" is ou me, the two forms of Greek negative used together. Ou is the negative adverb for facts and statements, negating both single words and sentences. Mê (me) is the negative used in prohibitions and expressions of doubt meaning "not" and "no." As οὐ (ou) negates fact and statement; μή rejects, οὐ denies; μή is relative, οὐ absolute; μή subjective, οὐ objective.
ἀποθάνῃ [14 verses] (3rd sg aor subj act) "Die" is from apothnesko, which means "to die,""to pass away," and "to die off." The prefix means "away. The root "to die."
εἰς [325 verses](prep) Untranslated is eis, which means "into (of place)," "up to (of time)," "until (of time)," "as much as (of measure or limit)," "as far as (of measure or limit)," "towards (to express relation)," "in regard to (to express relation)," "of an end or limit," and "for (of purpose or object)."
τὸν [821 verses](article sg masc nom) Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). -
αἰῶνος: [41 verses](noun sg masc gen) Untranslated is aion, which means "life," "lifetime," "age," or "generation."
πιστεύεις [69 verses](2nd sg pres ind act) "Believest thou" is pisteuo, which means "to trust, put faith in, or rely on a person," "to believe in someone's words," "to comply," "to feel confident in a thing," and "to entrust in a thing."
τοῦτο [93 verses](adj sg neut acc) "That" is touto, which means "from here," "from there," "this [thing] there," or "that [person] here."