John 11:42 And I knew that thou hearest me always

Spoken to
Father

After Lazarus's death, Jesus comes to the tomb and thanks his Father for hearing him.

KJV

John 11:42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

NIV

John 11:42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

 

LISTENERS HEARD

I myself, however, knew that always you hear me. Yet, For the sake of the crowd. the one having gathered around,  I speak in order that they might trust that you sent me.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

The funny thing here is that Jesus pretends that he is speaking aloud to his Father while saying clearly that he is actually speaking for the crowd. He doesn't actually say "I said it" or "I said this." he said, "I speak for the benefit of the crowd." In doing so, Jesus uses two unusual words here that are lost in translation. The word translated as "people" really means "crowd." Jesus only uses it four times. The following participle is only used by him in this verse. It is translated as "stand by" and "standing here," but its prefix means "around" so its sense is "having stood around."

In the previous verse, John 11:41, Jesus did something he only does here by thanking the Father for listening to him. Here, he explained why he said what he did. He want to attribute this resurrection to the Father not his own power, but he also wants people to understand that this is only possible because he was sent by the Father and asked him.

Though Christ describes himself simply as being "sent" by the Father, the Greek concept of apostello is more than that. We can see this in our use of the term "apostle." Someone was "sent" as a deputy and representative. They were authorized and delegated a task by being sent. All people of power were represented by those who they sent.

 

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
9
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "and" should be something more like "however."
  • MW -- Missing Word  -- The pronoun repeats the information in the verb so it should be repeated in English like "I myself."
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "but" is not the common word usually translated as "but."
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "people" should be something more like "crowd."
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "which" is not the common word usually translated as "which."
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "stand by" is not an active verb but a participle, "standing by."
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "by" should be something more like "around."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "yourself" is not shown in the English translation, but it is needed to capture the pronoun as well as the form of the verb.
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "hast" indicates the past perfect tense, but the tense is something that happens at a specific point in time (past, present, or future).
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
7
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "however" is not shown in the English translation.
  • MW -- Missing Word  -- The pronoun repeats the information in the verb so it should be repeated in English like "I myself."
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "but" is not the common word usually translated as "but."
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "people" should be something more like "crowd."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the one" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "here" should be something more like "around."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "yourself" is not shown in the English translation, but it is needed to capture the pronoun as well as the form of the verb.
EACH WORD of KJV

And -- (WW) The Greek word translated as "and" means "but," "however," and "on the other hand." It joins phrases in an adversarial way. Since it always falls in the second position, translating it as "however" often captures its feeling better.  It can also be an explanation of cause ("so").

I -- The pronoun "I" is used here. Since, as the subject of the sentence, it is part of the verb, its explicit use accentuates who is speaking "I." Saying "I myself" captures this feeling in English.

missing "myself" -- (MW)  The subjective pronoun repeats the information in the verb so it should be repeated in English like "I myself."

knew -- -- The word translated as "know" means primarily "to see" and is used to mean "know' as we use the word "see" to mean "know" in English. It is the past perfect tense so "have seen" but it is translated as the present tense of "know."  What someone "has seen" is what they "know" in the present. Since the past perfect of "see" forms the present tense of "know" the pluperfect tense used here which indicates an action completed before some other action in the past, is used as the simple past tense, "knew." 

that  -- The word translated as "that" introduces a statement of fact or cause, "for what," "because," "since," and "wherefore."

thou -- This is from the second-person, singular form of the verb.

hearest  -- "Hear" is from a Greek verb that means "to hear" and "to listen." It has the same sense as the English not only of listening but of understanding.  It is the most common verb that Christ uses meaning "to hear." It also means "to listen" and "to understand," but amusingly, it also means "to be silent." The accusative object is the person/thing heard about, while the genitive is the person/thing heard from. 

me. -- "Me" is the first-person possessive singular pronoun. As the genitive object of this verb, it is the person heard from.

always:  -- The word translated as "always" means "at all times" but what makes it interesting is that Christ seldom uses this word but it occurs twice in this verse. Most people uses the terms "always" whenever they discuss something that it done frequently. Christ never makes this mistake. He also uses the word for "never" (in the sense of "at not time") just as rarely.

but -- (CW) The Greek word translated as "but" denotes an exception or simple opposition. It is used to emphasize the contrast between things like we use "instead," "but instead,"or "rather." It is not the common word usually translated as "but." It is the Greek word "other" like we use "otherwise." Jesus often uses this conjunction to connect a negative clause, "not this," with a positive one, "instead this."

because of" -- The preposition translated as "because of" means with the accusative, it can also be "thanks to," "because of,"  "by reasons of," and "for the sake of."

the   -- The word translated as "the" 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. 

people -- (WW) "People" is a Greek singular noun meaning  "a throng" or "multitude" but which also mean "trouble" and "annoyance." Our words "crowd" or "mob" capture the idea best.  Jesus uses this word only four times.

which  -- (CW) The word translated as "which" 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. 

stand - (WF) "Stand by" is a verb that means "to place round", "to bring round", "to place round oneself", "to stand round about" [in the passive], "to encircle", "to surround", "to come round", "to revolve", "to reverse", "to go around so as to avoid", "to shun", "to turn out [especially for the worse]", "t sneak around," and "to circumvent." It is a participle, not an active verb, "standing by" and in the perfect tense, "having stood by."

by  -- (WW) This prep/adverb is from the verb's prefix but the prefix means "around" not "by."

I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.

said  - The word translated as "speak" means "to say" and "to speak." It is one of the two most common words translated "speak," "say" and "tell," but it has more a sense of addressing and proclaiming.

it, -- This English objective pronoun is added and not in the Greek source.   In Greek, pronoun objects are not repeated after each verb because they are implied by their first occurrence.

that -- The word translated as "that" is an adverb "in that place," "there," "where," "when," or as a conjunction that starts a subordinate clause  "that," "when," "in order that" or "because."

they -- This is from the third-person, plural form of the verb.

may -- This helping verb "may" indicates that the verb indicates a possibility, the subjunctive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

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.

that -- The word translated as "that" introduces a statement of fact or cause, "for what," "because," "since," and "wherefore."

thou -- The  "you" here in the second-person pronoun in form of a singular subject. Since, as the subject of the sentence, it is part of the verb, its explicit use repeats the idea of who is speaking, "you." Saying "you yourself" captures this feeling in English.

missing "yourself" -- (MW)  The subjective pronoun repeats the information in the verb so it should be repeated in English like "you yourself."

hast -- (WT) This helping verb "hast" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past. This is not the tense of the verb here.

sent -- The "sent" here is a word that means "to send off" and "dispatch." It is the source of our word "apostle."

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.

EACH WORD of NIV

missing "however"  -- (MW) The untranslated word "however" means "but," "however," and "on the other hand." It joins phrases in an adversarial way. Since it always falls in the second position, translating it as "however" often captures its feeling better.  It can also be an explanation of cause ("so").

I -- The pronoun "I" is used here. Since, as the subject of the sentence, it is part of the verb, its explicit use accentuates who is speaking "I." Saying "I myself" captures this feeling in English.

missing "myself" -- (MW)  The subjective pronoun repeats the information in the verb so it should be repeated in English like "I myself."

knew -- -- The word translated as "know" means primarily "to see" and is used to mean "know' as we use the word "see" to mean "know" in English. It is the past perfect tense so "have seen" but it is translated as the present tense of "know."  What someone "has seen" is what they "know" in the present. Since the past perfect of "see" forms the present tense of "know" the pluperfect tense used here which indicates an action completed before some other action in the past, is used as the simple past tense, "knew." 

that  -- The word translated as "that" introduces a statement of fact or cause, "for what," "because," "since," and "wherefore."

you -- This is from the second-person, singular form of the verb.

always:  -- The word translated as "always" means "at all times" but what makes it interesting is that Christ seldom uses this word but it occurs twice in this verse. Most people uses the terms "always" whenever they discuss something that it done frequently. Christ never makes this mistake. He also uses the word for "never" (in the sense of "at not time") just as rarely.

hear -- "Hear" is from a Greek verb that means "to hear" and "to listen." It has the same sense as the English not only of listening but of understanding.  It is the most common verb that Christ uses meaning "to hear." It also means "to listen" and "to understand," but amusingly, it also means "to be silent." The accusative object is the person/thing heard about, while the genitive is the person/thing heard from. 

me. -- "Me" is the first-person possessive singular pronoun. As the genitive object of this verb, it is the person heard from.

but -- (CW) The Greek word translated as "but" denotes an exception or simple opposition. It is used to emphasize the contrast between things like we use "instead," "but instead,"or "rather." It is not the common word usually translated as "but." It is the Greek word "other" like we use "otherwise." Jesus often uses this conjunction to connect a negative clause, "not this," with a positive one, "instead this."

I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.

said  - The word translated as "speak" means "to say" and "to speak." It is one of the two most common words translated "speak," "say" and "tell," but it has more a sense of addressing and proclaiming.

this, -- This English objective pronoun is added and not in the Greek source.   In Greek, pronoun objects are not repeated after each verb because they are implied by their first occurrence.

for the benefit of -- The preposition translated as "because of" means with the accusative, it can also be "thanks to," "because of,"  "by reasons of," and "for the sake of."

the   -- The word translated as "the" 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. 

people -- (WW) "People" is a Greek singular noun meaning  "a throng" or "multitude" but which also mean "trouble" and "annoyance." Our words "crowd" or "mob" capture the idea best.  Jesus uses this word only four times.

missing "the one"  -- (MW) The untranslated word "the one" 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. 

standing ,- "Standing" is a verb that means "to place round", "to bring round", "to place round oneself", "to stand round about" [in the passive], "to encircle", "to surround", "to come round", "to revolve", "to reverse", "to go around so as to avoid", "to shun", "to turn out [especially for the worse]", "t sneak around," and "to circumvent." It is a participle, not an active verb, "standing by" and in the perfect tense, "having stood by."

here-- (WW) This prep/adverb is from the verb's prefix but the prefix means "around" not "here."

that -- The word translated as "that" is an adverb "in that place," "there," "where," "when," or as a conjunction that starts a subordinate clause  "that," "when," "in order that" or "because."

they -- This is from the third-person, plural form of the verb.

may -- This helping verb "may" indicates that the verb indicates a possibility, the subjunctive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

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.

that -- The word translated as "that" introduces a statement of fact or cause, "for what," "because," "since," and "wherefore."

you -- The  "you" here in the second-person pronoun in form of a singular subject. Since, as the subject of the sentence, it is part of the verb, its explicit use repeats the idea of who is speaking, "you." Saying "you yourself" captures this feeling in English.

missing "yourself" -- (MW)  The subjective pronoun repeats the information in the verb so it should be repeated in English like "you yourself."

sent -- The "sent" here is a word that means "to send off" and "dispatch." It is the source of our word "apostle."

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.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

ἐγὼ [162 verses](pron 1st sg masc nom) "I" is ego, which is the first-person singular pronoun meaning "I." It also means "I at least," "for my part," "indeed," and for myself.

δὲ [446 verses](conj) "But" is de which means "but" and "on the other hand." It is the particle that joins sentences in an adversarial way but can also be an explanation of cause ("so"). With the Greek word for "if" the sense is "if...than."

ᾔδειν [38 verses](verb 1st sg plup ind act) "Knew" (3rd sg perf ind act) "Know" is oida which has the sense of "to know." This listing is not a root word, but the past perfect tense of eido, which means "to see,."." That which "has been seen" is that which is "known." This is a somewhat legalistic idea because the truth can only be established by eyewitnesses.

ὅτι [332 verses](adv/conj) "That" is hoti, which introduces a statement of fact "with regard to the fact that," "seeing that," and acts as a causal adverb meaning "for what," "because," "since," and "wherefore."

πάντοτε [8 verses](adverb) "Always" is from pantote, which means "always," "at all time," and literally breaks down to "all then." "All" is from pas- that 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." "Then" is from -tote, which means "at that time" and "then."

μου [239 verses](adj sg masc gen) "Me" is from mou (emou), which means "me," and "mine." As a genitive object means movement away from something or a position away from something else.

ἀκούεις: [95 verses](2nd sg pres ind act) "Hear" is akouo,  which means "hear of," "hear tell of," "what one actually hears," "know by hearsay," "listen to," "give ear to," "hear and understand," and "understand." The accusative object is the person/thing heard about, while the genitive is the person/thing heard from.  However, two genitives can be used with the sense of "hear of a thing from a person." -

ἀλλὰ [154 verses](conj) "But" is alla, which means "instead," "otherwise," "but," "still," "at least," "except," "yet," nevertheless," "rather," "moreover," and "nay."

διὰ  [88 verses](prep) "Because" is dia, which means with the genitive "through," "in the midst of," "in a line (movement)," "throughout (time)," "by (causal)," "for (causal)," "among," and "between." With the accusative, it can also be "thanks to," "because of,"  "by reasons of," and "for the sake of.

τὸν [821 verses](article sg masc acc)  "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").

ὄχλον [4 verses](noun sg masc acc) "Of the people" is from ochlos, which means "a throng" or "multitude" but which also mean "trouble" and "annoyance." Our word "mob" really captures the idea best.

τὸν  [821 verses](article sg masc acc)  "Which" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").

περιεστῶτα [1 verse](part sg perf act masc acc) "Stand by" is from periistemi which means "to place round", "to bring round", "to place round oneself", "to stand round about" [in the passive], "to encircle", "to surround", "to come round", "to revolve", "to reverse", "to go around so as to avoid", "to shun", "to turn out [especially for the worse]", "t sneak around," and "to circumvent."

εἶπον [162 verses] (1st sg aor ind act) "I said" is eipon, which means "to speak," "to say," "to recite," "to address," "to mention," "to name," "to proclaim," "to plead," "to promise," and "to offer." 

ἵνα [134 verses](adv/conj) "That" is hina, which means "in that place," "there," "where," "when,"  but when beginning a phrase "that," "in order that," "when," and "because."

πιστεύσωσιν [69 verses](verb (3rd pl aor subj act) "They may 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." "That" is hoti, which introduces a statement of fact "with regard to the fact that," "seeing that," and acts as a causal adverb meaning "for what," "because," "since," and "wherefore."

ὅτι -- The word translated as "that" introduces a statement of fact or cause, "for what," "because," "since," and "wherefore."

σὺ  [36  verses](pron 2nd sg nom) "Thee/you" is su , which means "you" in the second-person pronoun in form of a singular subject.

με [49 verses](pron 1st sg masc acc) "Me" is eme, which is the objective first-person, objective, singular pronoun that means  "me."

ἀπέστειλας[60 verses](2nd sg aor ind act) "Hast sent" is apostello, which means "to send off," "to send away," or "to dispatch."

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