John 15:15 Henceforth I call you not servants;

After the Last Supper, Jesus gives his final message to the apostles. Jesus starts by saying "when you do what I myself command you."

KJV

John 15:15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

NIV

John 15:15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

3RD (NLT, if not otherwise identified)

NSRV John 15:15: I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.

LISTENERS HEARD

...no more do I call you slaves because the servant has not seen anything he makes of him, this master. You, however, I have proclaimed friends because all things, those I heard from that Father of mine, I make known to you.

MY TAKE

Jesus has told us what he wants to make us into, his brothers.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page)

LOST IN TRANSLATION

As discussed in the previous post, the "if" phrase from that verse makes more sense in introducing the first section of this verse.

The translations all miss a key meaning here. The verb translated as "do" primarily means "to make." When it has a genitive object, which here is "him," it means "make of" so "what the master makes of him." The word translated as "servant" specifically means "bond-servant" or "slave." A slave's master determined his fate, that is, what he becomes. So Jesus is saying that he is telling them what that Father plans to make of them.

CW - Confusing Word -- The "henceforth" does not capture the word's specific meaning.
CW - Confusing Word -- The "what" is not the common word usually translated as "what."
CW - Confusing Word -- The "his" does not capture the word's specific meaning.
MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "lord" is not shown in the English translation.
CW - Confusing Word -- The "doeth" does not capture the word's specific meaning.
CW - Confusing Word -- The "called" is the same word translated as "call" above.
WN - Wrong Number- The word "that" is translated as singular but the Greek word is plural, "those."
WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "have" indicates the past perfect tense, but the tense is something that happens at a specific point in time (past, present, or future).
CW - Confusing Word -- The "of" does not capture the word's specific meaning.
MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "father" is not shown in the English translation.
WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "have" indicates the past perfect tense, but the tense is something that happens at a specific point in time (past, present, or future).

WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "a" should be something more like "the."
MW - Missing Word -- The word "anything" is not shown in the English translation.
CW - Confusing Word -- The "his" does not capture the word's specific meaning.
MW - Missing Word -- The word "servant" is not shown in the English translation.
MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "master" is not shown in the English translation.
WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "business" should be something more like "made."
WF - Wrong Form - The "business" is not a noun but an active verb "makes of."
CW - Confusing Word -- The "instead" is not the common word usually translated as "instead."
CW - Confusing Word -- The "called" is not same word translated as "call" above.
CW - Confusing Word -- The "for" is the same word translated as "because" above.
WN - Wrong Number- The word "that" is translated as singular but the Greek word is plural, "those."
WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "learned" should be something more like "heard."
MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "father" is not shown in the English translation.
WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "have" indicates the past perfect tense, but the tense is something that happens at a specific point in time (past, present, or future).

NSR Version Issues
CW - Confusing Word -- The "not" is not the common word usually translated as "not."
CW - Confusing Word -- The "any longer" means "no longer" but an earlier negative was used.
CW - Confusing Word -- The "what" is not the common word usually translated as "what."
CW - Confusing Word -- The "doing" does not capture the word's specific meaning.
MW - Missing Word -- The word "of him" is not shown in the English translation.
CW - Confusing Word -- The "called" is not same word translated as "call" above.
WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "have" indicates the past perfect tense, but the tense is something that happens at a specific point in time (past, present, or future).
WN - Wrong Number- The word "that" is translated as singular but the Greek word is plural, "those."
MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "father" is not shown in the English translation.

EACH WORD of KJV

Henceforth -- (CW) "Henceforth" is an adverb that means "no more," "no longer," "no further" and generally, "not now."

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

call -- The word translated as "call" is the most common word that means "to say," "to tell," and "to speak," but when used with an objective noun or pronoun, the sense is "say of," "speak of," and "call by name." When two accusative objects are used, the sense is "say of him this," or "call him this." That is the situation here.

you -- The "you" here is the second-person, plural pronoun in the form of an object of the action or preposition.

not -- This negative is from the negative adverb translated as "henceforth."

servants; -- The noun translated as "servant" means "slave." It is translated as "servant" to update the Bible.

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

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.

servant -- The noun translated as "servant" means "slave." It is translated as "servant" to update the Bible.

knoweth-- 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."

not -- The Greek word translated as "not" is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It means "no," "not," or"no truly." It makes a negative statement of fact. Adding "really" to the sentence captures the same idea. When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause. When it precedes other words, its force is limited to those words.

what -- (CW) The Greek word translated as "what" in the singular means "anyone," "someone," "something," and "anything." The same forms are used both for the masculine and feminine so "anyone" works best for a person. In the plural, it means "everyone," "some," "they," and "those." Jesus often uses it to start a question so it means "who," "what," or even "why." This word usually only means "what" in questions.

his -- (CW) The word translated as "his" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English. Usually, this follows the noun, but here it follows the verb, preceding the following article, possibly making it the genitive object of the verb.

missing "the/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," and "those"). See this article for more. MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "heaven" is not shown in the English translation.

lord -- The word translated as "master" is the same word that is often translated as "Lord" or "the Lord" in the NT. It also means "lord," "master of the house," and "head of the family." It is the specific terms for the master of slaves or servants, but it was a common term of respect both for those in authority and who were honored. It was the term people used to address Christ, even though he had no formal authority. Today, we would say "boss" or "chief." For the sake of consistency, this should be the Greek word translated as "master."

doeth: (CW) The Greek word translated as "to do" has the primary meaning of "making" or producing" something or "causing" or "performing" as service. When it means It describes a productive action. When followed by a genitive object, as it appears here, its meaning is "made from."

but -- The Greek word translated as "but" 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 -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.

have -- This helping verb "have" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past.

called -- (CW) The verb translated as "called," means "to pronounce", "to mention", " "to announce", "to proclaim," and, in the passive as used here, "to be pronounced", "to be mentioned", "to be specified", "to be agreed," and "to be promised." This is an uncommon verb for Jesus to use to refer to simply saying or speaking, and it is not the verb that is usually translated as "called." However, Jesus often uses more unusual words for humorous effect, which seems to the case here. This is not the word translated as "called" earlier in the verse.

you -- The "you" here is the second-person, plural pronoun in the form of an object of the action 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.

friends; -- "Friend" is an adjective means "loved," "beloved," "dear," "kith and kin," "nearest and dearest," "friends," and (of things) "welcome" and "pleasant." It is an adjective used as a noun. In English, we would say "loved one."

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

all -- The word translated as "all" is the Greek adjective meaning "all," "the whole," "every," and similar ideas. When it is used as a noun, we would say "everything." As an adverb, it means "in every way," "on every side," and "altogether."

things - This comes from the neuter, plural form of the word above.

that -- (WN) The word translated as "who" is a demonstrative pronoun ("this" "that"), but it often acts as a pronoun "which," "what," "who," "whosoever," "where," "for which reason," and many similar meanings. Since it is plural, "those" works better.

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

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

heard -- "Heard" 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 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. However, two genitives can be used with the sense of "hear of a thing from a person."

of -- (CW) The Greek preposition translated as "of" has many meanings, many of which depend on the case of its object. With the genitive, the sense is motion, "from the side of," "from beside," and generally "from." An "of" would be the genitive case without this preposition.

my -- "My" is the first-person possessive singular pronoun. This pronoun follows the noun so "of mine."

missing "the/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," and "those"). See this article for more. MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "heaven" is not shown in the English translation.

Father -- "Father" is the Greek noun that means "father" or any male ancestor so "forefathers." It is the word that Christ uses to address his own Father.

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

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

made known -- "Made known" is from a rare verb that means "to make known", "to point out", "to gain knowledge of", "to become acquainted with," and "to discover." It is a derivative of the common word that means "learn to know." Jesus only uses this word twice.

unto -- This word "to" comes from the dative case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is a "to" for the English indirect object

you. -- The Greek pronoun "you" here is plural and in the form of an indirect object, "to you," "for you," etc. As the object of a preposition, this form implies no movement, but in a fixed position or events occur at a specified time or while the action was being performed.

EACH WORD of NIV

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

no longer -"No longer" is an adverb that means "no more," "no longer," "no further" and generally, "not now."

call -- The word translated as "call" is the most common word that means "to say," "to tell," and "to speak," but when used with an objective noun or pronoun, the sense is "say of," "speak of," and "call by name." When two accusative objects are used, the sense is "say of him this," or "call him this." That is the situation here.

you -- The "you" here is the second-person, plural pronoun in the form of an object of the action or preposition.

servants; -- The noun translated as "servant" means "slave." It is translated as "servant" to update the Bible.

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

a - (WW) The word translated as "a" is the Greek definite article, not the indefinite 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.

servant -- The noun translated as "servant" means "slave." It is translated as "servant" to update the Bible.

does -- This English helping verb is used to create questions, commands, negative statements, and smooth word flow in translation from Greek

not -- The Greek word translated as "not" is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It means "no," "not," or"no truly." It makes a negative statement of fact. Adding "really" to the sentence captures the same idea. When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause. When it precedes other words, its force is limited to those words.

know -- 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."

missing "anything" -- (MW) The untranslated word "anything" in the singular means "anyone," "someone," "something," and "anything." The same forms are used both for the masculine and feminine so "anyone" works best for a person. In the plural, it means "everyone," "some," "they," and "those." Jesus often uses it to start a question so it means "who," "what," or even "why." This word usually only means "what" in questions.

his -- (CW) The word translated as "his" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English. Usually, this follows the noun, but here it follows the verb, preceding the following article, possibly making it the genitive object of the verb.

missing "the/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," and "those"). See this article for more. MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "heaven" is not shown in the English translation.

Master's -- (WF) The word translated as "master" is the same word that is often translated as "Lord" or "the Lord" in the NT. It also means "lord," "master of the house," and "head of the family." It is the specific terms for the master of slaves or servants, but it was a common term of respect both for those in authority and who were honored. It was the term people used to address Christ, even though he had no formal authority. Today, we would say "boss" or "chief." For the sake of consistency, this should be the Greek word translated as "master." It is not a possessive form.

business. -- (WW, WF) The Greek word translated as "business" that has the primary meaning of "making" or producing" something or "causing" or "performing" as service. When it means It describes a productive action. When followed by a genitive object, as it appears here, its meaning is "made from." It is a verb not a noun.

Instead, -- (CW) The Greek word translated as "but" 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"). It is not the word best translated as "instead."

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

have -- This helping verb "have" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past.

called -- (CW) The verb translated as "called," means "to pronounce", "to mention", " "to announce", "to proclaim," and, in the passive as used here, "to be pronounced", "to be mentioned", "to be specified", "to be agreed," and "to be promised." This is an uncommon verb for Jesus to use to refer to simply saying or speaking, and it is not the verb that is usually translated as "called." However, Jesus often uses more unusual words for humorous effect, which seems to the case here. This is not the word translated as "called" earlier in the verse.

you -- The "you" here is the second-person, plural pronoun in the form of an object of the action 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.

friends; -- "Friend" is an adjective means "loved," "beloved," "dear," "kith and kin," "nearest and dearest," "friends," and (of things) "welcome" and "pleasant." It is an adjective used as a noun. In English, we would say "loved one."

for -- (CW) The word translated as "for" introduces a statement of fact or cause, "for what," "because," "since," and "wherefore." It is confusing because this word was translated as "because" earlier in the sentence.

everything -- The word translated as "all" is the Greek adjective meaning "all," "the whole," "every," and similar ideas. When it is used as a noun, we would say "everything." As an adverb, it means "in every way," "on every side," and "altogether."

that -- (WN) The word translated as "who" is a demonstrative pronoun ("this" "that"), but it often acts as a pronoun "which," "what," "who," "whosoever," "where," "for which reason," and many similar meanings. Since it is plural, "those" works better.

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

learned -- (WW) "Learned" 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 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. However, two genitives can be used with the sense of "hear of a thing from a person." It is not the word that means "learned."

from -- The Greek preposition translated as "from" has many meanings, many of which depend on the case of its object. With the genitive, the sense is motion, "from the side of," "from beside," and generally "from." An "of" would be the genitive case without this preposition.

my -- "My" is the first-person possessive singular pronoun. This pronoun follows the noun so "of mine."

missing "the/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," and "those"). See this article for more. MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "heaven" is not shown in the English translation.

Father -- "Father" is the Greek noun that means "father" or any male ancestor so "forefathers." It is the word that Christ uses to address his own Father.

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

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

made known -- "Made known" is from a rare verb that means "to make known", "to point out", "to gain knowledge of", "to become acquainted with," and "to discover." It is a derivative of the common word that means "learn to know." Jesus only uses this word twice.

to -- This word "to" comes from the dative case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is a "to" for the English indirect object

you. -- The Greek pronoun "you" here is plural and in the form of an indirect object, "to you," "for you," etc. As the object of a preposition, this form implies no movement, but in a fixed position or events occur at a specified time or while the action was being performed.

EACH WORD 3RD (NLT or as noted)

NSR Version Analysis

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

do -- This English helping verb is used to create questions, commands, negative statements, and smooth word flow in translation from Greek

not - (CW) "Not" is an adverb that means "no more," "no longer," "no further" and generally, "not now." It is not the usual negative before a verb.

call -- The word translated as "call" is the most common word that means "to say," "to tell," and "to speak," but when used with an objective noun or pronoun, the sense is "say of," "speak of," and "call by name." When two accusative objects are used, the sense is "say of him this," or "call him this." That is the situation here.

you -- The "you" here is the second-person, plural pronoun in the form of an object of the action or preposition.

servants; -- The noun translated as "servant" means "slave." It is translated as "servant" to update the Bible.

any longer - (CW) "Any longer" is an adverb that means "no more," "no longer," "no further" and generally, "not now."

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

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.

servant -- The noun translated as "servant" means "slave." It is translated as "servant" to update the Bible.

does -- This English helping verb is used to create questions, commands, negative statements, and smooth word flow in translation from Greek

not -- The Greek word translated as "not" is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It means "no," "not," or"no truly." It makes a negative statement of fact. Adding "really" to the sentence captures the same idea. When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause. When it precedes other words, its force is limited to those words.

know -- 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."

what -- (CW) The Greek word translated as "what" in the singular means "anyone," "someone," "something," and "anything." The same forms are used both for the masculine and feminine so "anyone" works best for a person. In the plural, it means "everyone," "some," "they," and "those." Jesus often uses it to start a question so it means "who," "what," or even "why." This word usually only means "what" in questions.

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.

master -- The word translated as "master" is the same word that is often translated as "Lord" or "the Lord" in the NT. It also means "lord," "master of the house," and "head of the family." It is the specific terms for the master of slaves or servants, but it was a common term of respect both for those in authority and who were honored. It was the term people used to address Christ, even though he had no formal authority. Today, we would say "boss" or "chief." For the sake of consistency, this should be the Greek word translated as "master."

is -- This helping verb indicates the present tense of the verb. It is used here to form the present, progressive tense, which doesn't exist in Greek but which can smooth the flow of English sentences.

doing; (CW) The Greek word translated as "to do" has the primary meaning of "making" or producing" something or "causing" or "performing" as service. When it means It describes a productive action. When followed by a genitive object, as it appears here, its meaning is "made from."

missing "of him" -- (MW) The untranslated word "of him" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English. Usually, this follows the noun, but here it follows the verb, preceding the following article, possibly making it the genitive object of the verb.

but -- The Greek word translated as "but" 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 -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.

have -- This helping verb "have" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past.

called -- (CW) The verb translated as "called," means "to pronounce", "to mention", " "to announce", "to proclaim," and, in the passive as used here, "to be pronounced", "to be mentioned", "to be specified", "to be agreed," and "to be promised." This is an uncommon verb for Jesus to use to refer to simply saying or speaking, and it is not the verb that is usually translated as "called." However, Jesus often uses more unusual words for humorous effect, which seems to the case here. This is not the word translated as "called" earlier in the verse.

you -- The "you" here is the second-person, plural pronoun in the form of an object of the action 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.

friends; -- "Friend" is an adjective means "loved," "beloved," "dear," "kith and kin," "nearest and dearest," "friends," and (of things) "welcome" and "pleasant." It is an adjective used as a noun. In English, we would say "loved one."

because -- The word translated as "because" introduces a statement of fact or cause, "for what," "because," "since," and "wherefore." It is confusing because this word was translated as "because" earlier in the sentence.