John 15:27 And you also shall bear witness,

Spoken to
Apostles

After the Last Supper, after Jesus says he will send the summon assistant.

KJV

John 15:27 And you also shall bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

NIV

John 15:27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

LISTENERS HEARD

And you yourselves so testify because you are along with me from inception.

MY TAKE

Those who understand are those who show up when something starts.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page)

John 15:26 καὶ ὑμεῖς δὲ μαρτυρεῖτε, John 15:27  ὅτι ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ ἐστέ.

The Greek source that I uses has this verse from English bibles in two different verses.

GREEK ORDER

And you yourselves so testify because, from inception along with me, you are.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

Jesus emphasizes the "you" here, using the subject pronoun, which, in duplicating information in the verb, is like saying "you yourselves." The "also" in the English translations should be "so," explaining a cause. The conjunction "and" is usually translated as "also." This is from a particle that is usually translated as "but," the opposite of "and," but which can be used to explain a cause, "so." The "with me" has more a sense of "along with me" since the case of the "me" implies movement. The forms of the verbs are all wrong in English translation as well. The "testify" is not the future tense, "shall testify" but the present tense and possibly the simple past. The "been" is not the past, perfect, "have been" but the present "you are."

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
5
  • MW -- Missing Word -- This subject pronoun duplicates information in the verb so it needs a "yourselves" after "you" for emphasis.
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "also" should be something more like "so."
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "shall" doesn't exist in the source.
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "have" indicates the past perfect tense, but the tense is the present.
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "the" doesn't exist in the source.
EACH WORD of KJV

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 can be translated as "not only...but also." After words implying sameness "as."

you  -- The pronoun "you" is used explicitly as the subject of the sentence. When it has no verb, the verb "is" or the previous verb is assumed. When it is already part of the verb, its use here creates emphasis on the "you" as we might say "you yourselves." It is plural.

missing "yourselves"  ---- (MW) The pronoun is used here explicitly as the subject of the sentence. Since this information is already in the verb, the sense is repetitive as we say "you yourselves." "

also -- (WW) The Greek word translated as "also" 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").

shall -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "shall" in the Greek source.

bear witness, -- "Bear witness" is the Greek verb that means "to give testimony" and "to bear witness." It has the sense of being true testimony. It is the verb form of the Greek word for "testimony" and "proof," which is the source of our word "martyr."

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

you -- This is from the second-person, plural 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.

been - The verb "been" here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition. It also equates terms or assigns characteristics. It is in the present tense.

with  -- "With" is the Greek word that usually means "with" or a related concept such as "among" or "by the means of." With genitive,  it means generally, "with," "together with," "in the midst of," "among," "between." "in common," "along with," "by the aid of," and "in conjunction with."

me - "Me" is the first-person possessive singular pronoun.  As a genitive object of a preposition, as here, it means movement away from something or a position away from something else.

from ---  The word translated as "from" means "from" in both locations and when referring to a source or a cause. It also means the instrument "by" which a thing is done and "away from."

the -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "then" in the Greek source.

beginning. -- "Beginning" is a noun that means "beginning," "origin," "first principles," "first place of power," "empire," and "command." This is the word from which we get both "archbishop," primal bishops who can consecrate other bishops, and "archeology," the study of ancient history.

EACH WORD of NIV

And you also , for you have been with me from the beginning.

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 can be translated as "not only...but also." After words implying sameness "as."

you  -- The pronoun "you" is used explicitly as the subject of the sentence. When it has no verb, the verb "is" or the previous verb is assumed. When it is already part of the verb, its use here creates emphasis on the "you" as we might say "you yourselves." It is plural.

missing "yourselves"  ---- (MW) The pronoun is used here explicitly as the subject of the sentence. Since this information is already in the verb, the sense is repetitive as we say "you yourselves." "

also -- (WW) The Greek word translated as "also" 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").

must -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "must" in the Greek source.

testify -- "Testify is the Greek verb that means "to give testimony" and "to bear witness." It has the sense of being true testimony. It is the verb form of the Greek word for "testimony" and "proof," which is the source of our word "martyr."

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

you -- This is from the second-person, plural 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.

been - The verb "been" here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition. It also equates terms or assigns characteristics. It is in the present tense.

with  -- "With" is the Greek word that usually means "with" or a related concept such as "among" or "by the means of." With genitive,  it means generally, "with," "together with," "in the midst of," "among," "between." "in common," "along with," "by the aid of," and "in conjunction with."

me - "Me" is the first-person possessive singular pronoun.  As a genitive object of a preposition, as here, it means movement away from something or a position away from something else.

from ---  The word translated as "from" means "from" in both locations and when referring to a source or a cause. It also means the instrument "by" which a thing is done and "away from."

the -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "then" in the Greek source.

beginning. -- "Beginning" is a noun that means "beginning," "origin," "first principles," "first place of power," "empire," and "command." This is the word from which we get both "archbishop," primal bishops who can consecrate other bishops, and "archeology," the study of ancient history.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

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."

ὑμεῖς [92 verses](pron 2nd pl nom) "You" is hymeis (humeis), which is the plural nominative form of the second person, "you."

δὲ [446 verses](conj) "Also" 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").

μαρτυρεῖτε, 16 verses](verb 2nd pl pres/imperf ind act) "Bear witness" is martyreo, which means "to bear witness," "to give evidence," "give a good report," "testify to," and "acknowledge the value of." It is the basis for our word "martyr."

ὅτι [332 verses](adv/conj) "Because" 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."

ἀπ᾽ [190 verses]​(prep) "From" is apo, a preposition of separation which means "from" or "away from" from when referring to place or motion, "from" or "after" when referring to time, "from" as an origin or cause. It also means the instrument "by" which a thing is done.  Usually takes the genitive object. 

ἀρχῆς [13 verses](noun sg fem gen) "Beginning" is arche, which means "beginning," "origin," "first principles," "first place of power," "empire," and "command." This is the word from which we get both "archbishop," primal bishops who can consecrate other bishops, and "archeology," the study of ancient.

μετ᾽ [103 verses](prep) "With" is meta, which means "with," "in the midst of," "among," "between," "in common," "along with," "by the aid of," "in one's dealings with," "into the middle of," "coming into," "in pursuit of," "after," "behind," "according to,"  "after," "behind,"  and "next afterward." With genitive,  it means generally, "with," "together with," "in the midst of," "among," "between." "in common," "along with," "by the aid of," and "in conjunction with." With dative, "between," "among," "in company with," with a number "complete," and "over and above." With accusative, generally, "among" and "between" as with dative, of motion, "into the middle of," "coming into or among," "in pursuit or quest of," of place, "after," "behind," of time, "after," "next to,"  of worth/rank, "next after," of ideas, "after," "according to." 

ἐμοῦ [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.-

ἐστέ[614 verses](2nd pl pres ind act) "Been"is eimi, which means "to be," "to exist," "to be the case," of circumstance and events "to happen,"  and "is possible." With the genitive object, the sense is "belongs to." It can also mean "must" with a dative. -

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