John 7:34 Ye shall seek me,

Spoken to
challengers

Priests send officers to take Jesus.

KJV

John 7:34 Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am,thither ye cannot come.

NIV

John 7:34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”

LISTENERS HEARD

You will seek me and you will not  discover me and where I am, I myself,  you yourselves don't have the power to show up.

MY TAKE

There are some powers that we must be given rather than develop ourselves.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

The verb translated as "can" means "have the power" or "have the ability." The issue is one of ability, not one of permission or possibility that our verb "can" can mean. The "I" in "I am" is emphasized by repeating the pronoun after the verb which already indicates the first person, "I am, I myself." Immediately afterward is the pronoun subject, "you," which emphasizes it before the verb, "you yourselves do not have the ability." 

Jesus will refer to this statement later in verse John 13:33 and again in John 13:36. In those verses, he will direct it to his heralds.

  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "myself" is not shown in the English translation.
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "thither" doesn't exist in the source.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "yourselves" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "can" is not a helping verb but an active verb, "have power" or "have the ability."
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "come" is not an active verb but an infinitive, "to come."
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
5
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "but" should be something more like "and."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "myself" is not shown in the English translation.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "yourselves" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "can" is not a helping verb but an active verb, "have power" or "have the ability."
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "come" is not an active verb but an infinitive, "to come."
EACH WORD of KJV

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

shall -- This helping verb "shall" indicates that the verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

seek -- The Greek verb translated as "seek" has a variety of meanings around the idea of "searching" and "desiring." It has a sense of seeking with a specific aim. 

me, -- "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek as the object of the verb or preposition.

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."

shall -- This helping verb "shall" indicates that the verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

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.

find -- The term used for "find" is the source of our word, "heuristic," meaning enabling a person to find out something for themselves. It means "find out" and "discover."

me: -- "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek as the object of the verb or preposition.

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."

where -- The word translated as "where"  means "somewhere," "anywhere," "wherever," and "where."

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.

am,-- The verb "am" 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. With the genitive object, the sense is "belongs to."

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

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

ye -- The pronoun "you" is used explicitly as the subject of the sentence. Since 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 subjective pronoun repeats the information in the verb so it should be repeated in English like "you yourselves."

can- - (WF) The word translated as "can" means having the power or possibly a desire to accomplish something. Often, in English, "can" is a helper verb, indicating a possibility. In Greek, it indicates ability or power. This is the active verb here, not a helper verb. It takes an infinitive as "have the ability" does in English.

-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.

come. -- (WF) The word translated as "come" primarily means "to start out" but Christ usually uses it to mean "come" but not always. It indicates movement, especially its beginning, without indicating a direction toward or away from anything, so it works either as "start," "come," or "go," but it is more like our phrase "being underway." Our English word "show up"captures both the "start" and "come" ideas. See this article for more. It is an infinitive, not an active verb, "to show up."

EACH WORD of NIV

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

will -- This helping verb "will " indicates that the verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

look for -- The Greek verb translated as "look for " has a variety of meanings around the idea of "searching" and "desiring." It has a sense of seeking with a specific aim. 

me, -- "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek as the object of the verb or preposition.

but -- (WW) The Greek word translated as "but" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").

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

will -- This helping verb "will " indicates that the verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

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.

find -- The term used for "find" is the source of our word, "heuristic," meaning enabling a person to find out something for themselves. It means "find out" and "discover."

me: -- "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek as the object of the verb or preposition.

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."

where -- The word translated as "where"  means "somewhere," "anywhere," "wherever," and "where."

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.

am,-- The verb "am" 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. With the genitive object, the sense is "belongs to."

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

you -- The pronoun "you" is used explicitly as the subject of the sentence. Since 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 subjective pronoun repeats the information in the verb so it should be repeated in English like "you yourselves."

can- - (WF) The word translated as "can" means having the power or possibly a desire to accomplish something. Often, in English, "can" is a helper verb, indicating a possibility. In Greek, it indicates ability or power. This is the active verb here, not a helper verb. It takes an infinitive as "have the ability" does in English.

-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.

come. -- (WF) The word translated as "come" primarily means "to start out" but Christ usually uses it to mean "come" but not always. It indicates movement, especially its beginning, without indicating a direction toward or away from anything, so it works either as "start," "come," or "go," but it is more like our phrase "being underway." Our English word "show up"captures both the "start" and "come" ideas. See this article for more. It is an infinitive, not an active verb, "to show up."

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

ζητήσετέ [36 verses](2nd pl fut ind act) "You shall seek" is zeteo, which means "inquire for," "search for," "seek after," "desire," and "feel the want of."

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

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."

οὐχ [269 verses](partic) "Not" is ou , the negative adverb for facts and statements, negating both single words and sentences.  The other negative adverb, μή applies to will and thought; οὐ denies, μή rejects; οὐ is absolute, μή relative; οὐ objective, μή subjective.

εὑρήσετέ [43 verses] (2nd pl fut ind act) "Shall...find"is heurisko, which means "to find," "to find out," "to discover," "to devise," "to invent," "to get," and "to gain."

με [49 verses](pron 1st sg masc acc) "Me" is eme, which is the objective first-person, objective, singular pronoun that means  "me."-- "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek as the object of the verb or preposition.

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."

 ὅπου [32 verses] (adv/conj) "Where" is hopou, which means "somewhere," "anywhere," "wherever," and "where."

εἰμὶ [614 verses](3rd sg pres ind act) "Is" 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.

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.

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

οὐ [269 verses](partic) "Not" is ou , the negative adverb for facts and statements, negating both single words and sentences.  The other negative adverb, μή applies to will and thought; οὐ denies, μή rejects; οὐ is absolute, μή relative; οὐ objective, μή subjective.

δύνασθε [61 verses] (2nd pl pres ind mp) "Can" is the verb, dynamai, which means "to have power by virtue of your own capabilities," "to be able," and "to be strong enough."

ἐλθεῖν. [198 verses](aor inf act ) "Come"is  erchomai, which means "to start," "to set out," "to come," "to go," and any kind of motion. It means both "to go" on a journey and "to arrive" at a place.

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