Jesus says a man is blind from birth to enable others to see.
John 9:4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
John 9:4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.
For me, it is necessary to work the works of the one sending me as long as it is daytime. The night starts. Then no one has the power to work.
We need power to work. Our computers do too.
This is more humorous wordplay, building on the last humor of the previous verse saying that of the Divine use a blind man to help us see. This sounds like a response to someone commenting on being able to see as long as it is daytime. The verse joins that idea with wordplay built around the "works of the Divine" from the previous verse.This verse is the setup for the punchline of the following verse. Which sounds like the response to another comment.
Jesus uses two active verbs here that are translated as "helper verbs." They are translated as "must" and "can," but they actually mean "it is necessary" and "has the power." Both introduce the same infinitive meaning "to work," which is the verb from of the noun "works" from the previous verse and this verse.
The Jesus says that "the night starts." The word meaning "start" is usually translated as "come," but it primarily means "to start." It can also mean "happens" when referring to events.
The last line sets up the question that introduces the final punchline. It says "when the night starts, no one has the power to work." But obviously, people can work at night. How would people respond to this? Logically, since they didn't understand Jesus's power to heal, they would ask it he gets his power from the light of the sun.
- WF - Wrong Form - The "I" is not the subject but the object of the verb.
- OS -- Outdated Source -- The Greek word translated as "I" in singular in the KJV Greek source but plural in the one we used today.
- WF - Wrong Form - The "must" is not a helper verb but an active one, "it is necessary."
- WF - Wrong Form - The "work" is not an active verb but an infinitive, "to work."
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "him" should be something more like "the one."
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "that" doesn't exist in the source.
- WF - Wrong Form - sent"left" is not an active verb but a participle, "sending."
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "the" doesn't exist in the source.
- WF - Wrong Form - The "can" is not a helping verb but an active verb, "have power" or "have the ability."
- WF - Wrong Form - The "work" is not an active verb but an infinitive, "to work."
- WF - Wrong Form - The "We" is not the subject but the object of the verb.
- WF - Wrong Form - The "must" is not a helper verb but an active one, "it is necessary."
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "do" should be something more like "work."
- WF - Wrong Form - The "do" is not an active verb but an infinitive, "to work."
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "him" should be something more like "the one."
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "who" doesn't exist in the source.
- WF - Wrong Form - sent"left" is not an active verb but a participle, "sending."
- WF - Wrong Form - The "can" is not a helping verb but an active verb, "have power" or "have the ability."
- WF - Wrong Form - The "work" is not an active verb but an infinitive, "to work."
I- - (WF, OS) "I" is the 1st person, plural, accusative pronoun. Jesus only uses this pronoun in seven verses this pronoun seven times, most often in the Lord's Prayer. In the KJV source, this word was "me" not "us." The KJV source was a singular pronoun, but it too was an object of the verb, not the subject of the sentence.
must -- (WF) The Greek verb translated as "must" is a special verb that means "it is needful," and "there is a need." It is always singular, 3rd person. It can also mean "to lack." It works something like our word "must" but its form is fixed. It works something like our word "must" but its form is fixed. It means "it is necessary" or "it is needed." It usually takes an infinitive verb as its object. It is not a helper verb but the active verb in the sentence.
work - (WF) Jesus uses a very businesslike term that means "to labor," "to trade," "to do business," "to earn by working," and "to acquire." It is from the same root as the word translated as "works" or "deeds." It means "work," "do," or "make," but it is not the common word Christ uses frequently, but a more sophisticated word he uses less commonly.It is in the middle voice and an infinitive. The form is where the subject acts on himself, so "to work yourself."
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.
works -- The Greek word translated as "works" means "deeds," "actions," and "things" in the sense of "every thing."
of -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession.
him -- (WW) The word translated as "him" 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.
that -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "that" in the Greek source. It was added because the next verb was translated as active rather than as a participle.
sent -- (WF) "Sent" is from a Greek verb that means "send," "send forth," "send away," "conduct," and "escort." This is the second most common word Jesus uses that is translated as "send out," but this one doesn't have the prefix that has the sense of "out." It is not an active verb, but a participle introduced by an article, "the one sending."
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.
while -- The word translated as "until" means "until" but it also means "till," "while," "as long as," "in order that."
it -- This is from the third-person, singular form of the verb.
is -- The verb "is" 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.
day: -- The Greek word translated as "day" also means "time," in general, and refers specifically to the "daytime."
the -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "the" in the Greek source.
night -- "Nights" is the noun that means "night," "midnight," and is a metaphor for darkness. --
cometh, -- 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.
when - "When" is from an adverb/conjunction that means "when," "as when," "at the time when," and "sometimes."
no man - The Greek adjective translated as "no man" also means "no one," "nothing," and other negative ideas. It is used by Jesus more like a negative pronoun than an adjective. However, to avoid the English double-negative, we translate it as its opposite "anyone" when used with another Greek negative.
can -- (CW) 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.
work. - (WF) Jesus uses a very businesslike term that means "to labor," "to trade," "to do business," "to earn by working," and "to acquire." It is from the same root as the word translated as "works" or "deeds." It is in the middle voice and an infinitive. The form is where the subject acts on himself, so "to work yourself."
As long as -- The word translated as "as long as" means "until" but it also means "till," "while," "as long as," "in order that." With the particle of possibility and the subjunctive form of the verb, the sense is until some unknown time.
it -- This is from the third-person, singular form of the verb.
is -- The verb "is" 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.
day: -- The Greek word translated as "day" also means "time," in general, and refers specifically to the "daytime."
we - - (WF) "We" is the 1st person, plural, accusative pronoun. Jesus only uses this pronoun in seven verses this pronoun seven times, most often in the Lord's Prayer. It is not the subject of the verb but the object.
must -- (WF) The Greek verb translated as "must" is a special verb that means "it is needful," and "there is a need." It is always singular, 3rd person. It can also mean "to lack." It works something like our word "must" but its form is fixed. It works something like our word "must" but its form is fixed. It means "it is necessary" or "it is needed." It usually takes an infinitive verb as its object. It is not a helper verb but the active verb in the sentence.
do - (WW, WF) Jesus uses a very businesslike term that means "to labor," "to trade," "to do business," "to earn by working," and "to acquire." It is from the same root as the word translated as "works" or "deeds." It means "work," "do," or "make," but it is not the common word Christ uses that is always translated as "do," but a more sophisticated word he uses less commonly. It is in the middle voice and an infinitive. The form is where the subject acts on himself, so "to work yourself."
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.
works -- The Greek word translated as "works" means "deeds," "actions," and "things" in the sense of "every thing."
of -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession.
him -- (WW) The word translated as "him" 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.
who -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "who" in the Greek source. It was added because the next verb was translated as active rather than as a participle.
sent -- (WF) "Sent" is from a Greek verb that means "send," "send forth," "send away," "conduct," and "escort." This is the second most common word Jesus uses that is translated as "send out," but this one doesn't have the prefix that has the sense of "out." It is not an active verb, but a participle introduced by an article, "the one sending."
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.
Night -- "Nights" is the noun that means "night," "midnight," and is a metaphor for darkness. --
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.
coming,, -- 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.
when - "When" is from an adverb/conjunction that means "when," "as when," "at the time when," and "sometimes."
no one- The Greek adjective translated as "no one" also means "no one," "nothing," and other negative ideas. It is used by Jesus more like a negative pronoun than an adjective. However, to avoid the English double-negative, we translate it as its opposite "anyone" when used with another Greek negative.
can -- (CW) 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.
work. - (WF) Jesus uses a very businesslike term that means "to labor," "to trade," "to do business," "to earn by working," and "to acquire." It is from the same root as the word translated as "works" or "deeds." It is in the middle voice and an infinitive. The form is where the subject acts on himself, so "to work yourself."
ἡμᾶς [7 verse](pron 1st pl masc/fem acc) "I" is hemas, which is "us," the 1st person, plural, accusative pronoun.
δεῖ [28 verses](verb 3rd sg imperf ind act) "Must" is dei, which means "needful," and "there is need."
ἐργάζεσθαι [8 verses](pres inf mp) "Work" is ergazomai, which means to "work at," "make," "do," "perform," "work [a material]," "earn by working," work at a trade or business," " traffic," and "trade."
τὰ[821 verses](article pl neut acc) "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
ἔργα [31 verses] (noun pl neut acc) "Works" is ergon, which means "works," "tasks," "deeds," "actions," "thing," and "matter."
τοῦ [821 verses](article sg masc gen) "Of him" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
πέμψαντός [39 verses](part sg aor act masc gen) "That sent" is pempo, which means "send," "send forth," "send away," "conduct," and "escort."
με [49 verses](pron 1st sg masc acc) "Me" is eme, which is the objective first-person, objective, singular pronoun that means "me."
ἕως [63 verses](conj) "While" is heos which means "until," "till," "while," "as long as," and "in order that" and "up to the point that."
ἡμέρα [96 verses](noun sg fem nom) "Days" is hemera, which, as a noun, means "day" "a state or time of life," "a time (poetic)," "day break" and "day time." It is also and also has a second meaning, of "quiet," "tame (animals)," "cultivated (crops)," and "civilized (people)."
ἐστίν.[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."
ἔρχεται [198 verses](3rd pl pres ind mp) "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.
νὺξ [11 verses] (noun sg fem nom) "Night" is from nyx, which means "night," "midnight," and is a metaphor for darkness.
ὅτε [19 verses](adv/conj) "When" is hote, which means "when," "as when," "at the time when," and "sometimes."
οὐδεὶς [69 verses](adj sg masc nom) "No man" is oudeis which means "no one," "not one," "nothing," "naught," "good for naught," and "no matter." -
δύναται [61 verses](3rd sg 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."
ἐργάζεσθαι. [8 verses](pres inf mp) "Work" is ergazomai, which means to "work at," "make," "do," "perform," "work [a material]," "earn by working," work at a trade or business," " traffic," and "trade."