At the Last Supper, Jesus comforts his Apostles.
John 14:4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
John 14:4 You know the way to the place where I am going.
And where I depart, have you seen the way?
We can see the way if we use our eyes.
The "go" in this verse is not the same verb translated as "go" in the two prior verses. The previous verb has the sense of going off somewhere to do something. Jesus usually uses the Greek verb translated as "go" here to mean "depart."
The "know" here is the word that means, literally, "have seen," but it is translated as the present tense of "know." However, the "seen" here adds a little more meaning since the verb begins the clause, making it look like a question. "Have you seen the way?" This question is consistent with the question Thomas asks in the next verse.
- 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 "go" is not the same word translated as "go" in the prior verses.
- OS -- Outdated Source -- The Greek word translated as "and" existed in the KJV Greek source but not the source we use today.
- OS -- Outdated Source -- The Greek word translated as "ye know" existed in the KJV Greek source but not the source we use today.
- IP - Inserted Phrase-- The phrase "to the place" doesn't exist in the source.
- 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 "go" is not the same word translated as "go" in the prior verses.
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."
whither -- The word translated as "whither" 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.
missing "myself" -- (MW) The subjective pronoun repeats the information in the verb so it should be repeated in English like "I myself."
go -- (CW) "Go" is a Greek verb that means literally "go under" or "bring under," and Jesus uses it to mean "go," but he often uses it to mean "go away" and "depart." This is a different word than the "go" in the last prior verses.
ye -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.
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."
and -- (OS) There is nothing in the Greek that can be translated as "and" in the source we use today but it does exist in the source that the KJV translators used.
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.
way -- "Way" is from a word meaning "the way" or "the road" but which is used symbolically to mean "a way of doing things" or "a philosophy of life." In Acts, followers of Jesus are described as those "belonging to the way."
ye know.-- (OS) There is nothing in the Greek that can be translated as "ye know" in the source we use today but it does exist in the source that the KJV translators used.
missing "and" -- (MW) The untranslated word "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."
You -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.
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."
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.
way -- "Way" is from a word meaning "the way" or "the road" but which is used symbolically to mean "a way of doing things" or "a philosophy of life." In Acts, followers of Jesus are described as those "belonging to the way."
to the place -- (IP) There is nothing that can be translated as "to the place" in the Greek source.
where -- The word translated as "whither" means "somewhere," "anywhere," "wherever," and "where."
I -- The pronoun "I" is used here. Since the subject of the sentence 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."
am -- 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.
going. -- (CW) "Going" is a Greek verb that means literally "go under" or "bring under," and Jesus uses it to mean "go," but he often uses it to mean "go away" and "depart." This is a different word than the "go" in the last prior verses.
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."
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.
ὑπάγω [47 verses](verb 1st sg pres ind act) "I go" is hypago, which means "to lead under," "to bring under," "to bring a person before judgment," "to lead on by degrees," "to take away from beneath," "to withdraw," "to go away," "to retire," "to draw off," and "off with you."
οἴδατε [38 verses](verb 2nd pl 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," "to examine," "to perceive," "to behold," "to know how to do," "to see with the mind's eye," and "to know." 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.
τὴν [821 verses](article sg fem acc) "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
ὁδόν. [27 verses](noun sg fem acc) "Way" is hodos, which means literally "way" or "road" but it also means "travel" and "journey." It is interesting that a term joining a path with philosophy exists in many languages from the west to the east.