John 15:12 this is my commandment,

Spoken to
Apostles

At the Last Supper, Jesus gives his final message to the apostles.  He said that he wants his apostles' joy to be complete.

KJV

John 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

NIV

John 15:12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

LISTENERS HEARD

This is the order, this one of mine, that you care for each other even as I care for you.

MY TAKE

Caring for each other makes us happy

LOST IN TRANSLATION

When his Apostles hear the first pronoun, "this," it would seem to refer to their "joy," the previous feminine, singular noun. That "joy" would then be equated to the command to love. This completes a circle. Jesus first states this commandment to love one another in John 13:34. In John 14:15, he extends this idea to say that the way we show love for him to keep his commandments, which means, that we must love one another. In the previous verse, John 15:11, Jesus says that he has offered his teaching to complete our mutual joy. In this verse, we go back to the beginning, linking our own happiness as the reason that we must care for each other.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
6
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "my" is not shown in the English translation.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "my" is not the common word usually translated as "my."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "command" is not shown in the English translation.
  • CW - Confusing Word - This is one of two different verbs with different meanings translated as "love" so the translation confuses them.
  • 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 - This is one of two different verbs with different meanings translated as "love" so the translation confuses them.
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
6
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "my" is not shown in the English translation.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "my" is not the common word usually translated as "my."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "command" is not shown in the English translation.
  • CW - Confusing Word - This is one of two different verbs with different meanings translated as "love" so the translation confuses them.
  • 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 - This is one of two different verbs with different meanings translated as "loved" so the translation confuses them.
EACH WORD of KJV

This -- "This" is translated from a Greek adjective that means "this," "that," "the nearer." Without a noun, it has the sense of "this one" or "that one." It is in the form of a subject.

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.

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. 

my -- (CW) "My" is the first-person adjective, not the common pronoun, used in Greek to create a possessive or as the object of a preposition. Unlike the genitive pronoun used as a possessive, its case matches its noun. Perhaps "mine own" captures its best.

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. 

commandment,  -- The word translated as "commandment" has the sense of a direct "order" or "command" given by someone as opposed to a body of law or tradition in society. Jesus uses it to refer to the written Law, his lessons, and the commands given by someone in authority.

That-- The word translated as "that" is a conjunction that starts a subordinate clause  "that," "when," "in order that" or "because."

ye --   This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.

love -- (CW) The word translated as "love" expresses a lot of different ideas including "to be fond of," "to greet with affection," "to persuade," and "to be contented with." Jesus however, applies it to relationships where we have a duty to care for others: family, God, etc. Another word, also translated as "love," is used to for relationships of affectionate friendship that are more voluntary. To distinguish this word, translating it as "cares for" seems to work best. See this article on love for more information.

one another,   "One another" is a special adjective that means literally "one another."

as -- "As" is from a Greek word that means which means "even as," "how," and, in relating to time, "as" and "when."

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.

loved -- (CW) The word translated as "love" expresses a lot of different ideas including "to be fond of," "to greet with affection," "to persuade," and "to be contented with." Jesus however, applies it to relationships where we have a duty to care for others: family, God, etc. Another word, also translated as "love," is used to for relationships of affectionate friendship that are more voluntary. To distinguish this word, translating it as "cares for" seems to work best. See this article on love for more information.

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.

EACH WORD of NIV

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. 

My -- (CW) "My" is the first-person adjective, not the common pronoun, used in Greek to create a possessive or as the object of a preposition. Unlike the genitive pronoun used as a possessive, its case matches its noun. Perhaps "mine own" captures its best.

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. 

command  -- The word translated as "command" has the sense of a direct "order" or "command" given by someone as opposed to a body of law or tradition in society. Jesus uses it to refer to the written Law, his lessons, and the commands given by someone in authority.

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.

this -- "This" is translated from a Greek adjective that means "this," "that," "the nearer." Without a noun, it has the sense of "this one" or "that one." It is in the form of a subject.

missing "that"  -- The word here is usually translated as "that" or "because" but it is also used to introduce commands when it is not translated. The following verb could be translated as a command or a statement. Here, it is a command.

Love -- (CW) The word translated as "love" expresses a lot of different ideas including "to be fond of," "to greet with affection," "to persuade," and "to be contented with." Jesus however, applies it to relationships where we have a duty to care for others: family, God, etc. Another word, also translated as "love," is used to for relationships of affectionate friendship that are more voluntary. To distinguish this word, translating it as "cares for" seems to work best. See this article on love for more information.

each other --  "Each other" is a special adjective that means literally "one another."

as -- "As" is from a Greek word that means which means "even as," "how," and, in relating to time, "as" and "when."

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.

loved -- (CW) The word translated as "love" expresses a lot of different ideas including "to be fond of," "to greet with affection," "to persuade," and "to be contented with." Jesus however, applies it to relationships where we have a duty to care for others: family, God, etc. Another word, also translated as "love," is used to for relationships of affectionate friendship that are more voluntary. To distinguish this word, translating it as "cares for" seems to work best. See this article on love for more information.

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.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

αὕτη [83 verses](adj sg fem nom) "This" is houtos, which as an adjective means "this," "that," "the nearer." 

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." With the genitive object, the sense is "belongs to." It can also mean "must" with a dative.

[821 verses](article sg fem nom)  Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").  -

ἐντολὴ [23 verses](noun sg fem nom) "Commandments" is entole which means "injunction," "order," and "command."

[821 verses](article sg fem nom)  Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").  -

ἐμὴ [28 verses](adj sg fem nom) "My" is emos, which means "mine," "of me," "my," "relating to me," and "against me." The form can also be the object of a preposition, "me."

ἵνα [134 verses](adv/conj) "That" is hina, which means "in that place," "there," "where," "when,"  but when beginning a phrase "that," "in order that," "when," and "because."

ἀγαπᾶτε [32 verses](verb 2nd pl pres ind act or 2nd pl pres imperat) "Love" is agapao, which means "to be fond of," "to greet with affection," "to persuade," "to caress," "to prize," "to desire," "to be pleased with," and "to be contended with."  This love is more associated with affection in relationships where we are obligated. Jesus uses another word. Jesus uses another word, phileô, which means "to love," "to like," "to be fond of doing," and "to show affection" to express "love" in the sense of like and dislike.He never uses the word eros, which describes romantic, sexual love.

ἀλλήλους [14 verses] (adj pl masc acc) "One another" is allelon, which means "one another," "to one another," "mutually," and "reciprocally." " - -

καθὼς [36 verses] (adv) "How" is kathos, which means "even as," "how," and, in relating to time, "as" and "when."

ἠγάπησα [32 verses](1st sg aor ind act) "Have loved" is agapao, which means "to be fond of," "to greet with affection," "to persuade," "to caress," "to prize," "to desire," "to be pleased with," and "to be contended with."  This love is more associated with affection in relationships where we are obligated. Jesus uses another word. Jesus uses another word, phileô, which means "to love," "to like," "to be fond of doing," and "to show affection" to express "love" in the sense of like and dislike. He never uses the word eros, which describes romantic, sexual love.

ὑμᾶς [210 verses](pron 2nd pl acc) "You" is humas which is the plural objective form of the second-person pronoun, "you."

 

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