A crowd comes to Jesus in Capernaum after eating of the loaves. The discussion is now about believing and the last day.
John 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
John 6:47 Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life.
Ameni, Ameni, I'm telling you the truth. The one believing has a life on-going.
If I trust, I am living a life that doesn't end in death.
The addition of "on me" or "in me" after "believing" is clearly the addition of 2doctrine to Jesus's words. This is no to say that Jesus didn't want people to trust him, but here he makes a broader and perhaps more important statement that is obscured intentionally in translation. This addition was made in the Latin Vulgate, but it is preserved in a number of modern translations including the supposed "literal" translations such as YLT. The NIV does fix this.
In a number of earlier verses (John 5:46, John 6:35), Jesus was saying someone "should have" or "might have" eternal life. Here, however, the verb "have" is the simple present in the form of a statement, "The one believing has a life ongoing. Notice also that this is singular. All of the "last day verse" in this section speak about the individual, not the group.
This verse starts with the catchphrase, "honestly, honestly, I am telling you." This humorous phrase often works as a light introduction to a confusing idea. To me, this is Jesus trying to simplify what he is saying so people can get it.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "he" is not the common word usually translated as "he."
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "that" doesn't exist in the source.
- WF - Wrong Form - The "believe" is not an active verb but a participle, "believing."
- OS -- Outdated Source -- The Greek word translated as "on me" existed in the KJV Greek source but not the source we use today.
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "who" doesn't exist in the source.
- WF - Wrong Form - The "believe" is not an active verb but a participle, "believing."
Verily, -- The word translated as "verily" is the Hebrew word that means "truly" or "certainly," but it sounds like the Greek word with the same meaning. In Greek, the word also means "to reap."
verily, -- The word translated as "verily" is the Hebrew word that means "truly" or "certainly," but it sounds like the Greek word with the same meaning. In Greek, the word also means "to reap."
I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.
say -- The word translated as "I tell" is the most common word that means "to say," and "to speak," but when used with an objective noun or pronoun, the sense is "say of" or "speak of." When two accusative objects are used, the sense is "say of him this," or "call him this." The form Jesus uses to describe his own speaking can be either indicative, "I say/tell" or subjunctive, "I should/could say/tell." It also has many ancillary meanings such as "to count" ("to number" or like we might say, "to recount" a story) or "to choose for yourself." Christ usually uses this word to refer to his own speaking or teaching.
unto -- This word "unto" comes from the dative case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is a "to" for the English indirect object.
you, -- The "you" here is the second-person, plural pronoun in the form of an object.
He -- (CW) The word translated as "he" 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. This is not the normal pronoun for "he."
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.
believeth -- (WF) The Greek word translated as "believe" does not apply to religious belief as much as it does trusting in other people, especially their word. Christ usually uses it in contexts, as the one here, that apply to trusting words. The negation of "belief" with the objective, instead of subjective, negative, equates trust with a fact. This is not an active verb but a participle, "believing."
on me -- (OS) There is nothing in the Greek that can be translated as "on me" in the source we use today but it does exist in the source that the KJV translators used.
hath - - The word translated as "hath" means to "have," "possess," "bear," "keep close," "have means to do," "to have due to one," or "keep" and many specific uses. This verb isn't used to form past tenses as it is in English.
everlasting -- "Everlasting" is an adjective based on the word that means "age" or "eon." It has the sense of "perpetual" or "ageless.
life. -- The word translated as "life" means "living" but it also means "substance," "existence," and "property."Jesus uses it to mean the "existence" of physical life, spirit plus body. To learn more read this article on life eternal, For more on how Christ uses this word with other words about human existence (soul, heart, spirit, body, etc.), read this article.
Very -- (WW) The word translated as "very" is the Hebrew word that means "truly" or "certainly," but it sounds like the Greek word with the same meaning. In Greek, the word also means "to reap." This is not the word meaning "very."
truly , -- The word translated as "truly" is the Hebrew word that means "truly" or "certainly," but it sounds like the Greek word with the same meaning. In Greek, the word also means "to reap."
I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.
tell -- The word translated as "I tell" is the most common word that means "to say," and "to speak," but when used with an objective noun or pronoun, the sense is "say of" or "speak of." When two accusative objects are used, the sense is "say of him this," or "call him this." The form Jesus uses to describe his own speaking can be either indicative, "I say/tell" or subjunctive, "I should/could say/tell." It also has many ancillary meanings such as "to count" ("to number" or like we might say, "to recount" a story) or "to choose for yourself." Christ usually uses this word to refer to his own speaking or teaching.
you, -- The "you" here is the second-person, plural pronoun in the form of an object.
the one -- The word translated as "he" 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 "that" in the Greek source. It was added because the next verb was translated as active rather than as a participle.
believes -- (WF) The Greek word translated as "believe" does not apply to religious belief as much as it does trusting in other people, especially their word. Christ usually uses it in contexts, as the one here, that apply to trusting words. The negation of "belief" with the objective, instead of subjective, negative, equates trust with a fact. This is not an active verb but a participle, "believing."
has - - The word translated as "has" means to "have," "possess," "bear," "keep close," "have means to do," "to have due to one," or "keep" and many specific uses. This verb isn't used to form past tenses as it is in English.
everlasting -- "Everlasting" is an adjective based on the word that means "age" or "eon." It has the sense of "perpetual" or "ageless.
life. -- The word translated as "life" means "living" but it also means "substance," "existence," and "property."Jesus uses it to mean the "existence" of physical life, spirit plus body. To learn more read this article on life eternal, For more on how Christ uses this word wit
Ἀμὴν [88 verses](exclaim) "Verily" is amen, which is the Hebrew, meaning "truly," "of a truth," and "so be it." It has no history in Greek of this meaning before the NT. However, this is also the infinitive form of the Greek verb amao, which means "to reap" or "to cut."
ἀμὴν [88 verses](exclaim) "Verily" is amen, which is the Hebrew, meaning "truly," "of a truth," and "so be it." It has no history in Greek of this meaning before the NT. However, this is also the infinitive form of the Greek verb amao, which means "to reap" or "to cut."
λέγω [264 verses](1st sg pres ind act) "I say" is lego, which means "to recount," "to tell over," "to say," "to speak," "to teach," "to mean," "boast of," "tell of," "recite," nominate," and "command." It has a secondary meaning "pick out," "choose for oneself," "pick up," "gather," "count," and "recount." A less common word that is spelled the same means "to lay," "to lay asleep" and "to lull asleep."
ὑμῖν, [289 verses](pron 2nd pl dat) "To you" is humin the plural form of su the pronoun of the second person, "you."
ὁ [821 verses](article sg masc nom) "He" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
πιστεύων [69 verses](part sg pres act masc nom) "He that believeth" is pisteuo, which means "to trust, put faith in, or rely on a person," "to believe in someone's words," "to comply," "to feel confident in a thing," and "to entrust in a thing."
ἔχει: [181 verses](3rd sg pres ind act) "Hath" is echo, which means "to have," "to hold," "to possess," "to keep," "to have charge of," "to have due to one," "to maintain," "to hold fast," "to bear," "to carry," "to keep close," "to keep safe," and "to have means to do." In aorist, "acquire," "get,"
ζωήν,[42 verses] (noun sg fem acc) "Life" is zoe, which means "living," "substance," "property," "existence," and, incidentally, "the scum on milk." It has the sense of how we say "make a living" to mean property. Homer used it more to mean the opposite of death.
αἰώνιον. [23 verses](adj sg neut acc) "Everlasting" is aionios, which means "lasting for an age," "perpetual," and "eternal." From "aion" which is used in the bible to mean an "age."