John 10:37 If I do not the works of my Father

Spoken to: 

challengers

Jesus is accused of blaspheme but asks who else had been made holy by the Father and how could such a one slander what is holy.

KJV: 

John 10:37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.

NIV : 

John 10:37 Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father.

LISTENERS HEARD: 

If I don't perform my Father's tasks, don't trust me/[my words].

MY TAKE: 

If we believe in Jesus's accomplishments, we should trust his words.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page): 

LOST IN TRANSLATION: 

The Greek word translated as "do" primarily means "to make" or "to produce." It is not simply working at something but accomplishing it, producing something of value. The word translated as "believe" has the sense in Greek of trusting someone's words, that is, trusting what they say, not the religious faith that it is interpreted as now. In the Greek here, this verse conveys the strong sense that we should trust words that are validated by action, which Jesus makes in several other verses as well.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

1
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "father" is not shown in the English translation.

# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

1
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "father" is not shown in the English translation.

EACH WORD of KJV : 

If  .-- The "if" here expresses a condition but it means nothing regarding whether that condition is met or not. It also means "if ever" and "whenever." When citing a fact, as it could be here, the sense is more "since" or "as sure as."

I-- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.

do -- The Greek word translated as "to do" has the primary meaning of "making" or producing" something or "causing" or "performing" as service. It describes a productive action.  It is not as broad a word as the English "do," which covers all actions, productive or not. 

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.

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.

my -- "My" is the first-person possessive singular pronoun. This pronoun follows the noun so "of mine."

missing "the"  -- (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," "those"). See this article for more. 

Father, -- "Father" is the Greek noun that means "father" or any male ancestor so "forefathers." It is the word that Christ uses to address his own Father.

believe -- The Greek word translated as "believe" does not apply to religious belief as much but trusting or relying upon other people, especially their words. Jesus usually uses it in contexts, such as the one here, that apply to trusting words. This could be either a statement, as translated here or command as in the NIV.

me -- The "me" is in the indirect object form of the first-person pronoun, so usually "to me,""for me," and "by me."

EACH WORD of NIV : 

Do -- This English helping verb is used to create questions, commands, negative statements, and smooth word flow in translation from Greek

not. -- The negative used here is the Greek negative of a subjective opinion, commands, and requests. The sense is that "you don't want" or "think" something, not that it isn't done or thought.  When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause.

believe -- The Greek word translated as "believe" does not apply to religious belief as much but trusting or relying upon other people, especially their words. Jesus usually uses it in contexts, such as the one here, that apply to trusting words. This could be either a statement, as in the KJV, or a command, as translated here.

me -- The "me" is in the indirect object form of the first-person pronoun, so usually "to me,""for me," and "by me."

unless -- The word "unless" here is a combination of two Greek words "if not." The "if" expresses a condition but it means nothing regarding whether that condition is met or not. It also means "if ever" and "whenever." When citing a fact, as it could be here, the sense is more "since" or "as sure as." The negative used here is the Greek negative of a subjective opinion, commands, and requests. The sense is that "you don't want" or "think" something, not that it isn't done or thought.  When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause. It is appropriate both for "believe" as an opinion or if this is a command.

I-- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.

do -- The Greek word translated as "to do" has the primary meaning of "making" or producing" something or "causing" or "performing" as service. It describes a productive action.  It is not as broad a word as the English "do," which covers all actions, productive or not. 

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.

my -- "My" is the first-person possessive singular pronoun. This pronoun follows the noun so "of mine."

missing "the"  -- (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," "those"). See this article for more. 

Father, -- "Father" is the Greek noun that means "father" or any male ancestor so "forefathers." It is the word that Christ uses to address his own Father.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV : 

εἰ [90 verses](conj) "If" is ei, which is the particle used to express conditions "if" (implying nothing about its fulfillment) or indirect questions, "whether." It also means "if ever," "in case," and "whenever." In citing a fact, it can mean "as sure as" or "since."  It is combined with various conjunctions to create derivative conditions. When appearing as εἰ δὲ (literally, "if however") the sense is "if this...then that."

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.

ποιῶ [168 verses](1st sg pres ind/subj act) "I do" is poieo, which means "to make," "to produce," "to create," "to bring into existence," "to bring about," "to cause," "to perform," "to render," "to consider," "to prepare," "to make ready," and "to do."

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

πατρός [191 verses](noun sg masc gen) "The Father" is pater, which means "father," "grandfather," "author," "parent," and "forefathers."

μου [239 verses](adj sg masc gen) "Me" is from mou (emou), which means "me," and "mine." As a genitive object means movement away from something or a position away from something else.

μὴ [447 verses](conj) "Not" is me , which is the negative used in prohibitions and expressions of doubt meaning "not" and "no." As οὐ (ou) negates fact and statement; μή rejects, οὐ denies; μή is relative, οὐ absolute; μή subjective, οὐ objective. With pres. or aor. subj. used in a warning or statement of fear, "take care" It can be the conjunction "lest" or "for fear that." Used before tis with an imperative to express a will or wish for something in independent sentences and, with subjunctives, to express prohibitions.

πιστεύετέ  [69 verses](verb 2nd pl pres ind/imperative act) "Do you...believe" 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."

μοί, [96 verses](pron 1st sg masc/fem dat) "Me" is moi (emoi) , which can be the object of some prepositions and as the object of a verb means "to me" "for me," and "by me.""

Related Verses: 

Front Page Date: 

Jul 23 2022