John 13:33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you.

Spoken to: 

Apostles

At the Last Supper, Jesus begins telling his apostles what the future holds.

KJV: 

John 13:33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.

NIV : 

John 13:33 My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

LISTENERS HEARD: 

Children, still little I am with you. You shall seek me and as I told those Judeans that where I myself depart, you yourselves have no power to show up, and I say to you now.

MY TAKE: 

The future is about acquiring new abilities.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page): 

LOST IN TRANSLATION: 

The word translated as "can" is not a helper verb, but the active verb in the clause. It means "having a power or ability" (see this article). In this case, it means "having no power to show up where Jesus is going." This means that the ability to travel to certain places is only granted after death. These abilities are accentuated by Jesus's use of "I myself" before "go" and "your yourself" before "not having the ability." These power are personal abilities, which is how this verb is often used.  The final "now" is the punchline, suggesting that they will gain that power.

The final clause, "and I say to you" seems more like an introduction to the next verse rather than the end of this one.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

9
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "little" before "children" doesn't exist in the source.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "that" is not shown in the English translation.
  • MW -- Missing Word  -- The pronoun repeats the information in the verb so it should be repeated in English like "I myself."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "yourselves" is not shown in the English translation, but it is needed to capture the pronoun as well as the form of the verb.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "can" is not a helper verb, but the active verb in the sentence.
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "come" is not an active verb but an infinitive, "to come."
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "so" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "now" is not the common word usually translated as "now."
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "say" is not the same word translated as "say" earlier.

# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

11
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "my" before "children" doesn't exist in the source.
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "will" indicates the future tense, but that is not the tense here.
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "only" should be something more like "yet."
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "so" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "tell" is not the same word translated as "told" earlier.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "now" is not the common word usually translated as "now."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "that" is not shown in the English translation.
  • MW -- Missing Word  -- The pronoun repeats the information in the verb so it should be repeated in English like "I myself."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "yourselves" is not shown in the English translation, but it is needed to capture the pronoun as well as the form of the verb.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "can" is not a helper verb, but the active verb in the sentence.
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "come" is not an active verb but an infinitive, "to come."

EACH WORD of KJV : 

Little -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "little" in the Greek source. It was added because the previous verb was translated as active rather than a participle. Interestingly, the word translated as "a little while" does mean "little" and can be "little ones" but it doesn't modify this "children" because it is singular not plural.

children, -- The word translated as "children" means "child" but in the most general sense of "offspring." Christ does not use it to refer specifically to children under seven, which is another term. See this article more about these words for "child."

yet -- Yet" is an adverb that means "yet" and "still", "already",  "longer", "no longer" (with a negative), "still" and "besides".

a -- There is no indefinite article in Greek, but when a noun doesn't have a definite article, the indefinite article can be added in English translation.

little while  - "Little while" is a word that means "small" and "little" applied to anything, size, power, age, quantity, rank, or influence. Christ usually uses its more masculine form to refer to children, this form to refer to small things.

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

am -- The verb "am" 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. In this case it connected to the preposition phrase.

with -- "With" is the Greek word that usually means "with" or a related concept such as "among" or "by the means of."

you. -- The word translated as "your" is a plural, second-person pronoun in the genitive case. This pronoun follows the noun so the possessive "of yours." Here, it is the object of the previous preposition. As an object of a preposition, the genitive indicates movement away or a position away from something.

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

shall -- This helping verb "shall" indicates that the verb is the future tense or a form that indicates possibility at some time. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

seek -- The Greek verb translated as "seek" has a variety of meanings around the idea of "searching" and "desiring." It has a sense of seeking with a specific aim. 

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.

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."

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.

said - The word translated as "said" means "to say" and "to speak." It is one of the two most common words translated "speak," "say" and "tell," but it has more a sense of addressing and proclaiming.

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.

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. 

Jews, - "Jews" is from a Greek word meaning Jew. It is also the future particple of a verb meaning "to side with."

missing "that"  -- (MW) The untranslated word "that" introduces a statement of fact or cause, "for what," "because," "since," and "wherefore."

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, -- "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."

ye -- The pronoun "you" is used explicitly as the subject of the sentence. Since it is already part of the verb, its use here creates emphasis on the "you" as we might say "you yourselves." It is plural.

missing "yourselves"  ---- (MW) The pronoun is used here explicitly as the subject of the sentence. Since this information is already in the verb, the sense is repetitive as we say "you yourselves."

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.

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. 

come; -- (WF)  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. This is an infinitive, not an active verb.

so -- (CW) The Greek word translated as "so" 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."

now -- (CW) The Greek word translated as "now" means "just" or "exactly and "now" in the sense of "just now" when applied to time. It is not the common adverb usually translated as "now" but one that means "just now" or "as yet" implying a change in the future.

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

say-- (CW) The word translated as "say" is the most common word that means "to say," "to tell," 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." This is a different word that the "say" above.

to -- This word "to" 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 from the plural, dative, second-person pronoun.

EACH WORD of NIV : 

My-- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "my" in the Greek source.

children, -- The word translated as "children" means "child" but in the most general sense of "offspring." Christ does not use it to refer specifically to children under seven, which is another term. See this article more about these words for "child."

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

will  -- (WT) This helping verb "will" indicates the future tense, but the verb is not the future.

am -- 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. In this case it connected to the preposition phrase.

with -- "With" is the Greek word that usually means "with" or a related concept such as "among" or "by the means of."

you. -- The word translated as "your" is a plural, second-person pronoun in the genitive case. This pronoun follows the noun so the possessive "of yours." Here, it is the object of the previous preposition. As an object of a preposition, the genitive indicates movement away or a position away from something.

only -- (WW) "Now" is an adverb that means "yet" and "still", "already",  "longer", "no longer" (with a negative), "still" and "besides".

a -- There is no indefinite article in Greek, but when a noun doesn't have a definite article, the indefinite article can be added in English translation.

little longer - "Little longer" is a word that means "small" and "little" applied to anything, size, power, age, quantity, rank, or influence. Christ usually uses its more masculine form to refer to children, this form to refer to small things.

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

will -- This helping verb "will " indicates that the verb is the future tense or a form that indicates possibility at some time. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

look for -- The Greek verb translated as "look for" has a variety of meanings around the idea of "searching" and "desiring." It has a sense of seeking with a specific aim. 

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.

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."

just 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.

told - The word translated as "told" means "to say" and "to speak." It is one of the two most common words translated "speak," "say" and "tell," but it has more a sense of addressing and proclaiming.

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. 

Jews, - "Jews" is from a Greek word meaning Jew. It is also the future participle of a verb meaning "to side with."

so -- (CW) The Greek word translated as "so" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add

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

tell -- (CW) The word translated as "tell" is the most common word that means "to say," "to tell," 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." This is a different word that the "say" above.

you. --  The "you" here is from the plural, dative, second-person pronoun.

now -- (CW) The Greek word translated as "now" means "just" or "exactly and "now" in the sense of "just now" when applied to time. It is not the common adverb usually translated as "now" but one that means "just now" or "as yet" implying a change in the future.

missing "that"  -- (MW) The untranslated word "that" introduces a statement of fact or cause, "for what," "because," "since," and "wherefore."

Where -- 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."

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, -- "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."

you -- The pronoun "you" is used explicitly as the subject of the sentence. Since it is already part of the verb, its use here creates emphasis on the "you" as we might say "you yourselves." It is plural.

missing "yourselves"  ---- (MW) The pronoun is used here explicitly as the subject of the sentence. Since this information is already in the verb, the sense is repetitive as we say "you yourselves."

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.

-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. 

come; -- (WF)  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. This is an infinitive, not an active verb.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV : 

Τεκνία, [25 verses](noun pl neut voc) "Child" is teknon, which means "that which is born," "child," and "the young."

ἔτι [18 verses](adv) "Yet" is eti, which means "yet" and "still" (with the Present), "already" (with the Past), "yet" and "longer" (with the Future), "no longer" (with a negative), and"still" and "besides" (of degree).

μικρὸν [18 verses](adj sg neut nom/acc) "Little while" is mikros which means "small," "little," and "young." In the NT, this form of this word, mikron, the singular neuter nom/acc, is used to mean "small things," "small times," small places," "small age," and "small influence." It is one of several words Christ uses to refer to children (see this article). 

μεθ᾽ [103 verses](prep) "With" is meta, which means "with," "in the midst of," "among," "between," "in common," "along with," "by the aid of," "in one's dealings with," "into the middle of," "coming into," "in pursuit of," "after," "behind," "according to,"  "after," "behind,"  and "next afterward." With genitive,  it means generally, "with," "together with," "in the midst of," "among," "between." "in common," "along with," "by the aid of," and "in conjunction with." With dative, "between," "among," "in company with," with a number "complete," and "over and above." With accusative, generally, "among" and "between" as with dative, of motion, "into the middle of," "coming into or among," "in pursuit or quest of," of place, "after," "behind," of time, "after," "next to,"  of worth/rank, "next after," of ideas, "after," "according to." 

ὑμῶν [168 verses](pron 2nd pl gen) "You" is humon, the plural possessive form of su the pronoun of the second person, "you." It is either a possessive pronoun or the object of a preposition.

εἰμί: [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.

ζητήσετέ [36 verses](verb 2nd pl fut ind act or verb 2nd pl aor subj) "Ye shall seek" is zeteo, which means "inquire for," "search for," "seek after," "desire," and "feel the want of."

με,[49 verses](pron 1st sg masc acc) "Me" is eme, which is the objective first-person, objective, singular pronoun that means  "me."

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."

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

εἶπον [162 verses] (verb 1st sg aor ind act) "I said" is eipon, which means "to speak," "to say," "to recite," "to address," "to mention," "to name," "to proclaim," "to plead," "to promise," and "to offer." 

τοῖς [821 verses](article pl masc dat)  "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). 

Ἰουδαίοις [3 verses](noun pl masc gen) "Jews" is from Ioudaios, which means "Jew."

ὅτι [332 verses](adv/conj) "That" is hoti, which introduces a statement of fact "with regard to the fact that," "seeing that," and acts as a causal adverb meaning "for what," "because," "since," and "wherefore."

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."

ὑμεῖς [92 verses](pron 2nd pl nom) "You" is hymeis (humeis), which is the plural nominative form of the second person, "you."

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.

δύνασθε [61 verses](verb 2nd pl 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."

ἐλθεῖν, [198 verses](verb aor inf act ) To 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.

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."

ὑμῖν. [299 verses](pron 2nd pl dat) "To you" is hymin (humin), which is the 2nd person plural dative pronoun. Dative is the case which indicates to whom something is given.

λέγω [264 verses](verb 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." When used with an object is has the sense of "call by name."  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."

ἄρτι [13 verses](adv) "Now" is arti, which means "just," "exactly," and "just now."

Wordplay: 

Christ seldom uses the pronoun for "I" (ego, ἐγὼ) because the first person is part of the verb. The exception is when unless he can put it with a word like lego (I say) with which it rhymes. Here he does the same thing except the word that it proceeds is hypago (I go) and, interestingly, lego appears a little later without ego. 

Front Page Date: 

Sep 16 2022