John 16:10 Of righteousness,

Spoken to: 

Apostles

After the Last Supper, after Jesus says the assistant will accuse the world of making mistakes.

KJV: 

John 16:10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;

NIV : 

John 16:10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer;

LISTENERS HEARD: 

...concerning justice, on the other hand, because I bring them to judgment into the presence of the Father, and no longer do you review me...

MY TAKE: 

Flawed justice is judged by a higher court in the future.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page): 

GREEK ORDER: 

...concerning justice, on the other hand, because, into the presence of the Father I bring them to judgment and no longer do you review me...

LOST IN TRANSLATION: 

The complete sentence structure of this series of verses is hidden because two key conjunctions, meaning "on one hand...on the other hand" are not translated in all English versions. This structure is the basis of the humor of threes used here because Jesus has two "on the other hand" conditions, in this verse and the next.

The uncommon word translated as  "righteousness" refers to the correct interpretation of the law by the judge, not the righteousness of people, so "justice" works better.  The real key to the verse, however, are the words translated as "I go" and "you see." The “go” specifically means "go away," but, it has a double meaning “to bring a person to judgment." There is also a double meaning in the uncommon verb translated as see. It means both to “view” a thing and to "review" it, in the sense of judging it.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

6
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "of" before "righteousness" is not the common word case usually translated as "of."
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "righteousness" is not the common word usually translated as "righteousness."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "on the other hand" is not shown in the English translation.
  • OS -- Outdated Source -- The Greek word translated as "my" existed in the KJV Greek source but not the source we use today.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "father" is not shown in the English translation.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "see" is not one of the common words usually translated as "see."

# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

5
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "righteousness" is not the common word usually translated as "righteousness."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "on the other hand" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "where" should be something more like "and."
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "can" doesn't exist in the source.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "see" is not one of the common words usually translated as "see."

EACH WORD of KJV : 

Of  - (CW) The Greek word translated as "of" means "around" when referring to a place, but in referring to a subject, it means "about," "concerning," "on account of," and "in regard to." This is the way Jesus usually uses it. It is not the word form usually translated as "of."

righteousness, -- (CW) This word is only used here and two verses after this. It is related to another Greek word that has almost the same meaning as another word, but that word has the sense of fulfilling social requirements, while this is fulfilling the job of a judge. This is not the Greek word usually translated as "righteousness," but a rare one referring more to the correctness of judgment.

missing "on the other hand"  -- (MW) The untranslated word "on the other hand" means "but," "however," and "on the other hand." This conjunction is connected to the previous verse by the particle providing the "on one hand" beginning of this series. That particle was not translated either.

because -- The word translated as "that" introduces a statement of fact or cause, "for what," "because," "since," and "wherefore."

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

go -- "Go" is a Greek verb that means literally "go under" or "bring under," and Jesus uses it to mean "go away" and "depart."

to -- The word translated as "to" means "towards," "by reason of (for)," "before" both in time and place, "in the presence of," "against," and several other types of "before." With verbs of seeing it specifically means "towards."

my -- (OS) There is nothing in the Greek that can be translated as "my" in the source we use today but it does exist in the source that the KJV translators used.

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. 

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.

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 can be translated as "not only...but also." After words implying sameness "as."

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

see (CW) The Greek word translated as "see" is not one of the common words Jesus uses to mean "see." It is a fancier word that has more of a sense of viewing something as a spectator. It works like our word  "view" and our word "review" in the sense of "inspect" and "judge a thing." Jesus uses it most commonly to refer to people inspecting him now but not judging him in the future. This word is the root of the English word "theater," where plays are both viewed and reviewed by critics.  Jesus uses it most commonly to refer to people viewing him now but not seeing him in the future.

me -- "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek as the object of the verb or preposition.

no more; -- "No more" is an adverb that means "no more," "no longer," "no further" and generally, "not now."

EACH WORD of NIV : 

about -  The Greek word translated as "of" means "around" when referring to a place, but in referring to a subject, it means "about," "concerning," "on account of," and "in regard to." This is the way Jesus usually uses it.

righteousness, -- (CW) This word is only used here and two verses after this. It is related to another Greek word that has almost the same meaning as another word, but that word has the sense of fulfilling social requirements, while this is fulfilling the job of a judge. This is not the Greek word usually translated as "righteousness," but a rare one referring more to the correctness of the judgment.

missing "on the other hand"  -- (MW) The untranslated word "on the other hand" means "but," "however," and "on the other hand." This conjunction is connected to the previous verse by the particle providing the "on one hand" beginning of this series. That particle was not translated either.

because -- The word translated as "that" introduces a statement of fact or cause, "for what," "because," "since," and "wherefore."

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

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 away" and "depart."

to -- The word translated as "to" means "towards," "by reason of (for)," "before" both in time and place, "in the presence of," "against," and several other types of "before." With verbs of seeing it specifically means "towards."

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. 

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.

where -- The Greek word translated as "where" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). In a series, it 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.

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

see (CW) The Greek word translated as "see" is not one of the common words Jesus uses to mean "see." It is a fancier word that has more of a sense of viewing something as a spectator. It works like our word  "view" and our word "review" in the sense of "inspect" and "judge a thing." Jesus uses it most commonly to refer to people inspecting him now but not judging him in the future. This word is the root of the English word "theater," where plays are both viewed and reviewed by critics.  Jesus uses it most commonly to refer to people viewing him now but not seeing him in the future.

me -- "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek as the object of the verb or preposition.

no longer;-- "No longer" is an adverb that means "no more," "no longer," "no further" and generally, "not now."

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV : 

περὶ [73 verses](prep)  "Of" is peri, which means "round about (Place)," "around," "about," "concerning," "on account of," "in regard to," "before," "above," "beyond," and "all around." With the genitive, "round about" of place, "for" or "about" something," with verbs of knowing, "about" and "concerning," "before or "beyond," of superiority With the dative, "round about" of clothes, "around" in holding, "for" or "about" a struggle, "on account of" and "by reason of" a cause. With the accusative, "around" in movement, caring and generally of relationships "about,"  "about" of time. As an adverb "around," "about," also, "near, by," and "exceedingly" in relationships.

δικαιοσύνης [2 verses](noun sg fem gen) "Righteousness" is from dikaiosune, which means "righteousness", "justice", "fulfillment of the law," "being in an ideal state." And the "business of a judge.

δὲ [446 verses](conj) Untranslated is de which means "but" and "on the other hand." It is the particle that joins sentences in an adversarial way but can also be an explanation of cause ("so"). With the Greek word for "if" the sense is "if...than."

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."

πρὸς [92 verses](prep)  "To" is from pros, which means "from (place)," "on the side of," "toward," "before," "in the presence of," "in the eyes of," "before (supplication, a judge, a witness)," "near" a time, "for" the moment, "proceeding from (for effects)," "dependent on," "derivable from," "agreeable," "in comparison with," "becoming," "like," "at the point of," "in addition to," "against," and "before."  It also means "dependent upon."

τὸν [821 verses](article sg masc acc)  "My" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("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. 

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

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."

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."

οὐκέτι [17 verses](adv) "no more" is ouketi, which means "no more," "no longer," "no further" and generally, "not now." 

θεωρεῖτέ [15 verses](verb 2nd pl pres ind act ) "You see"is theoreo, which means "to view," "to see", "to look at", "to gaze," "to behold," (of the mind) "to contemplate", "to consider", "to observe (as a spectator)", "to gaze", "to gape", "to inspect (troops)" "to judge a thing," and, in abstract, "to theorize" and "to speculate." It originally means literally, "to be a spectator" or "to be sent to see an oracle."  Jesus uses it most commonly to refer to people inspecting him now but not judging him in the future.

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

Related Verses: 

Possible Symbolic Meaning: 

Jesus is going,  condemned by a mistake in human justice. This flawed justice leads to Jesus bringing that justice itself to judgment before the Father. However, the Father's justice is hidden as both the Divine and the future are hidden.

Unimportant Opinions and Imaginings: 

In this previous verse, we get the first part of the statement: on one hand, people make mistakes regarding justice because Justice because Jesus goes before the Father and the Father is hidden, so we cannot see this process. This brings us naturally to the next verse, where we deal specifically with the mistakes people make in regard to judgment. However, unlike the normal translations, the Greek shows us clearly how we connect the ideas.

Front Page Date: 

Nov 24 2022