John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth

Spoken to: 

Father

After the Last Supper, Jesus prays. He just said his apostles and he are not from this world.

KJV: 

John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

NIV : 

John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

LISTENERS HEARD: 

Purify them in the truth. This logic, the one of yours is truth.

MY TAKE: 

We clean up ourselves by facing the truth of the Divine.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page): 

GREEK ORDER: 

ἁγίασον  αὐτοὺς ἐν  τῇ  ἀληθείᾳ:
Purify     them     in  the truth.

      λόγος              σὸς        ἀλήθειά ἐστιν.
This logic,  this one of yours truth.      is

LOST IN TRANSLATION: 

The word translated as "through/by" means "in." In terms of purification, this verse compares being in the truth to being washed in water. The "sanctify" here means to "purify" for dedication to the Divine.

The literal meaning of the Greek word for "truth" is "not hidden," and it means what is real as opposed to how things seem.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

5
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "through" is not the common word usually translated as "through."
  • OS -- Outdated Source -- The Greek word translated as "thy" existed in the KJV Greek source but not the source we use today.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "thy" is not shown in the English translation.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "word" is not shown in the English translation.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "word" does not capture the word's specific meaning.

# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

4
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "by" is not the common word usually translated as "through."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "your" is not shown in the English translation.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "word" is not shown in the English translation.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "word" does not capture the word's specific meaning.

EACH WORD of KJV : 

Sanctify -- The "sanctify" here means to "purify" for dedication to the Divine, "to dedicate to God" and "to sanctify" usually by burning an offering. The noun form means "a thing that creates awe." Another way to think about this word is that it describes something set apart only for God.

them -- The word translated as "them" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English in the form of an plural object of a 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. Events may show the amount of time

through "  -- (CW)  The word translated as "through" means "in," "within," "with" (an instrument), "by" (near), "by" (means of), "during" (time),  or "among"  with a dative object as the one here.   When referring to time, it means "during." It can mean "on," "at," or "by" in the sense of "near." This is not the word usually translated as "through." CW --Confusing Word -- The "through" is not the common word usually translated as "through."

thy -- (OS) The word translated as "thy" 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. 

truth: .-- The literal meaning of the Greek word for "truth" is "not hidden," and it means what is real as opposed to how things seem. Applied to people, it means "truthfulness" and "sincerity." The opposite of a lie or appearance.

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. 

thy  -  (CW) This is not the common second-person possessive pronoun, but a special pronoun used to describe things that are owned. It might be better translated as "your own." CW --Confusing Word -- The "your" does not capture the word's specific meaning.

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. 

word -- (CW) "Word" is translated from a Greek word that means "calculation," or "reasoning," but it has many, many specific meanings from "deliberation" to "narrative."  It is the source of our word "logic" and is the root word for all the English words that end in "-ology." Most biblical translations translated it as "word" for somewhat poetic reasons. However, when applied to people, it means "repute" or "reputation." More about this word in this article. In English, we would say "logic," "concept, or "reasoning" to describe it but it also means the communication of various types, so "message" often works. "Teaching" might work but it is unrelated to the common words for "to teach," "teacher," and "student" that all have the same root. 

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.

truth. .-- The literal meaning of the Greek word for "truth" is "not hidden," and it means what is real as opposed to how things seem. Applied to people, it means "truthfulness" and "sincerity." The opposite of a lie or appearance.

EACH WORD of NIV : 

Sanctify -- The "sanctify" here means to "purify" for dedication to the Divine, "to dedicate to God" and "to sanctify" usually by burning an offering. The noun form means "a thing that creates awe." Another way to think about this word is that it describes something set apart only for God.

them -- The word translated as "them" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English in the form of an plural object of a 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. Events may show the amount of time

by"  -- (CW)  The word translated as "through" means "in," "within," "with" (an instrument), "by" (near), "by" (means of), "during" (time),  or "among"  with a dative object as the one here.   When referring to time, it means "during." It can mean "on," "at," or "by" in the sense of "near." This is not the word usually translated as "by."

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. 

truth: .-- The literal meaning of the Greek word for "truth" is "not hidden," and it means what is real as opposed to how things seem. Applied to people, it means "truthfulness" and "sincerity." The opposite of a lie or appearance.

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.

your -  (CW) This is not the common second-person possessive pronoun, but a special pronoun used to describe things that are owned. It might be better translated as "your own." CW --Confusing Word -- The "your" does not capture the word's specific meaning.

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. 

word -- (CW) "Word" is translated from a Greek word that means "calculation," or "reasoning," but it has many, many specific meanings from "deliberation" to "narrative."  It is the source of our word "logic" and is the root word for all the English words that end in "-ology." Most biblical translations translated it as "word" for somewhat poetic reasons. However, when applied to people, it means "repute" or "reputation." More about this word in this article. In English, we would say "logic," "concept, or "reasoning" to describe it but it also means the communication of various types, so "message" often works. "Teaching" might work but it is unrelated to the common words for "to teach," "teacher," and "student" that all have the same root. 

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.

truth. .-- The literal meaning of the Greek word for "truth" is "not hidden," and it means what is real as opposed to how things seem. Applied to people, it means "truthfulness" and "sincerity." The opposite of a lie or appearance.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV : 

ἁγίασον [6 verses] (verb 2nd sg aor imperat act) "Sanctify" it is hagiazo, which means "to separate from profane things and dedicate to God," "to dedicate people to God," "to purify," and "to cleanse externally or internally." This may be a special form of hagizo which means "to hallow," "to dedicate," and "to make sacred," commonly by burning a sacrifice. It may also be a verb from of the noun hagos, which means "a thing that creates awe."

αὐτοὺς [62 verses](pron pl masc acc) "Them"  is autos, in the form of the plural, object, masculine pronoun "them"

ἐν [413 verses](prep) "In" is en, which means, with a dative object, "in," "on," "at," "by," "among," "within," "surrounded by," "in one's hands," "in one's power," "during,"  and "with." With the accusative, it means "into," "on," and "for." Referring to time, it means. "in the course of" or "during.

τῇ [821 verses](article sg fem dat)  "Thy" 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. 

ἀληθείᾳ[19 verses] (noun sg fem dat) "Truth" is aletheia, which means literally "the state of not being hidden," "truth," and "reality." It was also applied to "real events" and "the realization of a dream." Applied to people, it means "truthfulness" and "sincerity." The opposite of a lie or appearance.  The Greek concept of truth was that it was defined by its opposition to that which is concealed. This goes back to a daughter of Zeus, Aletheia, whose opposites were Dolos (Trickery), Apate (Deception) and the Pseudologoi (Lies).-- The literal meaning of the Greek word for "truth" is "not hidden," and it means what is real as opposed to how things seem. Applied to people, it means "truthfulness" and "sincerity." The opposite of a lie or appearance.

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

 λόγος, [80 verses](noun sg masc nom) "Word" is logos, which means "word," "computation," "relation," "explanation," "law," "rule of conduct," "continuous statement," "tradition," "discussion," "reckoning," "reputation" (when applied to people), and "value."

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

σὸς  [8 verses](adj sg masc non) "Thine" is sos, which means "thy," "thine" "of thee," or "from thee."

ἀλήθειά  [19 verses] (noun sg fem nom/acc) "Truth" is aletheia, which means literally "the state of not being hidden," "truth," and "reality." It was also applied to "real events" and "the realization of a dream." Applied to people, it means "truthfulness" and "sincerity." The opposite of a lie or appearance.  The Greek concept of truth was that it was defined by its opposition to that which is concealed. This goes back to a daughter of Zeus, Aletheia, whose opposites were Dolos (Trickery), Apate (Deception) and the Pseudologoi (Lies).

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." With the dative, it means "have" where the subject and object are reversed.

Possible Symbolic Meaning: 

"Truth" takes on the symbolism of water, the element of cleaning and, more generally, change. Truth cleans minds in the way that water cleanses the body.

Unimportant Opinions and Imaginings: 

Christ is saying that being in touch with reality is what separates his followers from the common world. The reality that they can see, and that others cannot, is that God's law is the motivating power underlying reality. We can think of this law as the "laws of nature," if we like, but when we accept them as God's laws, we are accepting that we do not and cannot understand every aspect of those laws, that is, that most of them are always hidden, as God is hidden.

This is a critical point because "the world order," as Christ describes it, pretends that people understand and can control the laws of nature. They worship "scientism" as explaining the world, make God unnecessary. However, scientism has little to do with true science, that is, the truth. As science progresses, it teaches us more about God's laws, but what it really teaches us is how much we do not know. Today, science admits that vast majority of matter and energy that make up our universe is "dark", that is, unexplained by the laws we have discovered.

Admitting the truth of our ignorance is the first step toward true science. It separates us from the world, those who want to believe that everything is known and predictable, and under human control. Most live in this delusion. God's people live in the truth.

Front Page Date: 

Dec 30 2022