John 5:32 There is another that beareth witness of me;

Spoken to:

challengers

Jesus is accused of breaking the Sabbath making himself a god by calling God his Father. This verse continues the multiple references to "testimony" and "self" in the previous verse.

KJV:

John 5:32 There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.

NIV :

John 5:32 There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.

LISTENERS HEARD:

Another is the one testifying about myself, and I have seen that true is that testimony which he testifies about me.

MY TAKE:

We can only witness to what we have seen.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page):

John 5:32 ἄλλος ἐστὶν ὁ μαρτυρῶν περὶ ἐμοῦ, καὶ οἶδα ὅτι ἀληθής ἐστιν ἡ μαρτυρία ἣν μαρτυρεῖ περὶ ἐμοῦ.

LOST IN TRANSLATION:

Once more, translation hides both the meaning and humor of the verse. By changing the references to "myself" in this verse to the more grammatical English "me," the verse loses its connection to the importance of "self" in the last several verses. The repetitive references to "testimony" and "testifies" are eliminated in modern translation as redundant, but Jesus uses repetition both as humor and to emphasize his points. The sentence "True is the testimony which he testifies about me" is convoluted, but if we think about how it might be said, we can see how its meandering can be funny. Especially since the "another" and "he" are a mystery here, one that the listener is waiting for. Jesus is frustrating that expectation by delaying using repetition.

The word "see", translated here as "know" is very important. The tense of this verb is the past perfect, an act completed in the past. Though the word "see" can mean "know," the word makes more sense as "have seen." Jesus is talking more literally about seeing, which is the basis for "testimony" or "witnessing.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES:

WF - Wrong Form - The "beareth witness" is not an active verb but a participle, "testifying."
CW - Confusing Word -- The "of" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
CW - Confusing Word -- The "me" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
CW - Confusing Word -- The "know" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
WT - Wrong Tense - The English verb "know" is the present tense, but Greek is in the past perfect, a completed action, "have seen."
CW - Confusing Word -- The "witness" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
CW - Confusing Word -- The "of" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
CW - Confusing Word -- The "me" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.

# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES:

CW - Confusing Word -- The "who" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
WF - Wrong Form - The "beareth witness" is not an active verb but a participle, "testifying."
WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "in" should be something more like "about."
CW - Confusing Word -- The "my" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
IW - Inserted Word -- The word "favor" doesn't exist in the source.
CW - Confusing Word -- The "know" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
WT - Wrong Tense - The English verb "know" is the present tense, but Greek is in the past perfect, a completed action, "have seen."
WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "his" should be something more like "the."
MW - Missing Word -- The word "that" is not shown in the English translation.
MW - Missing Word -- The word "he testifies" is not shown in the English translation.
CW - Confusing Word -- The "me" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.

EACH WORD of KJV :

There -- This is from the third-person, singular form of the verb.

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. With the genitive object, the sense is "belongs to." When the verb "to be" appears early in the clause before the subject, the sense is more like "it is" or, in the plural, "there are." However, "another" is really the start of the sentence.

another -- The word translated as "another" means "another," "one besides," "of another sort," "different," "other than what is true," "as well," "besides," with numerals: "yet," "still," "further." In a series, this means "one...another."

that -- The word translated as "that" 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.

beareth witness -- (WF) "beareth witness" is the Greek verb that means "to give testimony" and "to bear witness." It has the sense of being true testimony. It is the verb form of the Greek word for "testimony" and "proof," which is the source of our word "martyr," and its funny spelling. The form of the word is not an active verb but a participle, a verb in the form of an adjective, "testifying."

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 not the common form of "of."

me , -- (CW) The Greek reflexive pronoun is translated as "me" but it should be "myself." By changing it to the more grammatical English "me," the verse loses its connection to the importance of "self" in the last several verses.

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."

I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb. Notice that the pronoun, meaning "I myself" is not used here as a subject as it has been the last two verses. This knowing is not "self" knowing.

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

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.

witness -- (CW) "Witness" is from a Greek noun that means "testimony" and "evidence." This does not mean the witness but the testimony.

which -- The word translated as "which" is a demonstrative pronoun ("this" "that"), but it often acts as a pronoun ("the one that), especially a connective pronoun ("the one that") introducing a dependent clause. This word is feminine, referring to "witness," which should be "testimony."

he -- This is from the third-person, singular form of the verb.

witnesseth -- "Witnesseth" is the Greek verb that means "to give testimony" and "to bear witness." It has the sense of being true testimony. It is the verb form of the Greek word for "testimony" and "proof," which is the source of our word "martyr," and its funny spelling.

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.

true. - The word translated as "true" primarily means "unconcealed", based on the noun form, which means "what is not hidden." It therefore means "so true," an accentuated form of true, with nothing hidden.

EACH WORD of NIV :

There -- This is from the third-person, singular form of the verb.

who -- (CW) The word translated as "that" 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.

testifies -- (WF) "Testifies " is the Greek verb that means "to give testimony" and "to bear witness." It has the sense of being true testimony. It is the verb form of the Greek word for "testimony" and "proof," which is the source of our word "martyr," and its funny spelling. The form of the word is not an active verb but a participle, a verb in the form of an adjective, "testifying."

in -- (WW) 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 not the common form of "of."

my, -- (CW) The Greek reflexive pronoun is translated as "me" but it should be "myself." By changing it to the more grammatical English "me," the verse loses its connection to the importance of "self" in the last several verses.

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

know -- (CW, WT) The word translated as "know" means primarily "to see" and is used to mean "know' as we use the word "see" to mean "know" in English. "Know" doesn't work well here because of the tense. This is not the present tense but the past perfect, so "have seen."
that-- The word translated as "that" introduces a statement of fact or cause, "for what," "because," "since," and "wherefore.

his -- (WW) The word translated as "his" 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.

testimony -- "Testimony " is from a Greek noun that means "testimony" and "evidence." This does not mean the witness but the testimony.

missing "that" -- (MW) The untranslated word "that" is a demonstrative pronoun ("this" "that"), but it often acts as a pronoun ("the one that), especially a connective pronoun ("the one that") introducing a dependent clause. This word is feminine, referring to "witness," which should be "testimony."

missing "he" -- (MW) The untranslated word is from the third-person, singular form of the verb.

missing "he testifies" -- (MW) The untranslated word "he testifies" is the Greek verb that means "to give testimony" and "to bear witness." It has the sense of being true testimony. It is the verb form of the Greek word for "testimony" and "proof," which is the source of our word "martyr," and its funny spelling.

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 not the common form of "of."

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.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV :

ἄλλος [34 verses](adj sg masc nom) "The other" is allos, which means "another," "one besides," "of another sort," "different," "other than what is true," "as well," "besides," with numerals: "yet," "still," "further," "of other sort," "other than what is," "untrue," "unreal," "other than right," "wrong," "bad," "unworthy," [with an article] "the rest," "all besides," and [in series] "one...another."

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." It can also mean "must" with a dative.

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

μαρτυρῶν[16 verses] (part sg pres act masc nom) "Beareth witness" is martyreo, which means "to bear witness," "to give evidence," "give a good report," "testify to," and "acknowledge the value of." It is the basis for our word "martyr."

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."

ἐμαυτοῦ [15 verses] (pron sg masc gen) ") "Me" is emautou, which means "of me," and "of myself".

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."

οἶδα [38 verses](1st sg perf ind act) "I know" is oida which is a form of eido (ἴδω) which means "to see," "to examine," "to perceive," "to behold," "to know how to do," "to see with the mind's eye," and "to know."

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." "

ἀληθής [7 verses](adj sg masc/fem nom) "True" is from alethes, which means "unconcealed", "so true", "not forgetting", "careful," [of persons] "truthful" "honest," [of oracles] "true" "unerring," and [as adverb] "actually" "in reality,"

ἡ [821 verses](article sg fem nom) "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").

μαρτυρία [6 verses](noun sg fem nom) "Witness" is from martyria, which means "testimony," and "evidence." -

ἣν [294 verses](pron sg fem acc) "Which - " is hos, which means "this," "that," "he," "she," "which," "what," "who," "whosoever," "where," "for which reason," and many similar meanings.

μαρτυρεῖ [16 verses](3rd sg pres ind act) "He witnesses" is martyreo, which means "to bear witness," "to give evidence," "give a good report," "testify to," and "acknowledge the value of." It is the basis for our word "martyr."

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."

ἐμαυτοῦ [15 verses] (pron sg masc gen) ") "Me" is emautou, which means "of me," and "of myself".

Wordplay:

Christ plays on the idea of witnessing ("seeing") the exposed witnessing of a hidden witness.

Related Verses:

John 5:31 If I bear witness of myself,

John 5:27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also,

Front Page Date:

Feb 28 2022