Nicodemus comes to Jesus by night. They discuss the nature of man's origin. Nicodemus asked how anyone is able to know these things himself.
John 3:10 Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
John 3:10 You are Israel’s teacher, and do you not understand these things?
You yourself are this teacher of this Israel, and you do not learn to know these things.
Most biblical translations offer this as a question, but there is nothing in the Greek that suggests a question rather than a statement. A question would usually have the verbs first or be introduced by an interrogative pronoun. Nicodemus's question is different than most biblical translations as well. He asks how anyone is able to know these things for himself, not how are these are possible.
Jesus may be saying that the teachers of Israel do not recognize the basic concept of spiritual birth. The form of the Greek verb does not suggest they "should" or "might" know these things.
We only know what we are taught.
- 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.
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "a" should be something more like "the."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "master" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "Israel" is not shown in the English translation.
- 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.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "Israel" is not shown in the English translation.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "teacher" is not shown in the English translation.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "understand" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
Art -- The verb "art" 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. However, here it does not come before the subject.
thou -- (MW) The "thou" here is the singular, subjective, second-person pronoun. Since pronouns are not usually used for subject in Greek, its use is to accentuate the word like we would say "you yourself". This is the first word in the sentence.
a -- (WW) The word translated as "a" is not an indefinate article ("a") but the Greek definite article, "the." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more.
master - - (CW) The word translated as "master" primarily means "teacher." It was not the word that means "master" in the sense of a lord. It means master in the sense of a master of a subject.
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.
missing "the" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, 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. This is the word that gives the following word, Israel, its Greek form.
Israel, -- The word translated as "Israel" comes from Hebrew, not Greek. It is spelled in Greek letters, but without a Greek ending.
and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").
knowest - The Greek word translated as "knowest" specifically means "learning to know" or "learning by contemplation." It also means to "perceive" or, as we might say, recognize.
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."
these - The "this" is a pronoun that can mean "this" or "that," the nearer or the further depending on usage. It is often used in the neuter plural to refer to "these things."
things?- There is no word, "things," in the Greek source, but this word comes from the neuter, plural form of the previous adjective.
You -- (MW) The "thou" here is the singular, subjective, second-person pronoun. Since pronouns are not usually used for subject in Greek, its use is to accentuate the word like we would say "you yourself". This is the first word in the sentence.
are -- The verb "are" 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. However, here it does not come before the subject.
missing "the" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, 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. This is the word that gives the following word, Israel, its Greek form.
Israel, -- The word translated as "Israel" comes from Hebrew, not Greek. It is spelled in Greek letters, but without a Greek ending.
’s -- This word "'s" comes from the genitive case of the previous untranslated article.
missing "the" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, 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.
teacher, - The word translated as "teacher" primarily means "teacher." It was not the word that means "master" in the sense of a lord. It means master in the sense of a master of a subject.
and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").
you -- This is from the second-person, singular form of the verb.
do -- This helping verb is used to create questions, commands, negative statements, and smooth word flow in English, but the Greek could be either a question or a statement.
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."
understand - (CW) The Greek word translated as "understand" specifically means "learning to know" or "learning by contemplation." It also means to "perceive" or, as we might say, recognize. It does not mean "understand" as clearly as several other common Greek words.
these - The "this" is a pronoun that can mean "this" or "that," the nearer or the further depending on usage. It is often used in the neuter plural to refer to "these things."
things?- There is no word, "things," in the Greek source, but this word comes from the neuter, plural form of the previous adjective.
Σὺ [27 verses](pron 2nd sg nom) "Thou" is su which means "you" and "your."
εἶ [614 verses](2nd sg pres ind act) "Art thou" is eimi, which means "to be", "to exist", "to be the case," and "is possible." It can also mean "must" with a dative.
ὁ [821 verses](article sg masc nom) "A" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
διδάσκαλος [10 verses](noun sg masc nom) "Master" is from didaskalos) which means "teacher", "master", "trainer," and "producer."
τοῦ [821 verses](article sg masc/neut gen) Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
Ἰσραὴλ [11 verses](noun sg masc/neut gen) "Of Israel" is from Israel, which means "Israel."
καὶ [1089 verses](conj/adv) "And" is from 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."
ταῦτα [96 verses](adj pl neut acc) "These things" is from tauta, which is a referring pronoun meaning "these", "this", "that," and "here." It can mean the nearer or the further depending on usage. As an adverb it can mean "therefore" and "that is why."
οὐ[269 verses](partic) "Not" is ou which is the negative adverb for facts and statements, negating both single words and sentences. The other negative adverb, μήapplies to will and thought; οὐ denies, μή rejects; οὐ is absolute, μή relative;οὐ objective, μή subjective.
γινώσκεις [62 verses] (2nd sg pres ind act) "Knowest" is ginosko, which means "to learn to know", "to know by reflection or observation," and "to perceive."