Spoken to:
His apostles ask Jesus to eat.
KJV:
John 4:32 I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
NIV :
John 4:32 “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
LISTENERS HEARD:
I myself meat have to eat that you yourselves have not seen.
MY TAKE:
Jesus got his energy from what cannot be seen.
GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page):
LOST IN TRANSLATION:
This verse (and the next) makes more sense if we understand that having food or meat was the era's way of saying "having a way to earn a living." Jesus is making a play on the double meaning of that word and the related word in the next verse. the double meaning becomes clearer in the next verse.
The word translated as "know," but closer in meaning to "see" or "perceive," It is in the past perfect tense. This means that the action has been completed in the past. A strange side note: Both this word translated as "meat" and the word translated as "to eat" have a sense of decay and corrosion. As we refer to rust eating away metal.
# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES:
- 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.
- WT - Wrong Tense - The English verb "know" or "see"is the present tense, but Greek is in the past perfect, a completed action, "have seen."
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "of" doesn't exist in the source.
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES:
- 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.
- WT - Wrong Tense - The English verb "know" or "see"is the present tense, but Greek is in the past perfect, a completed action, "have seen."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "nothing" is not the common word usually translated as "nothing."
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "of" doesn't exist in the source.
EACH WORD of KJV :
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.
have -- The word translated as "have" means to "have," "possess," "bear," "keep close," "have means to do," "to have due to one," or "keep" and many specific uses. This verb isn't used to form past tenses as it is in English.
meat -- This word means "meat", "pasture", "eating, "taste," and "flavor.
to -- This "to" is added because the infinitive form of the verb requires a "to" in English.
eat -- The word translated as "eat" means "eat" but it also means "fret," as we say "something is eating me up," which seems to go better with the "worry" concept earlier.
that -- The word translated as "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.
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 subjective pronoun repeats the information in the verb so it should be repeated in English like "You yourselves."
know -- (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. The verb is the past perfect tense, "have not seen.
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.
of. -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "of" in the Greek source.
EACH WORD of NIV :
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.
have -- The word translated as "have" means to "have," "possess," "bear," "keep close," "have means to do," "to have due to one," or "keep" and many specific uses. This verb isn't used to form past tenses as it is in English.
food -- This word means "meat", "pasture", "eating, "taste," and "flavor.
to -- This "to" is added because the infinitive form of the verb requires a "to" in English.
eat -- The word translated as "eat" means "eat" but it also means "fret," as we say "something is eating me up," which seems to go better with the "worry" concept earlier.
that -- The word translated as "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.
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 subjective pronoun repeats the information in the verb so it should be repeated in English like "You yourselves."
know -- (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. The verb is the past perfect tense, "have not seen.
nothing -- (CW) The Greek word translated as "nothing" is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It means "no," "not," or"no truly." This is not the word that means "nothing.
about . -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "about" in the Greek source.
COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV :
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.
βρῶσιν [6 verses](noun sg fem acc) "Meat" is from brosis, which means "meat", "pasture", "eating, "taste," and "flavor.
ἔχω [181 verses] (1st sg pres ind act) "Have" is echo, which means "to have," "to hold," "to possess," "to keep," "to have charge of," "to have due to one," "to maintain," "to hold fast," "to bear," "to carry," "to keep close," "to keep safe," and "to have means to do." In aorist, "acquire," "get,"
φαγεῖν [30 verses](verb aor inf act) "To eat" is esthio, which means "to eat," "devour," "fret," "vex," and to "take in one's mouth." It is also a metaphor for decay and erosion.
ἣν [294 verses](pron sg fem acc) "That" is hos, which means "this," "that," "he," "she," "which," "what," "who," "whosoever," "where," "for which reason," and many similar meanings.
ὑμεῖς [92 verses](pron 2nd pl nom) "You" is hymeis (humeis), which is the plural nominative form of the second person, "you."
οὐκ [269 verses](partic) "Not" is ou ( οὒ ) which is 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
οἴδατε. [38 verses] (2nd pl perf ind act) "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."