A crowd gathers in Capernaum after the miracle of the loaves and Jesus walks on water. The crowd asks for a sign to know if they can trust him pointing to Moses and manna in the desert.
John 6:32 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
John 6:32 Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.
Ameni, Ameni I am telling you. It wasn't Moses who gave you that loaf from the sky but this Father of mine gives you this loaf from the sky, the true one.
The verse starts with the standard "verily" phrase that Christ uses to lighten the mood on serious subjects. After lightening the mood, Jesus then contradicts the crowd, saying that it wasn't Moses. The negative is before Moses, negating just that word. The KJV gets the negative wrong, but this is corrected in the NIV.
However, both translations obscure the change in verb tense. The first "gave" is at some point in time, while the second "give" is the present tense. This present tense is important because it sets up the punchline, which is messed up in all English translations. The "true" is not an adjective modifying "bread." It is an adjective used as a noun, ending the verse: "that Father of mine gives you this loaf from the sky, the true one." This present tense of "gives" and the punchline, "the true one," sets up the next verse.
It is always the Father who gives and he is always giving.
- WP -- Wrongly Placed -- The word "not" doesn't appear here but before "Moses," negating just that word.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "heaven" is not shown in the English translation.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "father" is not shown in the English translation.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "true" is not shown in the English translation.
- WP -- Wrongly Placed -- The word "true" doesn't appear here but at the end of the sentence, "the true one."
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "heaven" is not shown in the English translation.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "very" is not the common word usually translated as "very."
- WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "has" indicates the past perfect tense, but the tense is something that happens at a specific point in time (past, present, or future).
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "heaven" is not shown in the English translation.
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "it is" doesn't exist in the source.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "father" is not shown in the English translation.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "true" is not shown in the English translation.
- WP -- Wrongly Placed -- The word "true" doesn't appear here but at the end of the sentence, "the true one."
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "heaven" is not shown in the English translation.
Verily, -- The word translated as "verily" is from the Hebrew word that means "truly" or "certainly," but it sounds like the Greek word with the same meaning. In Greek, the word also means "to reap." See this article discussing this "amen phrase."
verily -- The word translated as "verily" is from the Hebrew word that means "truly" or "certainly," but it sounds like the Greek word with the same meaning. In Greek, the word also means "to reap." See this article discussing this "amen phrase."
I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the following verb.
say -- The word translated as "say" is the most common word that means "to say," and "to speak," but it also means "to teach," which seems to be the way Christ uses it more frequently. It also has many ancillary meanings such as "to count" ("to number" or like we might say, "to recount" a story) or "to choose for yourself." Christ usually uses this word to refer to his own speaking or teaching.
unto -- This word "unto" comes from the dative case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English, but the translator must decide which preposition to use: a "to" as an indirect object.
you, -- The Greek pronoun "you" here is plural and in the form of an indirect object, "to you," "for you," etc.
Moses -- "Moses" is from the Greek spelling of the name for the author of the first five books of the OT. Unlike most Hebrew names, Jesus sometimes adds Greek ending to it in the form of a first-declension Greek noun. This is word negated so "It wasn't Moses..."
gave -- The verb translated as "gave" means "to give," "to grant," "to hand over," "appoint," "establish," and "to describe." It is almost always translated as some form of "give."
you -- The "you" here is from the plural, dative, second-person pronoun.
not -- (WP) 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. When it precedes other words, its force is limited to those words. Here, it precedes "Moses."
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.
bread -- The word translated as "bread" means "small loaf or cake of bread." It is more like a slice of bread today. It describes a thin 1/2 inch thick round or an oblong loaf of wheat bread, meant to be torn into pieces and not cut. It was closer to a flour tortilla or a piece of pan than a loaf of bread. "Bread" is one of Christ's most basic symbols, representing temporary physical nourishment as contrasted with permanent spiritual nourishment.
from -- The Greek preposition translated as "from" means "out of" or "from." In Greek, they use the genitive case instead of a preposition for the types of phrases the "of" phrases.
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.
heaven;-- The word translated as "heaven" means sky, the climate, and the universe. It also meant the home of the gods in a physical sense: the sun, moon, and planets were named for the gods. More about the word in this article.
but -- The Greek word translated as "but" denotes an exception or simple opposition. It is used to emphasize the contrast between things like we use "instead," "but instead,"or "rather." It is not the common word usually translated as "but." It is the Greek word "other" like we use "otherwise." Jesus often uses this conjunction to connect a negative clause, not doing something, with a positive one, "instead do this."
my -- "My" is the first-person possessive singular pronoun. This pronoun follows the noun so "of mine."
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.
Father -- The verb translated as "given" means "to give," "to grant," "to hand over," "appoint," "establish," and "to describe." It is almost always translated as some form of "give."
giveth -- The verb translated as "gives" means "to give," "to grant," "to hand over," "appoint," "establish," and "to describe." It is almost always translated as some form of "give."
you -- The "you" here is from the plural, dative, second-person pronoun.
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.
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.
true - - (WP) "True" is an adjective that means "truthful" and "trustworthy" when applied to a person, "true" and "genuine" when applied to objects and as an adverb "really" and honestly."
bread -- The word translated as "bread" means "small loaf or cake of bread." It is more like a slice of bread today. It describes a thin 1/2 inch thick round or an oblong loaf of wheat bread, meant to be torn into pieces and not cut. It was closer to a flour tortilla or a piece of pan than a loaf of bread. "Bread" is one of Christ's most basic symbols, representing temporary physical nourishment as contrasted with permanent spiritual nourishment.
from -- The Greek preposition translated as "from" means "out of" or "from." In Greek, they use the genitive case instead of a preposition for the types of phrases the "of" phrases.
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.
heaven;-- The word translated as "heaven" means sky, the climate, and the universe. It also meant the home of the gods in a physical sense: the sun, moon, and planets were named for the gods. More about the word in this article.
Very, -- (CW) The word translated as "very" is from the Hebrew word that means "truly" or "certainly," but it sounds like the Greek word with the same meaning. In Greek, the word also means "to reap." See this article discussing this "amen phrase."
Truly -- The word translated as "truly " is from the Hebrew word that means "truly" or "certainly," but it sounds like the Greek word with the same meaning. In Greek, the word also means "to reap." See this article discussing this "amen phrase."
I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the following verb.
tell -- The word translated as "say" is the most common word that means "to say," and "to speak," but it also means "to teach," which seems to be the way Christ uses it more frequently. It also has many ancillary meanings such as "to count" ("to number" or like we might say, "to recount" a story) or "to choose for yourself." Christ usually uses this word to refer to his own speaking or teaching.
you, -- The Greek pronoun "you" here is plural and in the form of an indirect object, "to you," "for you," etc.
it is 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. When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause. When it precedes other words, its force is limited to those words. Here, it precedes "Moses." This makes the "it is" verb necessary to capture this idea.
Moses -- "Moses" is from the Greek spelling of the name for the author of the first five books of the OT. Unlike most Hebrew names, Jesus sometimes adds Greek ending to it in the form of a first-declension Greek noun. This is word negated so "It wasn't Moses..."
who -- The pronoun is needed because of the negation of Moses.
has -- (WT) This helping verb "has" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past. This is not the tense of the verb here.
given -- The verb translated as "given" means "to give," "to grant," "to hand over," "appoint," "establish," and "to describe." It is almost always translated as some form of "give."
you -- The "you" here is from the plural, dative, second-person pronoun.
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.
bread -- The word translated as "bread" means "small loaf or cake of bread." It is more like a slice of bread today. It describes a thin 1/2 inch thick round or an oblong loaf of wheat bread, meant to be torn into pieces and not cut. It was closer to a flour tortilla or a piece of pan than a loaf of bread. "Bread" is one of Christ's most basic symbols, representing temporary physical nourishment as contrasted with permanent spiritual nourishment.
from -- The Greek preposition translated as "from" means "out of" or "from." In Greek, they use the genitive case instead of a preposition for the types of phrases the "of" phrases.
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.
heaven;-- The word translated as "heaven" means sky, the climate, and the universe. It also meant the home of the gods in a physical sense: the sun, moon, and planets were named for the gods. More about the word in this article.
but -- The Greek word translated as "but" denotes an exception or simple opposition. It is used to emphasize the contrast between things like we use "instead," "but instead,"or "rather." It is not the common word usually translated as "but." It is the Greek word "other" like we use "otherwise." Jesus often uses this conjunction to connect a negative clause, not doing something, with a positive one, "instead do this."
it is -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "it is" in the Greek source. This was necessary in the first clause because of the negation of Moses, but it is not needed for emphasis here.
my -- "My" is the first-person possessive singular pronoun. This pronoun follows the noun so "of mine."
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.
Father -- The verb translated as "given" means "to give," "to grant," "to hand over," "appoint," "establish," and "to describe." It is almost always translated as some form of "give."
who -- This isn't in the Greek source, but it needed here because of the added "it is" above.
gives -- The verb translated as "gives" means "to give," "to grant," "to hand over," "appoint," "establish," and "to describe." It is almost always translated as some form of "give."
you -- The "you" here is from the plural, dative, second-person pronoun.
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.
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.
true - - (WP) "True" is an adjective that means "truthful" and "trustworthy" when applied to a person, "true" and "genuine" when applied to objects and as an adverb "really" and honestly."
bread -- The word translated as "bread" means "small loaf or cake of bread." It is more like a slice of bread today. It describes a thin 1/2 inch thick round or an oblong loaf of wheat bread, meant to be torn into pieces and not cut. It was closer to a flour tortilla or a piece of pan than a loaf of bread. "Bread" is one of Christ's most basic symbols, representing temporary physical nourishment as contrasted with permanent spiritual nourishment.
from -- The Greek preposition translated as "from" means "out of" or "from." In Greek, they use the genitive case instead of a preposition for the types of phrases the "of" phrases.
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.
heaven;-- The word translated as "heaven" means sky, the climate, and the universe. It also meant the home of the gods in a physical sense: the sun, moon, and planets were named for the gods. More about the word in this article.
Ἀμὴν [88 verses](exclaim) "Verily" is amen, which is the Hebrew, meaning "truly," "of a truth," and "so be it." It has no history in Greek of this meaning before the NT. However, this is also the infinitive form of the Greek verb amao, which means "to reap" or "to cut."
ἀμὴν [88 verses](exclaim) "Verily" is amen, which is the Hebrew, meaning "truly," "of a truth," and "so be it." It has no history in Greek of this meaning before the NT. However, this is also the infinitive form of the Greek verb amao, which means "to reap" or "to cut."
λέγω [264 verses](1st sg pres ind act) "I say" is lego, which means "to recount," "to tell over," "to say," "to speak," "to teach," "to mean," "boast of," "tell of," "recite," nominate," and "command." It has a secondary meaning "pick out," "choose for oneself," "pick up," "gather," "count," and "recount." A less common word that is spelled the same means "to lay," "to lay asleep" and "to lull asleep."
ὑμῖν, [289 verses](pron 2nd pl dat) "To you" is humin the plural form of su the pronoun of the second person, "you."
οὐ [269 verses](partic) "Not" is ou , 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.
Μωυσῆς [18 verses](Hebrew Name) "Moses" is Moyses, which means "Moses."
ἔδωκεν [147 verses](3rd sg aor ind act ) "Gave" is didomi, which means "to give," "to grant," "to hand over," "appoint," "establish," and "to describe."
ὑμῖν. [299 verses](pron 2nd pl dat) "To you" is hymin (humin), which is the 2nd person plural dative pronoun. Dative is the case which indicates to whom something is given.
τὸν [821 verses](article sg masc acc) "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
ἄρτον [32 verses](noun pl masc acc)"Bread" is artos, which means specifically a "cake of whole wheat bread," and generally "loaf," and "bread."
ἐκ [121 verses] (prep) "From" is ek, which means 1) [of motion] "out of," "from," "by," "away from;" 2) [of place] "beyond," "outside of," "beyond;" 3) [of succession] "after," "from;" 4) [of rest] "on," "in," 5) [of time] "since," "from," "at," "in;" 5) [of materials] "out of," "made from;" 6) cause, instrument, or means "by."
τοῦ [821 verses](article sg masc gen) Unrtranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
οὐρανοῦ, [111 verses](noun sg masc gen) "Of Heaven" is the Greek ouranos, which means "heaven as in the vault of the sky," "heaven as the seat of the gods," "the sky," "the universe," and "the climate."
ἀλλ ᾽[154 verses](conj) "But" is alla, which means "otherwise," "but," "still," "at least," "except," "yet," nevertheless," "rather," "moreover," and "nay."
ὁ [821 verses](article sg masc nom) Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
πατὴρ [191 verses](noun sg masc nom) "The Father" is pater, which means "father," "grandfather," "author," "parent," and "forefathers."
μου [239 verses](adj sg masc gen) "Me" is from mou (emou), which means "me," and "mine." As a genitive object means movement away from something or a position away from something else.
δίδωσιν [147 verses](3rd sg pres ind act)t "Giveth" is didomi, which means "to give," "to grant," "to hand over," "appoint," "establish," and "to describe."
ὑμῖν. [299 verses](pron 2nd pl dat) "To you" is hymin (humin), which is the 2nd person plural dative pronoun. Dative is the case which indicates to whom something is given. -- The "you" here is from the plural, dative, second-person pronoun.
τὸν [821 verses](article sg masc acc) "The" 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.
ἄρτον [32 verses](noun pl masc acc)"Bread" is artos, which means specifically a "cake of whole wheat bread," and generally "loaf," and "bread." -- The word translated as "bread" means "small loaf or cake of bread." It is more like a slice of bread today. It describes a thin 1/2 inch thick round or an oblong loaf of wheat bread, meant to be torn into pieces and not cut. It was closer to a flour tortilla or a piece of pan than a loaf of bread. "Bread" is one of Christ's most basic symbols, representing temporary physical nourishment as contrasted with permanent spiritual nourishment.
ἐκ [121 verses] (prep) "From" is ek, which means 1) [of motion] "out of," "from," "by," "away from;" 2) [of place] "beyond," "outside of," "beyond;" 3) [of succession] "after," "from;" 4) [of rest] "on," "in," 5) [of time] "since," "from," "at," "in;" 5) [of materials] "out of," "made from;" 6) cause, instrument, or means "by."
τοῦ [821 verses](article sg masc gen) "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
οὐρανοῦ, [111 verses](noun sg masc gen) "Of Heaven" is the Greek ouranos, which means "heaven as in the vault of the sky," "heaven as the seat of the gods," "the sky," "the universe," and "the climate."
τὸν [821 verses](article sg masc acc) "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
ἀληθινόν [8 verses](adj sg masc acc) "True" is from alethinos, which is an adjective that means "truthful" and "trustworthy" when applied to a person, "true" and "genuine" when applied to objects and as an adverb "really" and "honestly."