John 8:28 When ye have lifted up the Son of man,

Spoken to
challengers

Jesus challengers ask "Who are you?" Jesus refers them to his first statement in the debate, that he is the "light of the world."

KJV

John 8:28 When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things

NIV

John 8:28 When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.

LISTENERS HEARD

When you might lift up the son of the man, at that time, you will learn that I myself exist and I produce nothing from myself except as he taught me, the father. These things I pass on.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

Again, there is self-deprecating humor here, but Jesus resists exaggerating it. We might hear the verb "lifted up" as referring to Christ's being raised on the cross (especially when I include a picture), but that would not be how it was heard at the time. Jesus's challengers would have heard it in its metaphorical meaning, that some day they might praise and exalt him. "The son of the man" title is used here as one of honor. So Jesus is suggesting that one day they might praise him, but then he immediately denies that he is worthy of praise. 

In the phrase "I am," the "he" was added in translation. When the verb "to be" doesn't connect to characteristics or conditions, it is best translated as "exist." By using the unnecessary pronoun before the verb, however, Jesus is saying something like "I myself exist" or "I exist as myself." While this is pointed to today as one of Jesus's "I am" statements, claiming divinity, it is actually a humble statement, saying he is only himself. This is emphasized by what follows,  "and I produce nothing from myself." Notice the repetition of "myself." So Jesus is saying that he doesn't deserve to be exalted and he avoids his humorous phrasing of the "nothing" line as in John 8:15. That phrasing would have made the line mock humility instead of what it is: giving credit to his father.

The word translated as "speak" is also self-deprecating having the sense of "pass on." It is used to refer both to gossip and to the pronouncement of an oracle.

MY TAKE

Jesus didn't want the credit. He wanted to give it to his father.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
11
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "have" indicates the past perfect tense, but the tense is either the future tense or something that might happen at a specific point in time, which also indicates the future.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "man" is not shown in the English translation.
  • MW -- Missing Word  -- The pronoun repeats the information in the verb so it should be repeated in English like "I myself."
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "he" doesn't exist in the source.
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "that" doesn't exist in the source.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "of" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "but" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
  • OS -- Outdated Source -- The Greek word translated as "my" existed in the KJV Greek source but not the source we use today.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "father" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "hath" indicates the past perfect tense, but the tense is either the future tense or something that might happen at a specific point in time, which also indicates the future.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "speak" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
11
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "have" indicates the past perfect tense, but the tense is either the future tense or something that might happen at a specific point in time, which also indicates the future.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "man" is not shown in the English translation.
  • MW -- Missing Word  -- The pronoun repeats the information in the verb so it should be repeated in English like "I myself."
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "he" doesn't exist in the source.
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "that" doesn't exist in the source.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "on" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "but" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "speak" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "what" should be something more like "these things."
  • WN  - Wrong Number- The word "what" is translated as singular but the Greek word is plural, "these."
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "has" indicates the past perfect tense, but the tense is either the future tense or something that might happen at a specific point in time, which also indicates the future.
EACH WORD of KJV

When -- The Greek word translated as "when" introduces a phrase that explains a certain condition so "whenever" or "since."

ye -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.

have -- (WT) This helping verb "have" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past. This is not the tense of the verb here.

lifted -- The word translated as "shall exhalt" is from a verb that means "to lift high," "to raise up." It is a metaphor for "to elevate" and "to exalt." It is in either the future tense or the form of possibility which is indicated by a "when" or "if."  Christ uses several words to mean "lift" or "raise" up but he uses this one primarily when making a play on words.

up - This is from the prefix of the verb.

the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more. 

Son -- The word translated as "son" more generally means "child" or "descendant." The phrase "the son of man" is the common way Christ refers to himself. It is discussed in detail in this article. Its sense may be "the child of the man."

of -- This word "of"  comes from the genitive case of the following word that required the addition of a preposition in English.  The most common is the "of" of possession, but it can also mean "belonging to," "part of," "which is," "than" (in comparisons), or  "for," "concerning" or "about" with transitive verbs. 

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. 

man - The Greek word for "man" means "man," "person" and "humanity" in the singular. In the plural, it means "men," "people," and "peoples." 

then -- The Greek word for "then" means "at this time" or "then."

shall -- This helping verb "shall" indicates that the verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

ye -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.

know -- "Know" is a verb that means "to know," "to recognize," "make known," "to know carnally," and "to learn.

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

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.

missing "myself" -- (MW)  The subjective pronoun repeats the information in the verb so it should be repeated in English like "I myself."

am -- 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. The word also means "to exist" and where it doesn't connect to characteristics or conditions. -- 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."

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

and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").

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

I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.

do -- The Greek word translated as "do" has the primary meaning of "making" or producing" something or "causing" or "performing" as service. It describes a productive action.  It is not as broad a word as the English "do," which covers all actions, productive or not.

nothing -- The Greek word translated as "nothing" also means "no one," "nothing," and other negative nouns. However, to avoid the English double-negative, we translate it as its opposite "anyone" when used with another Greek negative.

of -- (CW) The word translated as "of" means "from" in both locations and when referring to a source or a cause. It also means the instrument "by" which a thing is done and "away from." This is not from the normal "of" word form.

myself; -- The Greek reflexive pronoun is translated as "myself." As a genitive object means a movement away from something or a position away from something else.

but -- (CW) 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."

as - "As" is from a Greek word that means which means "even as," "how," and, in relating to time, "as" and "when."

my  - -- (OS) There is nothing in the Greek that can be translated as "my" in the source we use today but it does exist in the source that the KJV translators used.

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 -- "Father" is the Greek noun that means "father" or any male ancestor so "forefathers." It is the word that Christ uses to address his own Father.

hath -- (WT) This helping verb "have" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past. This is not the tense of the verb here.

taught -- The Greek verb translated as "teach" means "to teach", "to instruct", and "to give a sign of." It is the root for the common word for "teacher" or "master."

me, -- "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek as the object of the verb or preposition.

I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.

speak -- (CW) The Greek word translated as "speak" is not the ordinary "to say" or "to speak" in Greek. This word means both "idle chatter," "gossip," and "the proclamations of an oracle." Jesus uses it to capture the idea of "pass on" or "relay" information because that captures both someone gossiping and an oracle does. The word is somewhat self-effacing.

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." As an adverb it can mean "therefore" and "that is why."

things  - There is no word, "things," in the Greek source, but this word comes from the neuter, plural form of the previous adjective.

EACH WORD of NIV

When -- The Greek word translated as "when" introduces a phrase that explains a certain condition so "whenever" or "since."

you -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.

have -- (WT) This helping verb "have" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past. This is not the tense of the verb here.

lifted -- The word translated as "shall exhalt" is from a verb that means "to lift high," "to raise up." It is a metaphor for "to elevate" and "to exalt." It is in the future tense. Christ uses several words to mean "lift" or "raise" up but he uses this one primarily when making a play on words.

up - This is from the prefix of the verb.

the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more. 

Son -- The word translated as "son" more generally means "child" or "descendant." The phrase "the son of man" is the common way Christ refers to himself. It is discussed in detail in this article. Its sense may be "the child of the man."

of -- This word "of"  comes from the genitive case of the following word that required the addition of a preposition in English.  The most common is the "of" of possession, but it can also mean "belonging to," "part of," "which is," "than" (in comparisons), or  "for," "concerning" or "about" with transitive verbs. 

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. 

Man - The Greek word for "man" means "man," "person" and "humanity" in the singular. In the plural, it means "men," "people," and "peoples." 

then -- The Greek word for "then" means "at this time" or "then."

you -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.

will -- This helping verb "will" indicates that the verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

know -- "Know" is a verb that means "to know," "to recognize," "make known," "to know carnally," and "to learn.

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

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.

missing "myself" -- (MW)  The subjective pronoun repeats the information in the verb so it should be repeated in English like "I myself."

am -- 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." The word also means "to exist" and where it doesn't connect to characteristics or conditions. -- 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."

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

and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").

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

I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.

do -- The Greek word translated as "do" has the primary meaning of "making" or producing" something or "causing" or "performing" as service. It describes a productive action.  It is not as broad a word as the English "do," which covers all actions, productive or not.

nothing -- The Greek word translated as "nothing" also means "no one," "nothing," and other negative nouns. However, to avoid the English double-negative, we translate it as its opposite "anyone" when used with another Greek negative.

on -- (CW) The word translated as "on" means "from" in both locations and when referring to a source or a cause. It also means the instrument "by" which a thing is done and "away from." This is not from the normal "of" word form.

my own -- The Greek reflexive pronoun is translated as "myself." As a genitive object means a movement away from something or a position away from something else.

but -- (CW) 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."

speak -- (CW) The Greek word translated as "speak" is not the ordinary "to say" or "to speak" in Greek. This word means both "idle chatter," "gossip," and "the proclamations of an oracle." Jesus uses it to capture the idea of "pass on" or "relay" information because that captures both someone gossiping and an oracle does. The word is somewhat self-effacing.

just - "As" is from a Greek word that means which means "even as," "how," and, in relating to time, "as" and "when."

what -- (CW, WN) The "what" 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." The word is plural, not singular.

the - -- The "the"  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 -- "Father" is the Greek noun that means "father" or any male ancestor so "forefathers." It is the word that Christ uses to address his own Father.

has -- (WT) This helping verb "have" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past. This is not the tense of the verb here.

taught -- The Greek verb translated as "teach" means "to teach", "to instruct", and "to give a sign of." It is the root for the common word for "teacher" or "master."

me, -- "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek as the object of the verb or preposition.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

Ὅταν ὅταν [70 verses](adv/conj) "When" is from hotan, which means "whenever (as a condition)," and "since (as a cause)."

ὑψώσητε [8 verses] (2nd pl aor subj act) "Ye have lifted up" is hypsoo, which means "to lift high," "to raise up." It is a metaphor for "to elevate" and "to exalt."

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

υἱὸν [157 verses](noun sg masc acc) "The Son" is from huios, which means a "son," and more generally, a "child." -- The word translated as "son" more generally means "child."

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

ἀνθρώπου [209 verses](noun sg masc gen) "Of man" is from anthropos, which is "man," and, in plural, "mankind." It also means "humanity" and that which is human and opposed to that which is animal or inanimate. -- The Greek word for "of man" in the singular means "person" and "humanity" and "people" and "peoples" in the plural.

τότε [53 verses](adv) "Then" is tote, which means "at that time," "when," and "then."

γνώσεσθε [62 verses] (2nd pl fut ind mid) "Shall ye know," iis ginosko which means "to learn to know," "to know by reflection or observation," and "to perceive."

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."

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.

εἰμι.[614 verses](verb 1st sg pres ind act "Am" is eimi, which means "to be," "to exist," "to be the case," of circumstance and events "to happen,"  and "is possible."  It can also mean "must" with a dative.

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."

ἀπ᾽ [190 verses]​(prep) "From" is apo, a preposition of separation which means "from" or "away from" from when referring to place or motion, "from" or "after" when referring to time, "from" as an origin or cause. It also means the instrument "by" which a thing is done.  Usually takes the genitive object.

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

ποιῶ [168 verses](verb 1st sg pres ind act) "I do" is poieo, which means "to make," "to produce," "to create," "to bring into existence," "to bring about," "to cause," "to perform," "to render," "to consider," "to prepare," "to make ready," and "to do."

οὐδὲν [69 verses](adj sg neut nom /acc) "Nothing" is oudeis which means "no one," "not one," "nothing," "naught," "good for naught," and "no matter."

ἀλλὰ [154 verses](conj) "But" is alla, which means "otherwise," "but," "still," "at least," "except," "yet," nevertheless," "rather," "moreover," and "nay."

καθὼς [36 verses] (adv) "As" is kathos, which means "even as," "how," and, in relating to time, "as" and "when." -

ἐδίδαξέν [12 verses](3rd sg aor ind act) Hath taught" is didasko, which means "to teach", "to instruct", "to indicate", "to explain," and "to give sign of."

με [49 verses](pron 1st sg masc acc) "Me" is eme, which is the objective first-person, objective, singular pronoun that means  "me."

[821 verses](article sg masc nom)  "My" 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."

ταῦτα [96 verses](adj pl neut acc) "These things" "These things" is 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."

λαλῶ. [49 verses](1st sg pres ind act) "I speak" is laleo, which means "to talk," "to speak" "to prattle," "to chat," and [for oracles] "to proclaim." It also means "chatter" as the opposite of articulate speech. However, Jesus seems to use in in the sense of "relaying" information gained from another. 

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