John 19:26 ...Woman, behold thy son!

Spoken to
an individual

As he is dying on the cross, Jesus still seems light-hearted.

KJV
John 19:26 ...Woman, behold thy son!
NIV

John 19:26 Woman, here is your son,”

LISTENERS HEARD

Woman, look! This son is yours.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

This is the setup line for one last bit of Jesus's word play. "Behold" is a verbal command meaning "See!" and "Look!" It is from the most common word meaning "to see" in Greek. In a humorous vein, it is also an adverbial exclamation like we use the phrase "ta-da" in a magic show, or "voila" in French which means "see there". "Look here!" or "See there!" comes closest in English. Jesus uses it both ways. It is a word that Jesus uses to lighten situations.

The word "son" is a subject without a verb. An "is" in implied, but this is not clear until the next verse. Here, Jesus appears to be referring to himself and still being alive.

MY TAKE

See me!

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page)
GREEK ORDER

Γύναι,      ἴδε        υἱός    σου:
Woman, look! This son is yours.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
2
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "son" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WF -- Wrong Form -  The "son" is not the object of the verb but the subject.
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
2
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "here" should be something more like "Look."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "son" is not shown in the English translation.
EACH WORD of KJV

Woman, -- The word translated as "woman" is  the Greek word that means "woman (as opposed to man)," "wife," "spouse," "mortal woman (as opposed to a goddess)," and "female mate (among animals)." It is closer to our "female." It is in the form of addressing someone.

behold -- "Behold" is a verbal command meaning "See!" and "Look!" It is from the most common word meaning "to see" in Greek. In a humorous vein, it is also an adverbial exclamation like we use the phrase "ta-da" in a magic show, or "voila" in French which means "see there". "Look here!" or "See there!" comes closest in English. Jesus uses it both ways.

thy -- The word translated as "thy" is the genitive form of the singular, second-person pronoun, which is most commonly the possessive form. This pronoun follows the noun so "of yours."

missing "the/this"  -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article," the," 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," and "those"). See this article for more. 

son! -- (WF)  The word translated as "son" more generally means "child" or "descendant." This is shown as the object of the verb, but it is a subject without a verb. When a subject without a verb is used, an "is" is assumed.

EACH WORD of NIV

Woman, son,”

Woman, -- The word translated as "woman" is  the Greek word that means "woman (as opposed to man)," "wife," "spouse," "mortal woman (as opposed to a goddess)," and "female mate (among animals)." It is closer to our "female." It is in the form of addressing someone.

here -- (WW)  "Here" is a verbal command meaning "See!" and "Look!" It is from the most common word meaning "to see" in Greek. In a humorous vein, it is also an adverbial exclamation like we use the phrase "ta-da" in a magic show, or "voila" in French which means "see there". "Look here!" or "See there!" comes closest in English. Jesus uses it both ways.

is -- There is no verb "is" here in the Greek source but it is implied by the noun in the form of a subject having no verb associated with it.

your -- The word translated as "thy" is the genitive form of the singular, second-person pronoun, which is most commonly the possessive form. This pronoun follows the noun so "of yours."

missing "the/this"  -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article," the," 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," and "those"). See this article for more. 

son! --  The word translated as "son" more generally means "child" or "descendant." This is shown as the object of the verb, but it is a subject without a verb. When a subject without a verb is used, an "is" is assumed.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

Γύναι, [28 verses](noun sg fem voc) "Woman" is gyne, which means "woman (as opposed to man)," "wife," "spouse," "mortal woman (as opposed to a goddess)," and "female mate (among animals)."

ἴδε [52 verses](verb 2nd sg aor imperat act ) "Behold" is idou, which means "to behold," "to see," and "to perceive." It acts as an adverbial phrase in this form meaning "Lo! Behold!" and "See there!' It is a form of the verb eido, which means "to see."

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

υἱὸς [158 verses](noun sg masc nom​) "Son" is huios, which means a "son," and more generally, a "child." It is used generally to refer to any male descendant.

σου: [144 verses](pron 2nd sg gen) "Thy" is sou is the genitive form of the second-person, singular pronoun that means "of you" and "your."

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