Jesus is asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God shall come.
The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
“The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed,
No, it doesn't show up, this realm of the Divine, with observation.
The verse begins with a negative, which is common when Jesus answers a question negatively.
Though he is asked "when", Jesus provides an answer that speaks more to activities than time. The punchline, at the end, is word is used no where else, not only in Jesus's words, but in the Bible, either NT or the Greek OT. It means "observant" both in the sense of watching for something and observing or obeying the rules. The Pharisees were all about close observation of Judaic Law.
We cannot watch what we cannot see.
The kingdom of (MW) God cometh not with observation:
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "God" is not shown in the English translation.
“The(IW) coming(WF) of(IW) the kingdom of (MW) God is(IW) not [something that can be(IP)] (MW) observed(WF)
- IW - Inserted Word-- The "the" doesn't exist in the source.
- WF -- Wrong Form - This is not a participle, a verbal adjective used as a noun, but an active verb, "comes”.
- IW - Inserted Word-- The "of" doesn't exist in the source.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "God" is not shown in the English translation.
- IW - Inserted Word-- The "is" doesn't exist in the source.
- IP - Inserted Phrase-- The "something that can be" doesn't exist in the source.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "with" after "be" is not shown in the English translation.
- WF -- Wrong Form - This is "observed" not a verb but an noun.
The -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, "the”, which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this”, "that”, "these”, "those") than the English "the”. See this article for more.
kingdom -- The word translated as "kingdom" can be the region, the reign, the castle or the authority of a ruler. Christ does not seem to use it to mean a physical region, so its translation as "reign" or "realm" seems more appropriate. This is especially true because the "reign" of a king means the execution of his will.
of -- This word "of" comes from the possessive form (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/this" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article," the”, which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this”, "that”, "these”, and "those"). See this article for more.
God -- The word translated as "God" means "God" and "deity”. When used by Jesus and in the Septuagint to mean "God”, it is introduced with an article, so "the God", "the Divine" or "the divine one”. The definite article identifies it as specific. When a definite article does not introduce it, it refers more generally to "divinity”, the nature of God.
cometh -- The word translated as "come" primarily means "to start out" but Jesus usually uses it to mean "come" but not always. It indicates movement, especially its beginning, without indicating a direction toward or away from anything, so it works either as "start", "come" or "go”, but it is more like our phrase "being underway”. Technically, it is in the middle voice meaning the subject acts on himself. In English, this is assumed in our words "come" and "go”. Our English word "show up" captures both the "start" and "come" ideas. See this article for more.
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.
with -- "With" is the Greek word that usually means "with" or a related concept such as "among" or "by the means of”. It also refers to "after" or "behind" when referring to a place, time, or pursuit.
observation: -- The Greek noun means "observation" in many senses from "surveillance" to "scrupulous observation of rules" to a spoken obervation as a "remark". The word means literally "watching over" or "guarding over". This is a classic play on words, critical of the Pharisees for their punctilious observation of Judean law and criticism of other people. Our word "scrutiny" captures the idea best. “among" or "by the means of". It also refers to "after" or "behind" when referring to a place, time, or pursuit.
“The -- (IW) This word is not in the Greek source.
coming -- (WF)The word translated as "come" primarily means "to start out" but Jesus usually uses it to mean "come" but not always. It indicates movement, especially its beginning, without indicating a direction toward or away from anything, so it works either as "start”, "come” or "go”, but it is more like our phrase "being underway”. Technically, it is in the middle voice meaning the subject acts on himself. In English, this is assumed in our words "come" and "go”. Our English word "show up" captures both the "start" and "come" ideas. See this article for more. This is not a participle, a verbal adjective used as a noun, but an active verb, "comes”.
of -- (IW) This word is not in the Greek source.
the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, "the”, which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this”, "that”, "these”, "those") than the English "the”. See this article for more.
kingdom -- The word translated as "kingdom" can be the region, the reign, the castle or the authority of a ruler. Christ does not seem to use it to mean a physical region, so its translation as "reign" or "realm" seems more appropriate. This is especially true because the "reign" of a king means the execution of his will.
of -- This word "of" comes from the possessive form (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/this" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, "the”, which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this”, "that", "these”, and "those"). See this article for more.
God -- The word translated as "God" means "God" and "deity”. When used by Jesus and in the Septuagint to mean "God”, it is introduced with an article, so "the God", "the Divine" or "the divine one”. The definite article identifies it as specific. When a definite article does not introduce it, it refers more generally to "divinity", the nature of God.
is -- (IW) This word is not in the Greek source. IW - Inserted Word-- The "is" doesn't exist in the source.
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.
something that can be -- (IP) There is nothing that can be translated as this phrase in the Greek source.
missing "with" -- (MW) The untranslated word "with" is the Greek word that usually means "with" or a related concept such as "among" or "by the means of”. It also refers to "after" or "behind" when referring to a place, time, or pursuit.
observed: -- (WF) The Greek noun means "observation" in many senses from "surveillance" to "scrupulous observation of rules" to a spoken observation as a "remark". The word means literally "watching over" or "guarding over". This is a classic play on words, critical of the Pharisees for their punctilious observation of Judean law and criticism of other people. Our word "scrutiny" captures the idea best. "among" or "by the means of". It also refers to "after" or "behind" when referring to a place, time, or pursuit. This is not a verb but an noun.
Οὐκ [269 verses](adv) "Not" is ou, the negative adverb for facts and statements, negating both single words and sentences. The negative, οὐ, denies, is absolute, and objective.
ἔρχεται [198 verses] ( verb 3rd sg pres ind mp ) "Come" is erchomai, which means "to start”, "to set out”, "to come”, "to go” and any kind of motion. It means both "to go" on a journey and "to arrive" at a place.
ἡ [821 verses](article sg fem nom) "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). It usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. When not preceding a word that can become a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones”.
βασιλεία [98 verses](adj sg fem nom) "Kingdom" is basileia, which means "kingdom”, "dominion”, "hereditary monarchy”, "kingly office”, (passive) "being ruled by a king” and "reign”.
τοῦ [821 verses](article sg masc gen) Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). It usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. When not preceding a word that can become a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones”.
θεοῦ [144 verses](noun sg masc gen) "God" is theos, which means "God”, "divine" and "Deity”.
μετὰ [103 verses](prep) "With" is meta, which means "with", "in the midst of", "among”, "between”, "in common”, "along with”, "by the aid of”, "in one's dealings with”, "into the middle of”, "coming into”, "in pursuit of”, "after”, "behind”, "according to”, "after”, "behind” and "next afterward”. With genitive, it means generally, "with”, "together with”, "in the midst of”, "among”, "between”, "in common”, "along with”, "by the aid of” and "in conjunction with”. With genitive, with pl. Nouns "in the midst of”, "among”, "between”, "in common”, "along with", of things, "in conjunction with”, rarely of Time, "during”. With dative, "between”, "among”, "in company with”, with a number "complete” and "over and above”. Generally, "among”, "between”, with both indirect (dative) and direct (accusative) object. With direct objects: of motion, "into the middle of”, "coming into or among”, esp. where a number of persons is implied, “in pursuit or quest of”, of persons, "to go after”, "in quest of”, of sequence or succession, of Place, "after”, "behind”, "on the far side of”, of Time, "after”, "next to”, in order of Worth, Rank, etc., "next after”, "following”, "to be inferior to”. As a prefix, it means "of community”, "in common with another”, "in the midst of", "succession of time”, "pursuit”, "letting go”, "after, behind” and "reversely”.
παρατηρήσεως, [1 verse]( noun sg fem gen) "Observation" is paratērēsis, which means "observation", "surveillance”, "observation of rules”, "close observation to detect faults”, "remark", and "note".