Re: John 3:16

From: Craig Abernethy (baptist@mit.edu)
Date: Mon Jul 29 1996 - 19:29:46 EDT


> I favor the KJV translation. "Whosoever believeth in him should not
>perish... [but might!]" Related to this would be the question of what it
>means to believe *in* him.
>

(Forgive me if someone else has already explained this.)
This is actually an easy question to answer: Translating John 3:16, we get:

For God loved the world like-this: that he gave his only son

(here the Greek construction indicates that the "giving" actually happened
[Smyth, Greek Grammar, section 2257])

so-that everyone who-believes in him might not perish, but ["alla," strong
contrast] might-have eternal life.

The verbs in the second half of the verse are subjunctive because they
follow a conjunction "hina," "so that" which introduces a purpose clause
and requires a subjunctive verb.

Thus, the "might" of the English translations is not "maybe," but
represents the English way to express purpose. In this verb the purpose
expressed comes from God, so I believe that purpose will not easily be
frustrated.

Regards,
Craig Abernethy



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