What Does John 16:11 Mean?
Concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.THE KEY
The world’s ruler is not the final judge; the ruler himself already stands under judgment.
THE MEANING
The ruler of this world stands judged now, and that verdict remains in force. The world’s apparent order does not have the final say over what is true or who holds authority.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that the power ruling the world is beyond judgment, and therefore has the final word, is undone here.
THE ROOT
κέκριται
kekritai
GROWS FROM
κρίνω
krinō
To distinguish, decide, or judge.
κέκριται (kekritai, has been judged) is a completed judgment with an ongoing result: the ruler stands under its verdict. The word family shows judgment as a decision that draws a line, not merely a vague feeling of condemnation.
ALSO GROWS
krisis: decision, judgment
κρίσις
This is the noun translated “judgment” in the verse; it names the decisive act behind the ruler’s verdict.
krima: verdict, judgment
κρίμα
This branch makes the result of judging explicit: a verdict is rendered.
kritēs: judge
κριτής
The same root names the one who decides, tying judgment to authority.
ἄρχων
archōn
GROWS FROM
ἄρχω
archō
To rule, lead, or begin.
ἄρχων (archōn, ruler) belongs to a word family where ruling and beginning meet. The one presented as ordering this world is himself subject to the verdict; his rule is not beyond judgment.
ALSO GROWS
archē: beginning, rule, or principality
ἀρχή
This branch links a ruler’s authority with the order or domain over which that ruler presides.
archēgos: leader, pioneer, originator
ἀρχηγός
This related word shows how the root can describe one who leads or stands at the head.
THE PATTERN
The powers that appear to rule the world are themselves brought under judgment and exposed.
A Psalm of Asaph. God stands in the assembly of the Mighty One; in the midst of the gods he judges.Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world is thrown out.Having stripped away the rulers and the authorities, he displayed them in the open, leading them in procession in him.THE THREAD
Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world is thrown out.John 12:31 uses κρίσις (krisis, judgment) and repeats “the prince of this world.” John 16:11 makes the status of that judgment clear: the ruler has been judged and stands under the verdict.
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