What Does John 12:47 Mean in the King James?
And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
A hearer’s failure to trust does not change the stated aim of Jesus’ coming: bringing the world out.
THE MEANING
You can hear Jesus’ words and still fail to trust them; this verse says that failure does not turn his coming toward you into judgment. His purpose is deliverance for the world: bringing it out. The response and the purpose remain distinct in the sentence.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie this undoes is that failing to trust Jesus’ words means his purpose toward you is condemnation.
THE ROOT
σῴζω
sōzō
GROWS FROM
σωζ-
sōz-
To make safe, preserve, rescue, or deliver.
English “save” can sound like a status granted, while this verb also carries the sense of rescue and bringing out. Its related words name deliverance and the deliverer, so Jesus defines his coming by the movement he brings to the world.
ALSO GROWS
sōtēria: Deliverance, rescue
σωτηρία
This related noun names the deliverance that is the purpose of Jesus’ coming.
sōtēr: Deliverer, rescuer
σωτήρ
This related word names the one who brings people out.
κρίνω
krinō
GROWS FROM
κριν-
krin-
To distinguish, decide, or render judgment.
“judge” in this verse is krinō. The root can name making a decision or rendering a verdict, not condemnation alone. The verse places judgment beside deliverance and identifies which one describes the purpose of Jesus’ coming.
ALSO GROWS
krisis: Decision, judgment
κρίσις
This branch names the act of deciding or judging that the verse says is not Jesus’ purpose here.
krima: Decision, verdict
κρίμα
This branch makes the sense of a rendered judgment concrete beside the verse’s language of deliverance.
πιστεύω
pisteuō
GROWS FROM
πιστ-
pist-
To trust or entrust oneself; to lean one’s full weight on.
“believe” in this verse is pisteuō. The verse distinguishes hearing words from entrusting oneself to them. That makes the hearer’s response distinct from the purpose of Jesus’ coming, which remains deliverance.
ALSO GROWS
pistis: Trust, reliance
πίστις
This related noun names the trust the hearer does not place in Jesus’ words.
pistos: Firm, steady, trustworthy
πιστός
This branch evokes the quality of being reliable, the ground on which trust rests.
THE PATTERN
The divine mission moves toward release and recovery, bringing people out as its stated aim.
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.THE THREAD
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.John 3:17 uses the same roots for judging and deliverance as John 12:47. Together they make the contrast explicit: judgment is not the purpose named for the Son’s coming; deliverance is.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us