What Does John 14:24 Mean in the King James?
He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
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
The “sayings” kept and the “word” heard are both λόγος (logos, “word, saying”), so Jesus carries one utterance from the Father.
THE MEANING
Where love for Jesus is absent in you, his sayings do not remain kept; the word reaching you is the Father’s, carried through Jesus. The speaker does not claim it as his own, the message’s source remains the Father.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This dissolves the idea that Jesus’ sayings and the Father’s word are separate messages: the same utterance comes from the Father who sends him.
THE ROOT
λόγους
logous
GROWS FROM
λεγ- (leg-, from λέγω, legō)
to say, speak, utter
“sayings / word” in this verse is logous. The verse uses λόγος (logos, “word, saying”) for both the plural “sayings” and the singular “word.” The many sayings and the one word share a term and a source: the Father’s utterance comes through Jesus.
ALSO GROWS
legō: to say, speak
λέγω
The verb names the act of speaking from which λόγος (logos, “word, saying”) is formed.
logos: word, saying, message
λόγος
This is the same word used in both clauses, joining the sayings kept to the word heard.
τηρεῖ
tērei
GROWS FROM
τηρ- (tēr-, from τηρέω, tēreō)
to keep watch over, guard, preserve, or observe
“keepeth” in this verse is tērei. The verb τηρέω (tēreō, “keep, guard”) carries the sense of watching over and preserving as well as observing. Here love is visible in whether the saying is kept by the hearer; hearing and keeping are distinct moments.
ALSO GROWS
tērēsis: keeping, observance
τήρησις
This noun names the continuing act of keeping that the verse links with love.
diatēreō: to preserve, keep carefully
διατηρέω
This related verb emphasizes preservation, illuminating how the saying is held rather than merely heard.
THE PATTERN
A messenger carries God’s word without claiming its source, and its reception appears in whether it is kept.
I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.THE THREAD
Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.The next verse gives the positive mirror: loving Jesus is joined to keeping his word, while this verse states what happens where love is absent. Both use λόγος (logos, “word, saying”), linking the “words” of verse 23 with the “sayings” and “word” of verse 24.
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