What Does John 16:2 Mean in the King James?
They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
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 most frightening act here is a killing that feels, to its doer, like an offering brought to God.
THE MEANING
This verse speaks to the danger of religious certainty that turns exclusion and killing into devotion. The killer thinks he is serving God; the verse names that as his judgment, not God’s approval.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that sincere religious conviction proves an action serves God. Here, the killer’s confidence is what he thinks, not evidence that his violence is divine service.
THE ROOT
λατρείαν
latreian
GROWS FROM
λατρ-
latr-
Service rendered, especially religious service or worship.
The phrase describes the killer as thinking he offers religious service to God. That word holds service and worship together, sharpening the horror: violence takes on the shape of devotion in his mind.
ALSO GROWS
latreuō: To serve or render worship.
λατρεύω
This verb makes explicit the religious service implied by the noun in the verse.
latreutēs: One who serves or worships.
λατρευτής
The related word names the worshipper; here, the verse shows how a worshipper’s sense of service can be bound to violence.
προσφέρειν
prospherein
GROWS FROM
φερ-
pher-
Carry, bear, or bring.
“offer” in this verse is prospherein. The verb means to bring forward or present, and it governs “service” in the phrase: the killer thinks he is bringing service to God. English “doeth God service” compresses that image of an offering brought toward God.
ALSO GROWS
pherō: To carry, bear, or bring.
φέρω
This is the basic verb beneath the idea of bringing something forward.
prosphora: An offering or presentation.
προσφορά
This related noun makes the offering image explicit and illuminates how the killer understands his act.
δόξῃ
doxē
GROWS FROM
δοκ-
dok-
Seem, appear, or be thought; by extension, think or suppose.
“think” in this verse is doxē. The verb reports what seems right to the killer: the verse does not call his act service to God, but says he thinks it is. That distinction exposes how a mistaken judgment can give violence a sacred appearance.
ALSO GROWS
dokei: It seems or appears.
δοκεῖ
This form shows the root’s sense of something appearing a certain way.
edoxen: It seemed or appeared right.
ἔδοξεν
This related form shows how what appears right to someone can shape the action described here.
THE PATTERN
People can be cast out or harmed under claims that their exclusion honors God.
Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.THE THREAD
I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.Acts 26:9 uses the same Greek verb, δοκέω (dokeō), when the speaker says, “I verily thought.” The shared root reveals the warning’s sharp edge: a person’s sense of religious duty can point toward harm while still feeling right from inside it.
This reading is from Selah Verse.
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