What Does John 3:2 Mean in the King James?
The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
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 same Greek verb describes Nicodemus coming to Jesus and Jesus having come from God: the seeker and the teacher are both in motion.
THE MEANING
The verse meets you in the act of coming: you approach Jesus, and his works point beyond themselves to God’s presence with him. The seeker’s movement and Jesus’ origin stand side by side.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that extraordinary works arise from human power alone falls away here: they point to God being with the one who does them.
THE ROOT
ἦλθεν
ēlthen
GROWS FROM
ἔρχομαι
erchomai
to come, go, or arrive
“came” in this verse is ēlthen. The same verb appears twice: Nicodemus comes to Jesus, and he says Jesus has come from God. English keeps the actions distinct, while Greek lets one verb join the seeker’s approach to Jesus’ origin.
ALSO GROWS
ēlthen: came
ἦλθεν
This is Nicodemus’s movement toward Jesus.
elēlythas: have come
ἐλήλυθας
This is the same verb applied to Jesus’ coming from God; the repeated root links the two movements.
THE PATTERN
Visible works can serve as signs that make God’s presence recognizable.
That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:THE THREAD
Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.The same Greek verb for “come” appears in Jesus’ words here and in Nicodemus’s statement that Jesus has come from God. John 8:42 opens that recognition further: Jesus’ coming is joined to being sent by God.
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