What Does John 8:46 Mean in the King James?
Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe 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 question holds open a sharp divide: no one can expose a missing in the speaker, yet the hearers still withhold trust from what is true.
THE MEANING
Truth can stand in front of you while trust remains withheld. The question exposes that separation: no charge of missing answers the speaker’s claim, yet his words still go untrusted.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that when no charge can be proved against a speaker, everyone will automatically trust what he says.
THE ROOT
ἐλέγχει
elenchei
GROWS FROM
ἐλεγχ-
elench-
To expose, convict, or bring wrongdoing into view.
“convinceth” in this verse is elenchei. The verb carries the sense of bringing a case into the open. Its word family includes both evidence and reproof, placing the question inside a language of what can be made visible.
ALSO GROWS
elenchos: Proof or evidence.
ἔλεγχος
This branch echoes the question’s demand for something that can be brought into view.
elegmos: Reproof or correction.
ἐλεγμός
This branch shows how exposure can name what is wrong.
ἁμαρτίας
hamartias
GROWS FROM
ἁμαρτ-
hamart-
Missing, error, or failure.
“sin” in this verse is hamartias. The word belongs to a family built around missing or error. The question asks whether any such missing can be exposed in the speaker, then turns immediately to the hearers’ response to truth.
ALSO GROWS
hamartanō: To miss or err.
ἁμαρτάνω
This verb makes the sense of “missing” concrete in the question about a charge against the speaker.
hamartōlos: A sinner; one characterized by missing or error.
ἁμαρτωλός
This related word shows how the root can describe a person associated with missing.
πιστεύετε
pisteuete
GROWS FROM
πιστ-
pist-
Trust and steadiness.
“believe” in this verse is pisteuete. This verb carries the sense of placing trust or confidence. The word family connects trust with what is firm and steady, making the question about reliance on the truth being spoken.
ALSO GROWS
pistis: Trust or confidence.
πίστις
This related noun shows the trust carried in the verb translated “believe.”
pistos: Firm, steady, trustworthy.
πιστός
This branch connects trusting with the quality of being steady or worthy of trust.
THE PATTERN
Truth is not only spoken; it becomes visible in whether the hearer receives it.
Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.THE THREAD
And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:The same Greek verb for exposing or convicting appears with the same word for missing. John 8:46 asks whether any missing can be exposed in the speaker; John 16:8 turns that exposure toward the world.
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