What Does Mark 11:32 Mean in the King James?
But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed.
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 people’s shared recognition of John as a prophet becomes the force that governs what their opponents dare say.
THE MEANING
The verse shows public conviction shaping what can be said: the people hold John to be truly a prophet, and the speakers fear their response. That shared recognition gives the crowd real leverage over the answer.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie this undoes is that public conviction has no power over those who control the answer; here, fear of the people governs what the leaders are willing to say.
THE ROOT
εἶχον
eichon
GROWS FROM
ἐχ- (from ἔχω, echō)
to have, hold, or possess
The Greek says the people “held” John to be truly a prophet; “counted” can sound like a private calculation. Their shared regard gives John’s reputation public force, which explains the speakers’ fear.
ALSO GROWS
katechō: hold fast, retain
κατέχω
This branch makes the sense of holding vivid: the people keep John’s prophetic standing firmly in view.
synechō: hold together, constrain, press
συνέχω
The same root can describe pressure that constrains someone; here, the people’s conviction presses on the speakers’ answer.
ἐφοβοῦντο
ephobounto
GROWS FROM
φοβ-
phob-
to fear, be afraid
“feared” in this verse is ephobounto. The verb names fear as an active pressure on speech. The same verb appears when the parents fear exclusion in John 9:22, where social consequences also shape what people will say.
ALSO GROWS
phobos: fear, alarm
φόβος
This noun names the alarm carried by the verb and shows that the speakers’ restraint grows from apprehension.
phoberos: fearful, causing fear
φοβερός
This related form describes what evokes fear; the crowd’s response is experienced as a force with consequences.
THE PATTERN
Fear of other people’s judgment can govern speech even when conviction is already present.
The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.THE THREAD
These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.Mark and John use the same Greek fear verb, phobeomai, for pressure that shapes what people say. In John, the parents fear the authorities’ sanction; in Mark, the speakers fear the crowd’s response, revealing how fear of others governs speech.
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