KJV: If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
YLT: If any one may see his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall ask, and He shall give to him life to those sinning not unto death; there is sin to death, not concerning it do I speak that he may beseech;
Darby: If any one see his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life, for those that do not sin unto death. There is a sin to death: I do not say of that that he should make a request.
ASV: If any man see his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: not concerning this do I say that he should make request.
| τις | anyone |
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Parse: Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun, Nominative Masculine Singular Root: τὶς Sense: a certain, a certain one. |
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| ἴδῃ | should see |
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Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 3rd Person Singular Root: εἶδον Sense: to see with the eyes. |
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| ἀδελφὸν | brother |
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Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular Root: ἀδελφός Sense: a brother, whether born of the same two parents or only of the same father or mother. |
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| αὐτοῦ | of him |
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Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular Root: αὐτός Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself. |
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| ἁμαρτάνοντα | sinning |
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Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Accusative Masculine Singular Root: ἁμαρτάνω Sense: to be without a share in. |
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| ἁμαρτίαν | a sin |
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Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular Root: ἁμαρτία Sense: equivalent to 264. |
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| πρὸς | unto |
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Parse: Preposition Root: πρός Sense: to the advantage of. |
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| θάνατον | death |
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Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular Root: θάνατος Sense: the death of the body. |
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| αἰτήσει | he shall ask |
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Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular Root: αἰτέω Sense: to ask, beg, call for, crave, desire, require. |
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| δώσει | He will give |
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Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular Root: διδῶ Sense: to give. |
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| ζωήν | life |
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Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular Root: ζωή Sense: life. |
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| τοῖς | to those |
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Parse: Article, Dative Masculine Plural Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc. |
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| ἁμαρτάνουσιν | sinning |
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Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Dative Masculine Plural Root: ἁμαρτάνω Sense: to be without a share in. |
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| ἔστιν | There is |
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Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular Root: εἰμί Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present. |
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| ἁμαρτία | a sin |
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Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular Root: ἁμαρτία Sense: equivalent to 264. |
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| περὶ | concerning |
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Parse: Preposition Root: περί Sense: about, concerning, on account of, because of, around, near. |
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| ἐκείνης | that |
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Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Genitive Feminine Singular Root: ἐκεῖνος Sense: he, she it, etc. |
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| λέγω | do I say |
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Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular Root: λέγω Sense: to say, to speak. |
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| ἵνα | that |
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Parse: Conjunction Root: ἵνα Sense: that, in order that, so that. |
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| ἐρωτήσῃ | he should implore |
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Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 3rd Person Singular Root: ἐρωτάω Sense: to question. |
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Greek Commentary for 1 John 5:16
Third-class condition with εαν ean and second aorist active subjunctive of ειδον eidon (οραω horaō). [source]
Present active predicate (supplementary) participle agreeing with αδελπον adelphon and with cognate accusative αμαρτιαν hamartian unto death Repeated again with αμαρτανουσιν hamartanousin and in contrast with αμαρτια προς τανατον hamartia pros thanaton (sin unto death). Most sins are not mortal sins, but clearly John conceives of a sin that is deadly enough to be called “unto death.” This distinction is common in the rabbinic writings and in Numbers 18:22 the lxx has λαβειν αμαρτιαν τανατηπορον labein hamartian thanatēphoron “to incur a death-bearing sin” as many crimes then and now bear the death penalty. There is a distinction in Hebrews 10:26 between sinning wilfully after full knowledge and sins of ignorance (Hebrews 5:2). Jesus spoke of the unpardonable sin (Mark 3:29; Matthew 12:32; Luke 12:10), which was attributing to the devil the manifest work of the Holy Spirit. It is possible that John has this idea in mind when he applies it to those who reject Jesus Christ as God‘s Son and set themselves up as antichrists.Concerning this (περι εκεινης peri ekeinēs). This sin unto death.That he should make request Sub-final use of ινα hina with the first aorist active subjunctive of ερωταω erōtaō used here as in John 17:15, John 17:20 (and often) for request rather than for question. John does not forbid praying for such cases; he simply does not command prayer for them. He leaves them to God. [source]
This sin unto death. [source]
Sub-final use of ινα hina with the first aorist active subjunctive of ερωταω erōtaō used here as in John 17:15, John 17:20 (and often) for request rather than for question. John does not forbid praying for such cases; he simply does not command prayer for them. He leaves them to God. [source]
A supposed case. [source]
The difficulty of the passage lies in the explanation of these words. It is impossible to determine their exact meaning with certainty. Some of the many explanations are as follows: Such sin as God punishes with deadly sickness or sudden death. All those sins punished with excommunication (so the older Catholic theologians). An unrepented sin. Envy. A sinful state or condition. The sin by which the Christian falls back from Christian life into death. The anti-Christian denial that Jesus is the Christ. The phrase λαβεῖν ἁμαρτίαν θανητοφόρον toincur a death-bearing sin (A. V., bear sin and die ), occurs Numbers 18:22, Sept., and the distinction between sins unto death and sins not unto death is common in Rabbinic writings. However John's expression may have been suggested by these, it cannot be assumed that they determine the sense in which he uses it. -DIVIDER- -DIVIDER- Life and death in the passage must correspond. Bodily death and spiritual life cannot be meant. The passage must be interpreted in the light of John's utterances elsewhere concerning life and death. In 1 John 5:12, he says: He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. In 1 John 3:14, 1 John 3:15, he says that he that loveth not abideth in death: that he that hateth his brother is a manslayer, and that no manslayer hath eternal life abiding in him. These canons of interpretation point to the explanation, in which some of the best authorities agree, that the sin unto death does not refer to a specific act, but to a class or species of sins, the tendency of which is to cut the bond of fellowship with Christ. Hence the passage is in the key-note of fellowship which pervades the Epistle. Whatever breaks the fellowship between the soul and Christ, and, by consequence, between the individual and the body of believers, is unto death, for there is no life apart from Christ. It is indeed true that this tendency inheres in all sin. Sin is essentially death. But a distinction is to be made, as Canon Westcott observes, between sins which flow from human imperfection and infirmity, and sins which are open manifestations of a character alien from God. “All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not unto death.” It must be carefully born in mind in the study of the passage, that John is speaking of sinful acts as revelations of character, and not simply in themselves. So Huther: “Such sinning as is characterized, not by the object with which it is connected, but by the disposition from which it proceeds.” [source]
Christian brother. [source]
Lit., as Rev., sinning a sin. There is no exact parallel to the phrase in the New Testament. Compare the promise which He promised, 1 John 2:25. [source]
Describing the nature of the sin. The preposition unto, signifies tendency toward, not necessarily involving death. See on 1 John 5:17. [source]
In prayer. The future tense expresses not merely permission (it shall be permitted him to ask), but the certainty that, as a Christian brother, he will ask. An injunction to that effect is implied. [source]
He may refer either to God or to the petitioner, as being the means of bestowing life through his intercession, as in James 5:20. The former explanation is the more natural. So Rev. [source]
The brother for whom intercession is made. [source]
In apposition with αὐτῷ tohim. God shall give life unto him (the erring brother), even unto them that sin. The plural generalizes the particular case described by ἁμαρτάνοντα ἁμαρτίαν sinninga sin. [source]
Rev., margin, better, sin. A sin would express a specific act as such. Sin describes the character of a class of acts. [source]
Lit., not concerning this do I say that he should make request. So Rev. Prayer even for this sin unto death is not forbidden, but John says that he does not enjoin it. Note the sharp distinctness with which that terrible sin is thrown out by the pronoun of remote reference and its emphatic position in the sentence. Note also the words make request ( ἐρωτήσῃ ), and compare αἰτήσει heshall ask. On the distinction, see on Luke 11:9. Αἰτέω toask, is used of the petition of an inferior, and is never used of Christ's own requests to God. Hence it is properly used here of the humble and affectionate petition of a Christian to God on behalf of a sinning brother. Ἑρωτάω is used of the request of an equal, or of one who asks on equal terms. Hence it may mark a request based upon fellowship with God through Christ, or it may hint at an element of presumption in a prayer for a sin unto death. Westcott cites a very early inscription in the Roman Catacombs as an illustration of the use of ἐρωτᾷν in the sense of Christian prayer for Christians: ἐρωτᾶ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν prayfor us. [source]
Reverse Greek Commentary Search for 1 John 5:16
He was the fountain of life - physical, moral, and eternal - its principle and source. Two words for life are employed in the New Testament: βίος and ζωὴ . The primary distinction is that ζωὴ means existence as contrasted with death, and βίος , the period, means, or manner of existence. Hence βίος is originally the higher word, being used of men, while ζωὴ is used of animals ( ζῶα ). We speak therefore of the discussion of the life and habits of animals as zoo logy; and of accounts of men's lives as bio graphy. Animals have the vital principle in common with men, but men lead lives controlled by intellect and will, and directed to moral and intellectual ends. In the New Testament, βίος means either living, i.e., means of subsistence (Mark 12:44; Luke 8:43), or course of life, life regarded as an economy (Luke 8:14; 1 Timothy 2:2; 2 Timothy 2:4). Ζωὴ occurs in the lower sense of life, considered principally or wholly as existence (1 Peter 3:10; Acts 8:33; Acts 17:25; Hebrews 7:3). There seems to be a significance in the use of the word in Luke 16:25: “Thou in thy lifetime ( ἐν τῇ ζωῇ σου ) receivedst thy good things;” the intimation being that the rich man's life had been little better than mere existence, and not life at all in the true sense. But throughout the New Testament ζωὴ is the nobler word, seeming to have changed places with βίος . It expresses the sum of mortal and eternal blessedness (Matthew 25:46; Luke 18:30; John 11:25; Acts 2:28; Romans 5:17; Romans 6:4), and that not only in respect of men, but also of God and Christ. So here. Compare John 5:26; John 14:6; 1 John 1:2. This change is due to the gospel revelation of the essential connection of sin with death, and consequently, of life with holiness. “Whatever truly lives, does so because sin has never found place in it, or, having found place for a time, has since been overcome and expelled” (Trench). Ζωὴ is a favorite word with John. See John 11:25; John 14:6; John 8:12; 1 John 1:2; 1 John 5:20; John 6:35, John 6:48; John 6:63; Revelation 21:6; Revelation 22:1, Revelation 22:17; Revelation 7:17; John 4:14; Revelation 2:7; Revelation 22:2, Revelation 22:14, Revelation 22:19; John 12:50; John 17:3; John 20:31; John 5:26; John 6:53, John 6:54; John 5:40; John 3:15, John 3:16, John 3:36; John 10:10; John 5:24; John 12:25; John 6:27; John 4:36; 1 John 5:12, 1 John 5:16; John 6:51.Was the Light of men ( ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων )Passing from the thought of creation in general to that of mankind, who, in the whole range of created things, had a special capacity for receiving the divine. The Light - the peculiar mode of the divine operation upon men, conformably to their rational and moral nature which alone was fitted to receive the light of divine truth. It is not said that the Word was light, but that the life was the light. The Word becomes light through the medium of life, of spiritual life, just as sight is a function of physical life. Compare John 14:6, where Christ becomes the life through being the truth; and Matthew 5:8, where the pure heart is the medium through which God is beheld. In whatever mode of manifestation the Word is in the world, He is the light of the world; in His works, in the dawn of creation; in the happy conditions of Eden; in the Patriarchs, in the Law and the Prophets, in His incarnation, and in the subsequent history of the Church. Compare John 9:5. Of men, as a class, and not of individuals only. [source]
The messenger delivered the message of the sisters. The reply of Jesus is for him and for the apostles. Is not unto death Death in the final issue, to remain dead. Lazarus did die, but he did not remain dead. See αμαρτια προς τανατον hamartia pros thanaton in 1 John 5:16, “sin unto death” (final death). But for the glory of God In behalf of God‘s glory, as the sequel shows. Cf. John 9:3 about the man born blind. The death of Lazarus will illustrate God‘s glory. In some humble sense those who suffer the loss of loved ones are entitled to some comfort from this point made by Jesus about Lazarus. In a supreme way it is true of the death of Christ which he himself calls glorification of himself and God (John 13:31). In John 7:39 John had already used δοχαζω doxazō of the death of Christ. That the Son of God may be glorified thereby Purpose clause with ινα hina and the first aorist passive subjunctive of δοχαζω doxazō Here Jesus calls himself “the Son of God.” In John 8:54 Jesus had said: “It is my Father that glorifieth me.” The raising of Lazarus from the tomb will bring glory to the Son of God. See John 17:1 for this idea in Christ‘s prayer. The raising of Lazarus will also bring to an issue his own death and all this involves the glorification of the Father (John 7:39; John 12:16; John 13:31; John 14:13). The death of Lazarus brings Jesus face to face with his own death. [source]
Lit.. what he died; the death which he died. Compare sin a sin, 1 John 5:16; the life which I live, literally, what I live, Galatians 2:20. [source]
His fellow-Christian. The singular, brother, is characteristic of this Epistle. See 1 John 2:10, 1 John 2:11; 1 John 3:10, 1 John 3:15, 1 John 3:17; 1 John 4:20, 1 John 4:21; 1 John 5:16. Christians are called in the New Testament, Christians (Acts 11:26; Acts 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16), mainly by those outside of the Christian circle. Disciples, applied to all followers of Christ (John 2:11; John 6:61) and strictly to the twelve (John 13:5sqq.). In Acts 19:1, to those who had received only John's baptism. Not found in John's Epistles nor in Revelation. Brethren. The first title given to the body of believers after the Ascension (Acts 1:15, where the true reading is ἀδελφῶν brethrenfor μαθητῶν disciples). See Acts 9:30; Acts 10:23; Acts 11:29; 1 Thessalonians 4:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:26; 1 John 3:14; 3 John 1:5, 3 John 1:10; John 21:23. Peter has ἡ ἀδελφότης thebrotherhood (1 Peter 2:17; 1 Peter 5:9). The believers. Under three forms: The believers ( οἱ πιστοί ; Acts 10:45; 1 Timothy 4:12); they that believe ( οἱ πιστεύοντες ; 1 Peter 2:7; 1 Thessalonians 1:7; Ephesians 1:19); they that believed ( οἱ πιστεύσαντες ; Acts 2:44; Acts 4:32; Hebrews 4:3). The saints ( οἱ ἅγιοι ); characteristic of Paul and Revelation. Four times in the Acts (Acts 9:13, Acts 9:32, Acts 9:41; Acts 26:10), and once in Jude (Judges 1:3). Also Hebrews 6:10; Hebrews 13:24. In Paul, 1 Corinthians 6:1; 1 Corinthians 14:33; Ephesians 1:1, Ephesians 1:15, etc. In Revelation 5:8; Revelation 8:3, Revelation 8:4; Revelation 11:18, etc.|Until now ( ἕως ἄρτι )|Though the light has been increasing, and though he may claim that he has been in the light from the first. The phrase occurs in John 2:10; John 5:17; John 16:24; and is used by Paul, 1 Corinthians 4:13; 1 Corinthians 8:7; 1 Corinthians 15:6.| [source]
Always of Christ in the Epistles of John. See ἐκείνης , referring to ἁμαρτία sin 1 John 5:16. [source]
Rev., correctly and literally, and this. According to the proper reading the verb stands first in order ( ἐστὶν αὕτη ), with emphasis, not merely as a copula, but in the sense “there exists this as the message.” For a similar use of the substantive verb, see 1 John 5:16, 1 John 5:17; 1 John 2:15; John 8:50. [source]
For pray as in 1 John 5:16. [source]