What if one translated according to the grammatical rules without picking and choosing which grammatical rules to follow in favor of bias or traditions, but just read it at face value without any fear of being burned at a stake?
For God so loved..
the “so” is a word that means “thus” or “in this way”. And “love” is not merely affection as in “philo” but a reciprocal agape love. There is also a definite article the—the God.
For thus the God agape-loved the world…
“World” is the whole ordered arrangment–the kosmos. It is also in the accusative meaning God does something to the Order…
For thus the God agape-loved the Order, that…
The conjunction isn’t merely “that” but rather “in so far that” or “therefore” which would mean “thus” could refer to the previous verses about the serpent raised up in the wilderness…
For thus the God agape-loved the Order: insofar that the only begotten son he gave…
“Only begotten” comes from one word, monogenés (#G3439), and means only-kind or one and only generated. Genos (#G1805) is related to genesis or origin. The literal order of the accusative nouns with the definite articles is the son, the only-generated…
For thus the God agape-loved the Order: insofar that the only begotten he gave, in order that all the one-who-believes…
A present tense participle active verb works like a noun-verb—pisteuōn trusting-one or he-who-trusts. It is in the present masculine singular—one-who-is-trusting. There is also a definite article ὁ to this which insinuates that the participle verb is specific, the one who is trusting. The Greek pas (#G3956) is literally all. “In order that” (#G2443) is a slightly different conjunction than the previous “so that” (#G5620).
For thus the God agape-loved the Order: insofar that the only begotten he gave, in order that everyone who is trusting into him…
“Eis” (#G1519) is properly into and not “in”. “Auton” (#G846) is the accusative “him” or better, “himself.” The NASB translated auto/auton as himself 83 times. The pronoun “self/himself” is used very uniquely in the NT. Thus the lexicon:
αὐτός, αὐτῇ, αὐτό, pronoun (“derived from the particle αὖ with the added force of a demonstrative pronoun. In itself it signifies nothing more than again, applied to what has either been previously mentioned or, when the whole discourse is looked at, must necessarily be supplied.” Klotz ad Devar. ii., p. 219; (see Vanicek, p. 268)). It is used by the Biblical writings both of the O. T. and of the N. T. far more frequently than the other pronouns; and in this very frequent and almost inordinate use of it, they deviate greatly from secular authors; cf. Buttmann, § 127, 9. (On classic usage cf. Hermann, Opuscc. i. 308ff, of which dissertation a summary is given in his edition of Viger, pp. 732-736.)
I. self, as used (in all persons, genders, numbers) to distinguish a person or thing from or contrast it with another, or to give him (it) emphatic prominence.
Not only is the word self used far more frequently than other pronouns, it is the most frequent word used in the NT behind only “and.” The Bible has an inordinate “infatuation” with the word “self/himself”. And the writers don’t use it the same way as secular writers. Why is that?
For thus the God agape-loved the Order: insofar that the only begotten he gave, in order that everyone who is trusting into himself may not perish…
The word apollumi (#G622) is quite a bit more than merely “perish”. It means to destroy away/destroy completely. This is not a word one would expect in terms “avoiding hell.” It is also in the subjunctive meaning it should be translated with “may” or “might” or something similar. The verb is also in what is called the “middle voice” which means the subject is the recipient of the action. Because it is in the 3rd person masculine singular we will render it “be destroyed away”.
For thus the God agape-loved the Order: insofar that the only begotten he gave, in order that everyone who is trusting into himself may not be completely destroyed, but have life everlasting.
Zoe-life is not the same soul-life or bios-life. ἔχῃ is not merely “to have” but primarily “to hold.” These Greek words would provide far greater insight to what the authors thought “everlasting life” really means if they weren’t all translated the same.
Here is the result:
For thus the God agape-loved the Order: insofar that the only begotten he gave, in order that everyone who is trusting into himself may not be completely destroyed, but hold an eternal zoe-life.
