John 6:65

Καὶ ἔλεγε, Διὰ τοῦτο εἴρηκα ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐδεὶς δύναται ἐλθεῖν πρός με, ἐὰν μὴ ᾖ δεδομένον αὐτῷ ἐκ τοῦ πατρός μου.

RBT Greek Interlinear:

Strongs 2532; Kai; Καὶ; And; Conj

Strongs 2036; elegen; ἔλεγεν; was/kept saying; V-IIA-3S

Strongs 1223; Dia; Διὰ; across; Prep

Strongs 3778; touto; τοῦτο; this one; DPro-ANS

Strongs 2046; eirēka; εἴρηκα; I said; V-RIA-1S

Strongs 4771; hymin; ὑμῖν; to yourselves; PPro-D2P

Strongs 3754; hoti; ὅτι; that; Conj

Strongs 3762; oudeis; οὐδεὶς; no one; Adj-NMS

Strongs 1410; dynatai; δύναται; has power; V-PIM/P-3S

Strongs 2064; elthein; ἐλθεῖν; coming; V-ANA

Strongs 4314; pros; πρός; toward; Prep

Strongs 1473; me; με; myself; PPro-A1S

Strongs 1437; ean; ἐὰν; if; Conj

Strongs 3361; mē; μὴ; not; Adv

Strongs 1510; ē; ᾖ; may be; V-PSA-3S

Strongs 1325; dedomenon; δεδομένον; that which has been given; V-RPM/P-NNS

Strongs 846; autō; αὐτῷ; self/itself/himself; PPro-DM/N3S

Strongs 1537; ek; ἐκ; from out; Prep

Strongs 3588; tou; τοῦ; the; Art-GMS

Strongs 3962; Patros; Πατρός; Father; N-GMS

RBT Hebrew Literal:

And he kept saying,^74c "Because of this, I have said to yourselves that no one is able to come toward myself, unless it be that which is given to self from the Father."

Julia Smith Literal 1876 Translation:
And he said, Therefore have I said to you, that no one can come to me, except it be given him of my Father.

LITV Translation:
And He said, Because of this, I have told you that no one is able to come to Me except it is given to him from My Father.

ESV Translation:
Error retrieving verse.

Footnotes

74c

The Greek verb ἔλεγεν is the imperfect active indicative of λέγω (“to say”), and properly conveys continuous or repeated action in the past.

While most English translations render it simply as “he said,” this corresponds more directly to the aorist form εἶπεν, which denotes a punctiliar or completed action. In contrast, the imperfect form ἔλεγεν should be translated as “he was saying,” “he kept saying,” or “he used to say,” preserving its imperfective aspect.

Rendering it as “he said,” though not strictly incorrect in idiomatic English, is grammatically imprecise, as it fails to communicate the ongoing or habitual nature of the action encoded in the Greek tense. For rigorous exegetical or linguistic work, the imperfect sense must be maintained.