John 14: Misprinted text or Mistranslation?

[Carborendum]

I was going over this week's CFM.  I found an interesting change of wording on the Church website:

They reference John 14.  But it appeared that verse 6 has a misprint on the website:

Quote

6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but for me.

I was working with the footnote settings until I realized that I had been reading the Spanish version.  And I had clicked on the option for English translation.

Apparently, the "English translation" is not the same as the "English version" of the text.  The English version still has "by".  But the translation uses the word "for" because the Spanish word is "por."  And this word can be translated as either one.

So, I looked up the Greek to see what the meaning was.  The word is διά /dee-ah/ which means:

• by
• for the sake of
• through
• by means of
• because of. 

Of all these meanings, I like "because of" best. I'll reword so it isn't so awkward in English:

Man only comes to the Father because of Jesus Christ.

[zil2]

48 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

• by
• for the sake of
• through
• by means of
• because of. 

They are all correct, and some (if not all) can have multiple meanings.  Being aware of all of them can help each person at the various times in their life to think about it in the way that best helps them.

[Vort]

On 5/19/2024 at 6:11 AM, Carborendum said:

I was going over this week's CFM.  I found an interesting change of wording on the Church website:

They reference John 14.  But it appeared that verse 6 has a misprint on the website:

I was working with the footnote settings until I realized that I had been reading the Spanish version.  And I had clicked on the option for English translation.

Apparently, the "English translation" is not the same as the "English version" of the text.  The English version still has "by".  But the translation uses the word "for" because the Spanish word is "por."  And this word can be translated as either one.

So, I looked up the Greek to see what the meaning was.  The word is διά /dee-ah/ which means:

• by
• for the sake of
• through
• by means of
• because of. 

Of all these meanings, I like "because of" best. I'll reword so it isn't so awkward in English:

Man only comes to the Father because of Jesus Christ.

"By way of" is how I always interpreted that verse. "Por" seems like a straightforward translation. But I agree, common word usage and patterns often mask a better understanding of what we're reading. It's a type of simplicity in meaning, an application of Occam's Razor, I suppose.

[Carborendum]

5 minutes ago, Vort said:

"By way of" is how I always interpreted that verse. "Por" seems like a straightforward translation. But I agree, common word usage and patterns often mask a better understanding of what we're reading. It's a type of simplicity in meaning, an application of Occam's Razor, I suppose.

I believe the original intent was somewhere in the midst of all those meanings.  But each word conjures up different roles -- all of which are correct.

It is somewhat an individual perception.  When I interpret it as "by way of" or even "through", I feel more of the "advocate with the Father" role.  But when I think of "because of" I get more of a sense of the Savoir role through His Atonement.  He made it possible.