Sunday, 31st May 2026
St Paul, 2 Cor. 13: 11-13
13:11 Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
13:12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.
13:13 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
11 Λοιπόν, ἀδελφοί, χαίρετε, καταρτίζεσθε, παρακαλεῖσθε, τὸ αὐτὸ φρονεῖτε, εἰρηνεύετε, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς τῆς ἀγάπης καὶ εἰρήνης ἔσται μεθ᾿ ὑμῶν.
12 Ἀσπάσασθε ἀλλήλους ἐν ἁγίῳ φιλήματι. ἀσπάζονται ὑμᾶς οἱ ἅγιοι πάντες.
13 Ἡ χάρις τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ἡ κοινωνία τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος μετὰ πάντων ὑμῶν· ἀμήν.
Comments
A series of six imperatives, five in the present tense, implying continuous action, and one in the aorist, suggesting a one-off action.
[11] χαίρετε: the first of five present imperatives in the verse; > χαίρω, ‘I rejoice’; the 2nd person present imperative (sg. or pl.) in ancient Greek (already in Homer) can mean ‘Farewell’, as here. (It can also mean the opposite, ‘Hail!’ ‘Hello!’.) The vb also admits both senses in modern Greek.
καταρτίζεσθε: pass. imperative, 2nd person, present tense; here = ‘be restored, mend your ways’ (Exeg. Dict. NT, s.v., p. 268). In effect, the imperative here means ‘become whole’, ‘become perfect’, given that the related adj. ἄρτιος = ‘complete’, ‘perfect’, ‘exactly fitted’ (LSJ).
παρακαλεῖσθε: < παρακαλῶ (έω), ‘exhort, urge’. Here the present imperative is pass. or rather middle-passive, ‘exhort one another’, ‘console one another’/ ‘be consoled’.
φρονεῖτε: < φρονῶ (έω), ‘think, reflect’ (Exeg. Dict. NT, s.v., p. 438). In Paul the vb expresses ‘single-minded commitment to something’ (ibid.). τὸ αὐτὸ = ‘the same’, ‘the very one’ (LSJ). Here the combination of the article and the pronoun indicates identity, sameness. The implied φρόνημα, ‘aim, way of thinking’ is modified by ‘the very same’.
εἰρηνεύετε: another imperative, εἰρηνεύω, intr., ‘live in peace’ (cl. Gk prose). εἰρήνης: genet. sg. of εἰρήνη, ‘peace’ . Cf. Engl. irenic.
[12] Ἀσπάσασθε ἀλλήλους: now Paul uses an aor. imper., suggesting a non-repeated action: ‘Greet each other’. ἀσπάζομαι, middle voice, can mean (like χαίρω), two opposite actions, i.e. ‘welcome, greet’ or ‘say good-bye’.
Matthew 28:16-20
28:16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.
28:17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.
28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
28:20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
16 Οἱ δὲ ἕνδεκα μαθηταὶ ἐπορεύθησαν εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν, εἰς τὸ ὄρος οὗ ἐτάξατο αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς.
17 Καὶ ἰδόντες αὐτὸν προσεκύνησαν αὐτῷ, οἱ δὲ ἐδίστασαν.
18 Καὶ προσελθὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖς λέγων· ἐδόθη μοι πᾶσα ἐξουσία ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς.
19 Πορευθέντες μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, βαπτίζοντες αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος,
20 διδάσκοντες αὐτοὺς τηρεῖν πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν· καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ μεθ᾿ ὑμῶν εἰμι πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος. Ἀμήν.
Comments
The pericope ends with an imperative—a command—and an assurance of Christ’s ever-continuing presence (vv. 19-20).
[17] ἐδίστασαν: < δι-στάζω, abs., ‘doubt, hesitate’ (already in cl. Gk). The prefix δι- denotes two possibilities or components, as in the English bi-. The eleven were in two minds, hence ‘hesitatant’ (because of doubt).
[19] μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη: μαθητεύω, tr., a koine vb, means ‘make a disciple (μαθητής) of’, ‘teach’ (cf. LSJ). Christ’s μαθηταί are to make all nations his μαθηταί. μαθητεύω is related to the vb μανθάνω, ‘I learn, understand’. Cf. the Engl. mathematics.
[20] διδάσκοντες αὐτοὺς: < διδάσκω, ‘Ι teach someone something’; construed here with an obj. and an infinitive (τηρεῖν), as in cl. Gk. Cf. Engl. didactic.
τηρεῖν: < τηρῶ (έω), ‘I keep’. The temporal context furnished by the next sentence (ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος) suggests that the ‘keeping’ of all of Christ’s ἐντολαί/ ‘commandments’ (cf. πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν) has eschatological consequences (Exeg. Dict. NT, s.v. τηρῶ, p. 355).
ἐγὼ μεθ᾿ ὑμῶν εἰμι: in ancient Greek poetry and prose, the present tense can sometimes express something that is absolutely certain to occur, and thus is the equivalent of the future tense. The ‘prophetic present’ can be exampled in prophecies and in Thucyides (6.91), etc.
Pentecost Sunday, 24th May 2026
Acts 2:1-21
Filled with the Spirit
2:1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.
2:2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
2:3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.
2:4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
2:5 Now there were devout Jews from every people under heaven living in Jerusalem.
2:6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.
2:7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
2:8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?
2:9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
2:10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
2:11 Cretans and Arabs–in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”
2:12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”
2:13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
2:14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Fellow Jews and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say.
2:15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning.
2:16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
2:17 ‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.
2:18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
2:19 And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
2:20 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
2:21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
[1] Καὶ ἐν τῷ συμπληροῦσθαι τὴν ἡμέραν τῆς πεντηκοστῆς ἦσαν ἅπαντες ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό.
[2] καὶ ἐγένετο ἄφνω ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἦχος ὥσπερ φερομένης πνοῆς βιαίας, καὶ ἐπλήρωσεν ὅλον τὸν οἶκον οὗ ἦσαν καθήμενοι·
[3] καὶ ὤφθησαν αὐτοῖς διαμεριζόμεναι γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρός, ἐκάθισέ τε ἐφ᾿ ἕνα ἕκαστον αὐτῶν,
[4] καὶ ἐπλήσθησαν ἅπαντες Πνεύματος ῾Αγίου, καὶ ἤρξαντο λαλεῖν ἑτέραις γλώσσαις καθὼς τὸ Πνεῦμα ἐδίδου αὐτοῖς ἀποφθέγγεσθαι.
[5] ῏Ησαν δὲ ἐν ῾Ιερουσαλὴμ κατοικοῦντες ᾿Ιουδαῖοι, ἄνδρες εὐλαβεῖς ἀπὸ παντὸς ἔθνους τῶν ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανόν·
[6] γενομένης δὲ τῆς φωνῆς ταύτης συνῆλθε τὸ πλῆθος καὶ συνεχύθη, ὅτι ἤκουον εἷς ἕκαστος τῇ ἰδίᾳ διαλέκτῳ λαλούντων αὐτῶν.
[7] ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες καὶ ἐθαύμαζον λέγοντες πρὸς ἀλλήλους· οὐκ ἰδοὺ πάντες οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ λαλοῦντες Γαλιλαῖοι;
[8] καὶ πῶς ἡμεῖς ἀκούομεν ἕκαστος τῇ ἰδίᾳ διαλέκτῳ ἡμῶν ἐν ᾗ ἐγεννήθημεν,
[9] Πάρθοι καὶ Μῆδοι καὶ ᾿Ελαμῖται, καὶ οἱ κατοικοῦντες τὴν Μεσοποταμίαν, ᾿Ιουδαίαν τε καὶ Καππαδοκίαν, Πόντον καὶ τὴν ᾿Ασίαν,
[10] Φρυγίαν τε καὶ Παμφυλίαν, Αἴγυπτον καὶ τὰ μέρη τῆς Λιβύης τῆς κατὰ Κυρήνην, καὶ οἱ ἐπιδημοῦντες ῾Ρωμαῖοι, ᾿Ιουδαῖοί τε καὶ προσήλυτοι,
[11] Κρῆτες καὶ ῎Αραβες, ἀκούομεν λαλούντων αὐτῶν ταῖς ἡμετέραις γλώσσαις τὰ μεγαλεῖα τοῦ Θεοῦ;
[12] ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες καὶ διηπόρουν, ἄλλος πρὸς ἄλλον λέγοντες· τί ἂν θέλοι τοῦτο εἶναι;
[13] ἕτεροι δὲ χλευάζοντες ἔλεγον ὅτι γλεύκους μεμεστωμένοι εἰσί.
[14] Σταθεὶς δὲ Πέτρος σὺν τοῖς ἕνδεκα ἐπῆρε τὴν φωνὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπεφθέγξατο αὐτοῖς· ἄνδρες ᾿Ιουδαῖοι καὶ οἱ κατοικοῦντες ῾Ιερουσαλὴμ ἅπαντες, τοῦτο ὑμῖν γνωστὸν ἔστω καὶ ἐνωτίσασθε τὰ ῥήματά μου.
[15] οὐ γάρ, ὡς ὑμεῖς ὑπολαμβάνετε, οὗτοι μεθύουσιν· ἔστι γὰρ ὥρα τρίτη τῆς ἡμέρας·
[16] ἀλλὰ τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ εἰρημένον διὰ τοῦ προφήτου ᾿Ιωήλ·
[17] καὶ ἔσται ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις, λέγει ὁ Θεός,
ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός μου ἐπὶ πᾶσαν σάρκα,
καὶ προφητεύσουσιν οἱ υἱοὶ ὑμῶν καὶ αἱ θυγατέρες ὑμῶν,
καὶ οἱ νεανίσκοι ὑμῶν ὁράσεις ὄψονται,
καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι ὑμῶν ἐνύπνια ἐνυπνιασθήσονται·
[18] καί γε ἐπὶ τοὺς δούλους μου καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς δούλας μου ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις
ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός μου, καὶ προφητεύσουσι.
[19] καὶ δώσω τέρατα ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἄνω
καὶ σημεῖα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς κάτω,
αἷμα καὶ πῦρ καὶ ἀτμίδα καπνοῦ·
[20] ὁ ἥλιος μεταστραφήσεταιεἰς σκότος
καὶ ἡ σελήνη εἰς αἷμα
πρὶν ἢ ἐλθεῖν τὴν ἡμέραν Κυρίου
τὴν μεγάλην καὶ ἐπιφανῆ.
[21] καὶ ἔσται πᾶς ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου σωθήσεται.
Comments
The first thing that may strike us is St Luke’s lavish use of quantifiers– ἅπαντες/ ‘all without exception’(1, 4, 14), ὅλον/ ‘whole, entire’(2), ἕνα ἕκαστον/ ‘each one separately, each singly’(3, cf. 6, 8), πάντες/ ‘all’(7, 12)—in his description of the collective and the individual experience of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost. He is alternately taking long shots and close-ups, as it were, as the gift of tongues spreads across the assembled Jews. Fullness is a key motif in the lection about the theophany of Pentecost.
A list of the reference works cited:
Aerakis = Δ. Γ. Αεράκη, Οι Πράξεις των Αποστόλων, τεύχος Α′.
Blass-Debr.- Funk = F. Blass, & A. Debrunner, A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and other early Christian literature, 9th edn, tr. & revsd R. W. Funk, Cambridge University & Chicago, 1961.
Bruce = F. F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles, Greek text with introduction & commentary, 3rd revsd & enlarged edn, Grand Rapids, MI & Leicester, UK.
EDNT = Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament, 3 vols, eds, H. Balz & G. Schneider, Grand Rapids, MI, 1990-3 (orig. Stuttgart, 1978-83).
LSJ = H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th edn, with new Supplement, Oxford, 1996 (available online).
Montanari = F. Montanari, The Brill Dictionary of Ancient Greek, 3rd edn, Leiden, Boston, 2013.
Muraoka = T. Muraoka, Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, Louvain, Paris, Walpole, MA, 2009.
[1] ἐν τῷ συμπληροῦσθαι: συμπληρόω, ‘fill up’; ‘complete’ (cl. Gk: LSJ s.v., II. 1 &2). Bruce, p. 113 notes ad loc. that συμπληροῦσθαι ‘is used in LXX to express the completion of a period.’
The inf. becomes the equivalent of a substantive (noun) when it is construed with a prep. (‘articular inf.’). ἐν τῷ + inf. is chiefly Lukan, the present tense of the inf. is commonly used, and the sense is usually temporal (‘while’). Thus here = ‘while the day of Pentecost was being completed’. This usage is attested in LXX and is prob. a Hebraism; but Bruce, loc. cit., considers it ‘characteristic of historical writers from second century B.C. to first century AD.’
ἅπαντες ὁμοθυμαδὸν: ἅπαντες, ‘all without exception’; ὁμοθυμαδὸν, ‘unanimously, by consent’ (cl. Gk prose: Montanari s.v.); πάντες ὁμοθυμαδὸν (‘all together’) occurs in Xenophon and Plato. Luke goes one better by using ἅπαντες ὁμοθυμαδὸν, ‘absolutely all together’.
The ideas of completion, unanimity, and togetherness are sounded already from v. 1, and will be echoed by a number of related verbs in the next vv.
[2] ἄφνω: ‘suddenly’, ‘unexpectedly’ (cl. Gk poetry & prose: LSJ & Montanari s.v.). The adv. refers to the emergence of the ἦχος, ‘sound’.
ὥσπερ: the rel. adv. ‘just as’ introduces a simile as also in v. 3.
ἐπλήρωσεν ὅλον τὸν οἶκον: 3rd pers. sg., aor., πληρόω (the simplex form), ‘fill, fill up’, e.g. jugs (in cl. Gk). The vb is used figuratively here. (Cf. the cmpd συμπληρόω in v. 1.)
[3] διαμεριζόμεναι: a pres. part., ‘being distributed’. ἐφ᾿ ἕνα ἕκαστον αὐτῶν modifies the part. δ., defining the manner of distribution of the tongues.
The adj. ἕκαστον, ‘each’, places stress on ἕνα; the meaning is ‘each one separately, i.e. one after another’ as in Hdt 4.67.1, ἐπὶ μίαν ἑκάστην ῥάβδον (Montari s.v., F [cardinal εἷς with prep.]). There is an implied contrast between the individual recipients of the Holy Spirit and their totality (ἅπαντες). Cf. v. 6, εἷς ἕκαστος, ‘each one, each singly’; v. 17, ἐπὶ πᾶσαν σάρκα and v. 18, ἐπὶ τοὺς δούλους μου καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς δούλας μου.
[4] ἐπλήσθησαν ἅπαντες Πνεύματος ῾Αγίου: ἐπλήσθησαν, 3rd pers. pl., aor. pass., πίπλαμαι, ‘be filled, be full of’, c. gen. rei (already in Homer). Cf. v.2 ἐπλήρωσεν ὅλον τὸν οἶκον, ‘filled the whole house’. Fullness and fulfilment are key motifs in the passage. ‘Everyone without exception was filled with Spirit Holy’. Note that ‘Spirit’ initially is indefinite (Πνεύματος ῾Αγίου).
ἀποφθέγγεσθαι: ἀποφθέγγομαι, mid., ‘make an (oracular) pronouncement’, Lucian Alex. 25 and LXX (Montanari & Muraoka s.v.). In v. 14, ἀπεφθέγξατο refers to Peter delivering his first oration. All those endowed with glossolalia did more than ‘express themselves, talk’– they spoke in an oracular mode.
[6] φωνῆς ταύτης: ‘of this sound (or noise)’ as opposed to λόγος, οr articulate speech; the demonstrative pron. ταύτης refers back to the sound of foreign languages in v. 4. The flood of foreign speech blurs into noise– or (on first impression) babble!
συνεχύθη: 3rd pers. sg., aor., pass. συγχέομαι, ‘I am confounded, confused’, a fig. meaning as the vb lit. means ‘I am poured together’ (of liquids). συνεχύθη here denotes the shocked confusion of the multitude. In Gen. 6:7 God punishes the builders of the tower of Babel by ‘mixing up’ (συγχέομεν) their unitary language. Cf. 6, εἷς ἕκαστος, i.e. ‘one by one’.
[7] ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες καὶ ἐθαύμαζον: ἐξίσταμαι, pass., ‘I am beside myself with amazement or fear’, a late, fig. meaning attested in LXX (see Montanari s.v. ἐξίστημι, B; Muraoka & EDNT s.v.).Cf. Engl. ecstasy.
ἐθαύμαζον, ‘they were amazed, astonished’. The tautology (i.e. the repetition of the same idea) brings out the awe felt by everyone, as Aerakis, p. 44 also remarks. Cf. v. 12, ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες καὶ διηπόρουν.
οὐκ ἰδοὺ πάντες οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ λαλοῦντες Γαλιλαῖοι;: οὐκ ἰδοὺ (in some MSS οὐχ ἰδοὺ, see Bruce, p. 116 ad loc.) is the equivalent of the interrogative particles ἆρ’ οὐ. This combination indicates that the question is intense and anticipates a ‘Yes’ answer.
[10] οἱ ἐπιδημοῦντες ῾Ρωμαῖοι: ‘the Roman residents’, ‘the Romans resident’. These presumably are Jews returned from Rome. The phrase has been mistranslated by some as ‘visitors’.
[13] γλεύκους μεμεστωμένοι: γλεῦκος, τὸ, ‘sweet new wine’ (cl. Gk: LSJ s.v.). μεμεστωμένοι, 3rd pers. pl., pass. pf. part., μεστόομαι, ‘I am filled or full of’, c. gen. rei (cl. Gl: LSJ s.v.). Another vb denoting fullness, but this time it is not the Holy Ghost that figuratively fills but literally the potent wine!
[14] Σταθεὶς δὲ Πέτρος: Σταθεὶς, part. aor. pass., ἵστημι, intr., ‘stand’; so here = ‘standing’, referring to St Peter before the multitude. This is a performative physical detail that describes Peter’s speech act. Cf. Acts 17:22, Σταθεὶς δὲ ὁ Παῦλος ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ ᾿Αρείου πάγου ἔφη, of St Paul’s stance as he addresses the Areopagus.
[17] καὶ ἔσται ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις: ‘A Hebraism (cf. v. 21 ),rendered “And it shall come to pass that … ” in the older English versions’ (Bruce, p. 121 ad loc.).
ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός μου ἐπὶ πᾶσαν σάρκα: ἐκχεῶ, koine fut. ἐκχέω, ‘I pour out’, prop. of liquids (LSJ s.v. I.a). Cf. the cmpd συγχέω, v. 6 above.
πᾶσα σάρξ, LXX equivalent of the pron. ‘everybody’ (Muraoka s.v.2). ‘Everybody’ in v. 17 is broken down into intergenerational groups of males and females in the same verse, and then summed up in v. 18, ἐπὶ τοὺς δούλους μου καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς δούλας μου.
[18] προφητεύσουσι: fut., προφητεύω, lit. ‘speak (cf. φημί) on behalf of (προ-) οf a god’ (LSJ s.v. I); ‘prophesy’ (in NT). Here the vb sums up the activities listed in v. 17.
17th May 2026, Easter 7
John 17:1-11
Christ’s prayer for his disciples
17: 1After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you,
17:2 since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
17:3 And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
17:4 I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do.
17:5 So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.
17:6 “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
17:7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you,
17:8 for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me.
17:9 I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours.
17:10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.
17:11 And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.
1 Ταῦτα ἐλάλησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς, καὶ ἐπῆρε τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ εἶπε· πάτερ, ἐλήλυθεν ἡ ὥρα· δόξασόν σου τὸν υἱόν, ἵνα καὶ ὁ υἱός σου δοξάσῃ σε,
2 καθὼς ἔδωκας αὐτῷ ἐξουσίαν πάσης σαρκός, ἵνα πᾶν ὃ δέδωκας αὐτῷ δώσῃ αὐτοῖς ζωὴν αἰώνιον.
3 Αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ αἰώνιος ζωή, ἵνα γινώσκωσί σε τὸν μόνον ἀληθινὸν Θεὸν καὶ ὃν ἀπέστειλας Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν.
4 Ἐγώ σε ἐδόξασα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, τὸ ἔργον ἐτελείωσα ὃ δέδωκάς μοι ἵνα ποιήσω·
5 καὶ νῦν δόξασόν με σύ, πάτερ, παρὰ σεαυτῷ τῇ δόξῃ ᾗ εἶχον πρὸ τοῦ τὸν κόσμον εἶναι παρὰ σοί.
6 Ἐφανέρωσά σου τὸ ὄνομα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις οὓς δέδωκάς μοι ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου. Σοὶ ἦσαν καὶ ἐμοὶ αὐτοὺς δέδωκας, καὶ τὸν λόγον σου τετηρήκασι.
7 Νῦν ἔγνωκαν ὅτι πάντα ὅσα δέδωκάς μοι παρὰ σοῦ ἐστιν·
8 ὅτι τὰ ῥήματα ἃ δέδωκάς μοι δέδωκα αὐτοῖς, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔλαβον, καὶ ἔγνωσαν ἀληθῶς ὅτι παρὰ σοῦ ἐξῆλθον, καὶ ἐπίστευσαν ὅτι σύ με ἀπέστειλας.
9 Ἐγὼ περὶ αὐτῶν ἐρωτῶ· οὐ περὶ τοῦ κόσμου ἐρωτῶ, ἀλλὰ περὶ ὧν δέδωκάς μοι, ὅτι σοί εἰσι,
10 καὶ τὰ ἐμὰ πάντα σά ἐστι καὶ τὰ σὰ ἐμά, καὶ δεδόξασμαι ἐν αὐτοῖς.
11 Καὶ οὐκέτι εἰμὶ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, καὶ οὗτοι ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ εἰσί, καὶ ἐγὼ πρὸς σὲ ἔρχομαι. Πάτερ ἅγιε, τήρησον αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου ᾧ δέδωκάς μοι, ἵνα ὦσιν ἓν καθὼς ἡμεῖς.
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A formal tripartite prayer that begins with the uplifting of the eyes and an address (‘πάτερ’); then comes a ‘narration’ and a petition that concludes with an address (‘Πάτερ ἅγιε’). The vbs γιγνώσκω and δίδωμι are prominent. The chiastic, i.e. crisscross patterns, in vv. 1 and 10 reflect the interconnectedness of Father and Son.
[1] ἐπῆρε τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ: ἐπαίρω, ‘lift, lift up’ (cl. Gk).
ἡ ὥρα: ‘ the hour’, here ‘hour of death’. In cl. Gk the term can mean ‘season’, ‘maturity’ (with overtones of beauty). Cf. modern Greek ωραίος, ‘lovely’, ‘handsome’, etc.
δόξασόν σου τὸν υἱόν, ἵνα καὶ ὁ υἱός σου δοξάσῃ σε: δοξάζω, ‘honour’; ‘glorify’. Cf. δόξα (v.5), which among a plethora of meanings in cl. Gk poetry and prose, e.g. ‘opinion’, can also signify ‘glory’. The word order is chiastic (AB, ba), ‘you’ (Father) and ‘your Son’ are interlocked. Syntax stages meaning in this statement.
[2] ἐξουσίαν πάσης σαρκός: ἐξουσία, occurring 102 times in the NT, means ‘power’, ‘authority’. σάρξ is ‘flesh’, ‘body’ occurring 147 times in the NT; πᾶσα σάρξ, ‘all flesh’, ‘every body’ is not idiomatic Greek but rather traditional in LXX Greek, and means ‘all mankind’ (EDNT, s.v. σάρξ, p. 232). Cf. Engl. sarcophagus.
[3] ἵνα γινώσκωσί σε: γινώσκω (koine for γιγνώσκω), ‘Ι know’. The vb recurs in vv. 7 and 8.
[4] τὸ ἔργον ἐτελείωσα: τελειῶ (όω), ‘complete’, ‘bring to completion’.
[5] τὸν κόσμον: κόσμος, ‘world’, ‘universe’. For pagans, the term κόσμος implied order and beauty (as in cosmetic). It occurs 78 times in St John alone and a total of 186 times in the NT. In John 1:10, ‘the world’ functions almost as code for everyone and everything opposed to Christ and to the Father. Cf. v. 11.
[9] περὶ αὐτῶν ἐρωτῶ: ἐρωτῶ in later Greek means ‘I request’.
[10] τὰ ἐμὰ πάντα σά ἐστι καὶ τὰ σὰ ἐμά: another telling chiasmus, bringing out the interconnectedness of ‘my’/’mine’ and ‘yours’.
Insights into Biblical Greek Grammar and Syntax 