Berean Standard Bible
3Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
The Pioneer Translation RenderingRendered from the original Greek
John 17:3
The Pioneer's Prayer for Eternal Life
And this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.
The phrase *ton monon alēthinon theon* — "the only true God" — is applied exclusively to the Father, whom Jesus is addressing in prayer; Jesus then refers to himself in the third person as the one *whom you sent* (*hon apesteilas*), preserving the full sender/sent distinction. The verb *apesteilas* (from *apostellō*) is translated "sent" to maintain that the Father is the origin and sender, and Jesus the one commissioned and sent — they are explicitly distinct here within the same sentence.
Compare the wording
The same verse across the licensed translations and the Greek
Compare two
King James Version
3And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Goodspeed New Testament
3And eternal life means knowing you as the only true God, and knowing Jesus your messenger as Christ.
Translation for Translators
T4T was designed as a tool for Bible translators, not as a devotional text. It makes implicit meaning explicit and flags figurative language with abbreviations. Gold [brackets] indicate translation notes. ◄Triangles► mark alternative renderings.Read more about how to read T4T →3The way for people to live eternally is for them to know that you are the only true God, and to know that I, Jesus, am the Messiah, the one you have sent.
Berean Standard Bible
Goodspeed New Testament
3
Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
And eternal life means knowing you as the only true God, and knowing Jesus your messenger as Christ.
Berean Standard Bible
Goodspeed New Testament
King James Version
3
Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
And eternal life means knowing you as the only true God, and knowing Jesus your messenger as Christ.
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
SBL
Greek, word by word
3
αὕτη he αὐτός autós from the particle (perhaps akin to the base of G109 (ἀήρ) through the idea of a baffling wind) (backward); the reflexive δέ and δέ dé a primary particle (adversative or continuative); but, and, etc. also, and, but, moreover, now (often unexpressed in Eng ἐστιν is εἰμί eimí the first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist (used only when ἡ the ὁ ho the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom) the, this, that, one, he, she, αἰώνιος eternal αἰώνιος aiṓnios from G165 (αἰών); perpetual (also used of past time, or past and future as well) eternal, for ever, everlasting, world ( ζωὴ life ζωή zōḗ from G2198 (ζάω); life (literally or figuratively) life(-time) ἵνα so that ἵνα hína probably from the same as the former part of G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ) (through the demonstrative idea; compare G3588 (ὁ)); in orde γινώσκωσι σὲ you σύ sý the personal pronoun of the second person singular; thou thou τὸν the ὁ ho the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom) the, this, that, one, he, she, μόνον alone μόνον mónon neuter of G3441 (μόνος) as adverb; merely alone, but, only ἀληθινὸν true ἀληθινός alēthinós from G227 (ἀληθής); truthful true θεὸν God θεός theós a deity, especially (with G3588 (ὁ)) the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very X exceeding, Go καὶ and καί kaí apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too ὃν who ὅς hós probably a primary word (or perhaps a form of the article G3588 (ὁ)); the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, ἀπέστειλας send forth ἀποστέλλω apostéllō from G575 (ἀπό) and G4724 (στέλλω); set apart, i.e. (by implication) to send out (properly, on a mission) literally or f Ἰησοῦν Jesus Ἰησοῦς Iēsoûs of Hebrew origin (H03091); Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua), the name of our Lord and two (three) other Israelites Jesus Χριστόν Messiah Χριστός Christós from G5548 (χρίω); anointed, i.e. the Messiah, an epithet of Jesus Christ .
Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
Functional Faith Reading
The Greek word for "know" here is ginōskōsin — present active subjunctive, meaning a continuous, living, relational knowing rather than a single moment of intellectual assent. The phrase "only true God" renders monon alēthinon theon — the Father alone is identified as the singular, genuine, uncreated source of all that is.
Most readings treat this verse as a signpost toward mystery, quietly collapsing the Pioneer into the identity of the "only true God" he is in the act of addressing. But the Pioneer does not do that — he holds the distinction open deliberately, speaking of the Father as other than himself.
This is the Pioneer praying with full transparency. Eternal life, by his own definition, is not a destination unlocked by affirming the correct formula — it is a relationship, a sustained knowing, entered by walking with the one Jehovah sent as his supreme agent into the world. The Pioneer distinguishes himself from the Father precisely because that distinction is what makes him followable — a path requires someone who has walked it ahead of you.
For those on the Way, this verse is a quiet relief. You are not called to master a creed before you belong — you are invited into a knowing, through the Pattern the Pioneer demonstrated and left open for others to enter.
Sit with this
What would change in how you pray if you took the Pioneer's own words here at full face value?
Sources
- Berean Standard BibleLicense
- King James VersionLicense
- Goodspeed New TestamentLicense
- Translation for TranslatorsLicense
SBL Greek New Testament (SBLGNT)License
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
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