John 2:7
Fill the waterpots with water.
Mary tells servants at the wedding to follow Jesus's orders.
John 2:7 Fill the waterpots with water.
John 2:7 Fill the jars with water
Fill up these waterpots with water.
Greek
Greek Word Order
We must use what the Divine has given us to its capacity.
Lost in Translation
The word translated as "fill" is not the common word for "fill" but a special one that Jesus only uses twice that has the sense of "fill up", that is, filling to capacity, The word "waterpot/jar" and "water" are from the same root. Jesus only uses the word for "waterpot" here, but he doesn't use the word "water" that commonly either.
Vocabulary (Greek word by word)
Γεμίσατε [2 verses](verb 2nd pl aor imperat act) "Fill" is gemizō, which means to "fill full of", "load", "freight", "stuff", "gorge" and "charge with".
τὰς (article pl fem acc) "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
ὑδρίας [1 verse](noun pl fem acc) "Waterpots" is hydria, which means "water pot", "pitcher", "vessel" and even "money pot".
ὕδατος: [12 verses](noun sg neut gen) "The water" is hydor, which means "water", "spring water", "drinking water", "rain water", "rain", "time running out" (from the water clocks used in courts), "liquid", the constellation Aquarius, the winter solstice, and a place with mineral waters.
KJV — word by word
Fill -- (CW) The word translated as "fill" means "fill full of", "load", "freight", "stuff", "gorge" and "charge with". The sense is filling or loading to capacity as we used the words "fill up". This is not the common word translated as "fill".
the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these", "those") than the English "the". See this article for more.
waterpots - "Waterpots" is from a feminine form of the neuter word "water", which means "water pot", "pitcher", "vessel" and even "money pot". Jesus only uses it once here.
with -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession. However, here this verb takes a genitive object.
water. -- "Water" is the noun that means "water", "spring water", "drinking water", "rain water", "rain", "time running out" (from the water clocks used in courts), "liquid", the constellation Aquarius, the winter solstice, and a place with mineral waters. Jesus only uses this word twelve times.
NIV — word by word
Fill -- (CW) The word translated as "fill" means "fill full of", "load", "freight", "stuff", "gorge" and "charge with". The sense is filling or loading to capacity as we used the words "fill up." This is not the common word translated as "fill."
the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these", "those") than the English "the". See this article for more.
jars - (CW) "Jars" is from a feminine form of the neuter word "water", which means "water pot", "pitcher", "vessel" and even "money pot". Jesus only uses it once here. It is not the common word for "jar".
with -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession. However, here this verb takes a genitive object.
water. -- "Water" is the noun that means "water", "spring water", "drinking water", "rain water", "rain", "time running out" (from the water clocks used in courts), "liquid", the constellation Aquarius, the winter solstice, and a place with mineral waters. Jesus only uses this word twelve times.