Mark 8:27
Whom do men say that I am?
On the way to Caesarea Phillipi with his students.
Mark 8:27 Whom do men say that I am?
Mark 8:27 Who do people say I am?
Whom do these people speak of me to be?
Greek
Greek Word Order
We don't always know who we are talking about.
Lost in Translation
The phrase "I am" does not exist in the Greek of this verse. The verb is an infinitive so "to be" or "to exist." The "I" is a "me." While "I am" gives a smoother translation, it is a little misleading given the importance attached to that phrase regarding the Divine.
Vocabulary (Greek word by word)
Τίνα [252 verses](irreg sg neutral/masc acc) "Whom" is from tis which can mean "someone", "any one", "everyone", "they [indefinite]", "many a one", "whoever", "anyone", "anything", "some sort", "some sort of", "each", "any", "the individual", "such," and so on. In a question, it can mean "who", "why," or "what."
με [49 verses](noun sg masc acc) "Me" is eme, which means "I", "me", and "my".
λέγουσιν [264 verses](verb 3rd pl pres ind act) "Do...say" is from lego, which means "to recount", "to tell over", "to say", "to speak", "to teach", "to mean", "boast of", "tell of", "recite," nominate," and "command." It has a secondary meaning "pick out, ""choose for oneself", "pick up", "gather", "count," and "recount."
οἱ [821 verses](article pl masc nom) Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). -
ἄνθρωποι [209 verses] (noun pl masc nom) "Men"is anthropos, which is "man," and, in plural, "mankind." It also means "humanity" and that which is human and opposed to that which is animal or inanimate. -- The Greek word for "man" means "man," "person" and "humanity" in the singular. In the plural, it means "men," "people," and "peoples."
εἶναι; [614 verses] (verb pres inf act) "I am" is eimi, (einai), which means "to be," "to exist," "to be the case," of circumstance and events "to happen," and "is possible." With the genitive object, the sense is "belongs to." With the dative, it means "have" where the subject and object are reversed.
KJV — word by word
Whom -- The word translated as "what" means primarily "anything" or "anyone," but Jesus often use
do -- --This English helping verb is used to create questions, commands, negative statements, and smooth word flow in translation from Greek
missing "the/this" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article," the," which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," and "those"). See this article for more.
men -- The Greek word for "men" means "man", "person" and "humanity" in the singular. In the plural, it means "men", "people", and "peoples".
say -- The word translated as "say" is the most common word that means "to say," "to tell," and "to speak," but when used with an objective noun or pronoun, the sense is "say of" or "speak of."
that -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "that" in the Greek source. It was added because the next verb was translated as active rather than as an infinitive.
I -- (WF) The pronoun is not "I" but "me," not a subject but an object. In English the word "say" doesn't take a direct object.
am? - (WF) The verb that means "to be" or "to exist" here that is not the active form of the verb, but the infinitive form, which acts more like a noun. The sense is "to be" or "to exist." in Greek, a form that has no information about the subject or tense as do most Greek verbs. It does not mean "am" as much as "to be". It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition.
NIV — word by word
Who do people say I am?
Whom -- The word translated as "what" means primarily "anything" or "anyone," but Jesus often use
do -- --This English helping verb is used to create questions, commands, negative statements, and smooth word flow in translation from Greek
missing "the/this" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article," the," which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," and "those"). See this article for more.
people -- The Greek word for "people " means "man", "person" and "humanity" in the singular. In the plural, it means "men", "people", and "peoples".
say-- The word translated as "say" is the most common word that means "to say," "to tell," and "to speak," but when used with an objective noun or pronoun, the sense is "say of" or "speak of."
I -- (WF) The pronoun is not "I" but "me," not a subject but an object. In English the word "say" doesn't take a direct object.
am? - (WF) The verb that means "to be" or "to exist" here that is not the active form of the verb, but the infinitive form, which acts more like a noun. The sense is "to be" or "to exist." in Greek, a form that has no information about the subject or tense as do most Greek verbs. It does not mean "am" as much as "to be". It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition.