# John 6:39



## (^^)Regin (May 16, 2012)

ESV
[BIBLE]John 6:39[/BIBLE]
Was "it" pertaining to people who will believe in the Lord Jesus or was it about some-'thing' else?

Why is it "raise 'it' up" instead of "raise 'them' up"?

Insight appreciated in advance!


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## Romans922 (May 16, 2012)

The 'it' is referring to 'all' in the phrase before. 

A better translation is, "And this is the will of Him who sent me, that *all *that He hath given to me I may not lose of it, but may raise *it *up in the last day. 

'It' is referring to the 'all' (which is bolded). I don't know why the ESV and the translation I refer to use 'it'. I'm not the translator.


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## Jake (May 16, 2012)

Romans922 said:


> The 'it' is referring to 'all' in the phrase before.
> 
> A better translation is, "And this is the will of Him who sent me, that *all *that He hath given to me I may not lose of it, but may raise *it *up in the last day.
> 
> 'It' is referring to the 'all' (which is bolded). I don't know why the ESV and the translation I refer to use 'it'. I'm not the translator.



And the NIV and several other translations do use 'them.'


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## Romans922 (May 16, 2012)

I would imagine that some translations use "it" instead of "them" because the word is singular and not plural.


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## (^^)Regin (May 16, 2012)

So I just learned that you can call people 'it' when they are addressed as 'all'.


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## CharlieJ (May 16, 2012)

Two things:

First, it's clarified by the next verse:

John 6:39-40 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." 

Second, the terms in v. 39, including the word for all, are neuter. That's unusual, because when referring to a group of people, the masculine is used. Perhaps that is a hint that Jesus is saying something bigger, even cosmic. Everything that is given to Jesus, including the whole cosmos, will be renewed/raised up on the last day. That isn't the main thrust of the passage, but it's an avenue worth pursuing. It's also possible that John is pushing the gift metaphor so strongly that the personal element recedes into the background, allowing the use of the neuter rather than the masculine.


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