and...
I can't offer you a trade, but I can GIVE you my read on this,
which
is that this present is the SAME present as EGW EIMI [As in
"before
Abraham was...] ~ Which is to say, the omnipresent of the
present
tense, and right smack dab in the middle of the ARCH!
Dear George,
While it is true that the Greek Present "form" generally refers to
present time, there are other considerations for translators. Here is
some food for thought. An adverbial temporal clause modifying the
present verb form can throw the starting point into the past. A
translator needs to take a temporal time clause into consideration along
with a verb form. In John 8:58 there is a temporal clause referring to
past time "PRIN ABRAAM GENSQAI." PRIN is an adverbial coordinating
conjunction. Which verb does PRIN modify? How does it modify the verb?
What should a translator do with this verb form?
Likewise, what effect does the temporal clause TOSOUTON CRONON have on
EIMI in John 14:9 causing the following translations to modify the
present form into a "Present of Past Action?" (cf Moulton A Grammar of
N.T. Greek, Vol. III, 1963, p.62)
John 14:9 "eimi" with past time clause = "I have been" (in the past and
still am)
KJV John 14:9 Have I been so long time with you
ASV John 14:9 Have I been so long time with you
NAS John 14:9 "Have I been so long with you
NAB John 14:9 "Have I been so long with you
NWT John 14:9 "Have I been with you men so long a time
NIV John 14:9 "even after I have been among you such a long time?
TEV John 14:9 "For a long time I have been with you all;
NRS John 14:9 "Have I been with you all this time
NKJ John 14:9 "Have I been with you so long
BLE John 14:9 "I have been with you such a long time,
WEB John 14:9 Have I been so long time with you
RWB John 14:9 Have I been so long time with you,
LIV John 14:9 even after all this time I have been with you?
BBE John 14:9 have I been with you all this time,
Sincerely,
Wes Williams