If and When

In English, “if” and “when” are distinct words with overlapping meanings. We often use “when” to refer to definite events which are certain to occur (“I’ll get out of bed when the sun comes up”), but “when” can be used interchangeably with “if” for uncertain, contingent events (“I’ll buy some new boots when I win the lottery”).

Thus, the Greek word “ean” can be translated into English with “if” or “when;” which term the translator chooses depends, to a great extent, on the certainty of the event to which the term refers. This is why I initially translated John 12:32 as “And I, when I am lifted up, will draw all men to me.” After all, what was more certain than the crucifixion of Christ and the subsequent evangelization of the world? I was surprised any English version would use “if” rather than “when” in this sentence.

But.

Sunday morning as I was preparing to preach on John 12:20-33 from the NKJV, I suddenly noticed the parallel between John 12:32 and 12:24: “...if [a grain of wheat] dies, it bears much fruit.” The NKJV translates “ean” as “if” in both John 12:24 and 12:32 to draw out an implication of Jesus’ analogy: the fruit to be borne by Christ’s death is as certain as the harvest to be reaped from a field sown with grain. Were “ean” translated differently in John 12:24 and 12:32, this point could easily be missed.

Let the record show: the Presbyterian Curmudgeon acknowledges the translators of the NKJV just may, on occasion, have more insight into a given text than he.