He is the Advocate Jesus promised. He teaches, guides into all truth, helps us in our weakness, and can be grieved. In John 14:16, the Greek word is paraklētos (G3875): It describes someone who stands beside you to speak for you and to comfort you. The same word is in 1 John 2:1, where Jesus is the one: “we have...
Get DeepWordWhat the original says
Behind the word “Advocate” in this verse is the Greek word paraklētos (said pah-RAH-klay-tos).
It describes someone who stands beside you to speak for you and to comfort you. The same word is in 1 John 2:1, where Jesus is the one: “we have an advocate before the Father”.
This form, paraklēton, is a noun, a naming word. Just before it is allon, ‘another’: Jesus says the Father will give “another Advocate”.
In the Berean Standard Bible, this word is found in only 5 verses, all in John’s writings, and it is “advocate” every time (5 times):
Word by word
| ἄλλον | παράκλητον | δώσει | ὑμῖν |
| another | Comforter | he will give | you |
Original form
What this tells us
It is the night before Jesus dies. At supper, “Jesus knew that His hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father” (John 13:1), and his friends are troubled by talk of his going. Just before this verse he says, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). The word for “Advocate” is paraklētos: someone called to stand beside you, to speak for you and to comfort you. Jesus says “another Advocate”: another like himself, who has been standing beside them for three years. And this one will not leave. He will be with them “forever”. The next verse names him, “the Spirit of truth”, and adds, “you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you” (John 14:17). Then comes a promise any child would understand: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18). John uses the same word for Jesus himself in a letter: “we have an advocate before the Father” (1 John 2:1). The one who stands beside us here also speaks for us there. You are not left to work out faith on your own. Jesus asked the Father for someone to stand beside you, and the answer was yes.
What the original says
Behind the word “Spirit” in this verse is the Greek word pneuma (said PNYOO-mah).
Its first meaning is moving air: breath, a breeze. From there it means spirit, and here the Holy Spirit.
This form, pneuma, is a noun. Word for word, John writes ‘the Advocate, the Spirit, the Holy’. A few words later he points back to the Advocate with ekeinos, ‘he’: he “will teach you all things”.
In the Berean Standard Bible, pneuma is “Spirit” or “spirit” 370 times, and “breath” 3 times, as in 2 Thessalonians 2:8:
Word by word
| ὁ | δὲ | παράκλητος | τὸ | πνεῦμα | τὸ | ἅγιον |
| the | but | Comforter | the | Spirit | the | Holy |
Original form
What this tells us
Jesus is still at supper, telling his disciples what will happen when he is gone. He has just said, “All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you” (John 14:25). They will not remember all of it. He knows that, and he tells them what will help. The word behind “Spirit” is pneuma: breath, moving air, and so spirit. Here Jesus gives him three names in one sentence: the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father “in My name”. And he says what the Spirit will do: he “will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.” The disciples did forget and misunderstand, often. John says more than once that they understood something Jesus said only later, when they remembered it after he rose (John 2:22). Jesus also calls him “the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father” and says, “He will testify about Me” (John 15:26). The Spirit’s teaching keeps pointing back to Jesus, the way a good teacher keeps bringing a class back to the main text. When a word of Jesus comes back to you at the very moment you need it, this verse gives a name to what is happening.
What the original says
Behind the word “wind” in this verse is the Greek word pneuma (said PNYOO-mah), the same word you met in John 14:26.
It is the same word, pneuma, in its first meaning: moving air.
This form, pneuma, is the same as in John 14:26. Strong’s says pneuma comes from pneō (G4154), and pnei, “blows”, right after it, is that word. The verse ends with “born of the Spirit”, and that is pneuma again.
In the Berean Standard Bible, pneuma is “wind” only here, and “winds” once more, in Hebrews 1:7. Almost everywhere else it is “Spirit” or “spirit”:
Word by word
| τὸ | πνεῦμα | ὅπου | θέλει | πνεῖ |
| the | wind | where | it wills | blows |
Original form
What this tells us
Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews, “came to Jesus at night” (John 3:2) with a careful compliment. Jesus answers with something he cannot make sense of: “no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3). Nicodemus asks how that could be, and Jesus says, “Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit” (John 3:6). Then he takes a picture from the night air. The word for “wind” is pneuma, and at the end of the verse the same word is “Spirit”. Jesus is playing on it: “The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going.” You cannot see the Spirit, but you can tell where he has been. The Old Testament word for spirit carries the same double sense; in Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones, the breath, the winds and the Spirit are one Hebrew word (Ezekiel 37:9, 14). Think of trees bending on a stormy day: no one sees the wind itself, but no one doubts it is there. New birth, Jesus says, is like that. It is God’s work, seen by what it does. You may not be able to explain how faith began in you, or in someone you love. Jesus says that is to be expected: the wind blows where it wishes.
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Behind the word “Spirit” in this verse is the Hebrew word ruach (said ROO-akh).
Like pneuma in Greek, ruach means wind and breath, and also spirit. The Spirit of God is already in the Bible’s second verse.
Here ruach has ‘and’ (וְ) in front of it: “And the Spirit of”. The next word is Elohim, “God”.
In the Berean Standard Bible, ruach is “Spirit” or “spirit” 196 times, “wind” 87 times and “breath” 35 times, as in “the breath of life” (Genesis 7:15):
Word by word
| תְהוֹם | וְרוּחַ | אֱלֹהִים | מְרַחֶפֶת |
| the deep | and · Spirit of | God | moving |
Original form
What this tells us
These are the Bible’s first lines: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Then comes a picture of what was there before any light: the earth “was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep.” The word for “Spirit” is ruach: wind, breath, spirit. Over the dark water, “the Spirit of God was hovering”. The same Hebrew verb pictures an eagle that “hovers over its young” (Deuteronomy 32:11). Before anything has been formed, God’s Spirit is present and close, waiting over the waters. In the next verse God speaks, “Let there be light,” and light comes (Genesis 1:3). The same Spirit gives life again and again: “When You send Your Spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth” (Psalm 104:30). Some Bibles read this verse as ‘a wind from God’ instead; the Hebrew word can mean either, and both readings are held. If your life feels formless and dark right now, notice where the Spirit of God is in this verse: not far away, but hovering close over the deep.
What the original says
Behind the word “helps” in this verse is the Greek word synantilambanomai (said soon-an-tee-lahm-BAH-no-my).
It means to take hold of something together with someone, and so to help. Strong’s says it is made from syn, ‘with’, and antilambanomai, ‘to take hold of’.
This form is a verb, an action word, happening now: the Spirit “helps”. In Greek, pneuma is a neuter noun, so the word that points back to it later in the verse is neuter too (auto, ‘itself’). The Berean writes “the Spirit Himself”.
In the Berean Standard Bible, this word is found in only 2 verses: here, and in Luke 10:40, where Martha says of her sister: “Tell her to help me!”
Word by word
| τὸ | πνεῦμα | συναντιλαμβάνεται | τῇ | ἀσθενείᾳ | ἡμῶν |
| the | Spirit | helps | the | weakness | of us |
Original form
What this tells us
Paul has just been writing about suffering and waiting: “the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time” (Romans 8:22), and we ourselves “groan inwardly as we wait eagerly” (Romans 8:23). Then he says, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.” The word for “helps” is synantilambanomai: to take hold together with someone, the way two people lift one heavy load from both ends. Paul admits something honest: “we do not know how we ought to pray.” The Spirit does not stand back and watch. He takes hold of the other end. He also prays: “the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.” The next verse adds that God “knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:27). The same word is the one Martha uses when she asks Jesus about her sister: “Tell her to help me!” (Luke 10:40). Help, here, means someone sharing the weight. When you have no words left to pray, this verse says you are not praying alone. Someone is carrying the other end.
What the original says
Behind the word “guide” in this verse is the Greek word hodēgeō (said ho-day-GEH-oh).
It means to show the way, to lead someone along a road. Strong’s says it comes from hodēgos, a guide.
This form, hodēgēsei, means ‘he will guide’: a promise about what is to come. The sentence begins with ekeinos, ‘he’, and then “the Spirit of truth”.
In the Berean Standard Bible, it is “lead” or “leads” 3 times and “guide” 2 times. “If a blind man leads a blind man” (Matthew 15:14) is this word:
Word by word
| ἐκεῖνος | τὸ | πνεῦμα | τῆς | ἀληθείας | ὁδηγήσει | ὑμᾶς |
| he | the | Spirit | of the | truth | will guide | you |
Original form
What this tells us
Jesus is preparing his disciples for his going. He tells them, “I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it” (John 16:12). There are things they are not ready for yet, and someone else will lead them on from here. The word for “guide” is hodēgeō: to show the way, to lead someone along a road, like a guide on a mountain path. The Spirit of truth “will guide you into all truth”, not dropping it on them all at once, but leading them into it. And he does not speak on his own: “He will speak what He hears.” The next verse says where the road goes: “He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you” (John 16:14). A psalm prays for exactly this kind of help: “Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation” (Psalm 25:5). Christians differ on how the Spirit guides a person today, through Scripture alone or in other ways as well, but they agree that his guiding always points to Jesus. You do not have to understand everything at once. This verse pictures the Spirit as a guide who walks the road with you, one stretch at a time.
What the original says
Behind the word “grieve” in this verse is the Greek word lypeō (said loo-PEH-oh).
It means to cause sorrow, to make someone sad.
This form, lypeite, is a request or command, and mē, ‘not’, comes before it: “do not grieve”.
In the Berean Standard Bible, it is “grieve” 11 times (counting its other forms), “sorrow” 7 times and “sorrowful” 3 times, as in 2 Corinthians 6:10. The rich young man “went away in sorrow” (Matthew 19:22) with this word:
Word by word
| καὶ | μὴ | λυπεῖτε | τὸ | πνεῦμα | τὸ | ἅγιον | τοῦ | θεοῦ |
| and | not | grieve | the | Spirit | the | Holy | of the | God |
Original form
What this tells us
Paul is writing about everyday words and attitudes. Just before this verse he says, “Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need” (Ephesians 4:29). Just after it: “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander” (Ephesians 4:31). The word for “grieve” is lypeō: to cause sorrow, to make someone sad. Sorrow is something a person feels, and Paul speaks of the Holy Spirit as someone who can be hurt by the way we treat one another. He adds that it is by this Spirit “you were sealed for the day of redemption”. Isaiah said the same of Israel long before: “they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit” (Isaiah 63:10). Earlier in this letter Paul describes the seal: “you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13), like a mark of ownership pressed into wax. And the answer to grieving him comes in the next verse: “Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). The way you speak to the people around you matters to God’s Spirit. Kindness is not a small thing; it is one of the ways you make him glad.
Behind "spirit" are 6 different words
Your English Bible says "spirit" 582 times. Behind it stand several Hebrew and Greek words:
Reflect
Read it as yours
Romans 8:26 is for anyone who does not know how to pray. Read it slowly:
Name it
What do you not know how to pray about right now? Say so plainly, and ask the Advocate to help.
Carry with you
Jesus said the Advocate would be with you “forever”. Where do you need that this week?