Hebrews 9:17

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

For a testament is of force where there hath been death: for it doth never avail while he that made it liveth.

Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

Διαθήκη γὰρ ἐπὶ νεκροῖς βεβαία: ἐπεὶ μήποτε ἰσχύει ὅτε ζῇ ὁ διαθέμενος.

Transliteration

For diathēkē epi nekrois bebaia: since mēpote ischyei hote zē ho diathemenos.

Grammar Details

*Diathēkē*: nominative feminine singular - 'covenant/testament'
*gar*: postpositive conjunction - 'for'
*epi*: preposition with dative - 'upon/over'
*nekrois*: dative masculine plural adjective - 'dead [ones]'
*bebaia*: nominative feminine singular adjective - 'firm/confirmed'
*epei*: conjunction - 'since/because'
*mēpote*: negative adverb - 'never/not at all'
*ischyei*: present active indicative, 3rd person singular - 'is strong/has force'
*hote*: adverb - 'when'
*zē*: present active indicative, 3rd person singular - 'lives'
*ho diathemenos*: nominative masculine singular participle - 'the one who made [it]'

Word Meanings

*diathēkē*: covenant/testament/will
*epi nekrois*: over dead [persons]/in case of death
*bebaia*: firm/confirmed/ratified
*mēpote*: never/not at all/not ever
*ischyei*: is strong/has force/is valid
*zē*: lives/is alive
*diathemenos*: testator/one who made the covenant/one who made the will

ℹ️

About this Translation

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Formal EquivalenceSource: American Standard VersionBest for: Word studies and original-language research

🎯 Translation Approach

A highly literal, word-for-word translation (ASV, 1901) augmented with Strong's numbering to connect English words to underlying Hebrew and Greek terms for study.

Word-for-word

5/5

Readability

2/5

💎 Distinctive Features

Integrated Strong's numbering: Links English terms to underlying Hebrew and Greek words for deeper lexical study.
Formal equivalence: Prioritizes close alignment with source-language forms and structures.
Divine name rendering: Frequently renders the Tetragrammaton as Jehovah in the Old Testament, following ASV tradition.
Study-focused formatting: Optimized for reference and research rather than casual reading.

✅ Strengths

High fidelity to original languages
Includes Strong's numbers for precise word study
Consistent lexical choices aid exegesis
Stable, longstanding scholarly text

⚠️ Considerations

Archaic language reduces readability
Older textual basis compared to some modern translations
Strong's numbers are a concordance index, not full lexical definitions

👥 Who is this for?

Ideal for

Pastors and teachers
Seminary students
Serious Bible students
Readers conducting word studies
Those referencing Hebrew/Greek tools

Consider alternatives for

Casual readers
Children and early teens
ESL learners seeking simple English
Readers preferring contemporary language

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Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

Gal 3:15 : 15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men: Though it be but a man's covenant, yet when it hath been confirmed, no one maketh it void, or addeth thereto.
Gen 48:21 : 21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God will be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.
John 14:27 : 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

Heb 9:15-16
2 verses
90%
15And for this cause he is the mediator of a new covenant, that a death having taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, they that have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
16For where a testament is, there must of necessity be the death of him that made it.
Heb 9:18
78%
18Wherefore even the first [covenant] hath not been dedicated without blood.
Heb 9:20
71%
20saying, This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded to you-ward.
Heb 7:8
70%
8And {G3303} here men that die receive tithes; but there one, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.
Gal 3:17
70%
17Now this I say: A covenant confirmed beforehand by God, {G1519} {G5547} the law, which came four hundred and thirty years after, doth not disannul, so as to make the promise of none effect.
Heb 9:27
69%
27And {G2596} inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this [cometh] judgment;
Heb 7:16-18
3 verses
69%
16who hath been made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life:
17for it is witnessed [of him], Thou art a priest for ever After the order of Melchizedek.
18For there is {G3303} a disannulling of a foregoing commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness
Heb 8:7
68%
7For if that first [covenant] had been faultless, then would no {G302} place have been sought for a second.
Heb 8:13
68%
13In that he saith, A new [covenant] he hath made the first old. But that which is becoming old and waxeth aged is nigh unto vanishing away.
Gal 3:15
68%
15Brethren, I speak after the manner of men: Though it be but a man's covenant, yet when it hath been confirmed, no one maketh it void, or addeth thereto.
Rom 6:7
68%
7for he that hath died is justified from sin.
Heb 6:16-17
2 verses
67%
16For men {G3303} swear by the greater: and in every dispute of theirs the oath is final for confirmation.
17Wherein {G1722} God, being minded to show more abundantly unto the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath;
Heb 7:22
67%
22by so much also hath Jesus become the surety of a better covenant.
Heb 10:15
67%
15And the Holy Spirit also beareth witness to us; for after he hath said,
Rom 4:14-15
2 verses
67%
14For if they that are of the law are heirs, faith is made void, and the promise is made of none effect:
15for the law worketh wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there transgression.
Rom 7:1-2
2 verses
67%
1Or are ye ignorant, brethren (for I speak to men who know the law), that the law hath dominion over a man for so long time as he liveth?
2For the woman that hath a husband is bound by law to the husband while he liveth; but if the husband die, she is discharged from the law of the husband.
Rom 6:9-10
2 verses
67%
9knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death no more hath dominion over him.
10For the death that he died, he died unto sin once: but the life that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Heb 7:20
67%
20And inasmuch as [it is] not without the taking of an oath
2 Cor 4:12
66%
12So then death {G3303} worketh in us, but life in you.
Heb 7:12
66%
12For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.
2 Cor 3:6
66%
6who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
Eccl 9:5
66%
5For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Luke 20:38
66%
38Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.
Gal 3:11-12
2 verses
66%
11Now that no man is justified by the law before God, is evident: for, The righteous shall live by faith;
12and the law is not of faith; but, He that doeth them shall live in them.
Gal 2:19
66%
19For I through the law died unto the law, that I might live unto God.
Rom 7:9-10
2 verses
66%
9And I was alive apart from the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died;
10and the commandment, which [was] unto life, this I found [to be] unto death:
Heb 9:8-9
2 verses
66%
8the Holy Spirit this signifying, that the way into the holy place hath not yet been made manifest, while the first tabernacle is yet standing;
9which [is] a figure for the time present; according to which are offered both gifts and sacrifices that cannot, {G3361} as touching the conscience, make the worshipper perfect,
1 Pet 4:6
65%
6For unto this end was the gospel preached even to the dead, that they might be judged indeed according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
Deut 17:6
65%
6At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is to die be put to death; at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
Jas 2:26
65%
26For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead.
Rom 5:13-14
2 verses
65%
13for until the law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
14Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the likeness of Adam's transgression, who is a figure of him that was to come.
Rom 5:6
65%
6For while we were yet weak, in due season Christ died for the ungodly.
Heb 10:28
65%
28A man that hath set at nought Moses law dieth without compassion on [the word of] two or three witnesses:
1 Cor 15:56
65%
56The sting of death is sin; and the power of sin is the law:
Rom 8:13
65%
13for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Luke 16:17
65%
17But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tittle of the law to fall.
Jas 2:17
64%
17Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself.
Rom 7:6
64%
6But now we have been discharged from the law, having died to that wherein {G3739} we were held; so that we serve in newness of the spirit, and not in oldness of the letter.
Rom 14:9
64%
9For to this end Christ {G2532} died and {G450} {G2532} lived [again], that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.