John 17:17
New International Version
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

New Living Translation
Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.

English Standard Version
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

Berean Standard Bible
Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.

Berean Literal Bible
Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.

King James Bible
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

New King James Version
Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

New American Standard Bible
Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

NASB 1995
“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

NASB 1977
“Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth.

Legacy Standard Bible
Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.

Amplified Bible
Sanctify them in the truth [set them apart for Your purposes, make them holy]; Your word is truth.

Christian Standard Bible
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.

American Standard Version
Sanctify them in the truth: thy word is truth.

Contemporary English Version
Your word is the truth. So let this truth make them completely yours.

English Revised Version
Sanctify them in the truth: thy word is truth.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Use the truth to make them holy. Your words are truth.

Good News Translation
Dedicate them to yourself by means of the truth; your word is truth.

International Standard Version
"Sanctify them by the truth. Your word is truth.

Majority Standard Bible
Sanctify them by Your truth; Your word is truth.

NET Bible
Set them apart in the truth; your word is truth.

New Heart English Bible
Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth.

Webster's Bible Translation
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Weymouth New Testament
Make them holy in the truth: Thy Message is truth.

World English Bible
Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
sanctify them in Your truth, Your word is truth;

Berean Literal Bible
Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.

Young's Literal Translation
sanctify them in Thy truth, Thy word is truth;

Smith's Literal Translation
Render them holy in thy truth: thy word is truth.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Sanctify them in truth. Thy word is truth.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Sanctify them in truth. Your word is truth.

New American Bible
Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.

New Revised Standard Version
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
O Father, sanctify them in your truth, because your word is truth.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
“Father, sanctify them by your truth, because your word is truth.”
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament
Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.

Godbey New Testament
Sanctify them through the truth: thy word is truth.

Haweis New Testament
Sanctify them by thy truth: thy word is truth.

Mace New Testament
sanctify them by the truth: thy word is truth.

Weymouth New Testament
Make them holy in the truth: Thy Message is truth.

Worrell New Testament
Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth.

Worsley New Testament
Sanctify them by thy truth: thy word is truth.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Prayer for the Disciples
16They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. 18As You sent Me into the world, I have also sent them into the world.…

Cross References
Psalm 119:160
The entirety of Your word is truth, and all Your righteous judgments endure forever.

Psalm 119:142
Your righteousness is everlasting and Your law is true.

2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

Ephesians 5:26
to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,

1 Peter 1:22-23
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from a pure heart. / For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

James 1:18
He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.

1 Thessalonians 2:13
And we continually thank God because, when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which is also now at work in you who believe.

Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Romans 15:4
For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.

2 Corinthians 6:7
in truthful speech and in the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;

1 John 5:6
This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ—not by water alone, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies to this, because the Spirit is the truth.

John 8:32
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 15:3
You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

John 14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.


Treasury of Scripture

Sanctify them through your truth: your word is truth.

Sanctify.

John 17:19
And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

John 8:32
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

John 15:3
Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

word.

John 8:40
But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.

2 Samuel 7:28
And now, O Lord GOD, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant:

Psalm 12:6
The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

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Holy Message Sanctify Truth True. Word
John 17
1. Jesus prays to his Father.














Sanctify them
The word "sanctify" comes from the Greek word "hagiazō," which means to make holy, consecrate, or set apart for sacred use. In the context of John 17:17, Jesus is praying for His disciples to be set apart for God's purposes. This sanctification is not merely a moral or ethical cleansing but a divine action that aligns believers with God's will. Historically, sanctification has been a central theme in Christian theology, emphasizing the transformative work of the Holy Spirit in a believer's life. The call to be sanctified is a call to live a life distinct from the world, dedicated to God's service.

in the truth
The Greek word for "truth" is "alētheia," which signifies reality, certainty, and faithfulness. In the biblical context, truth is not just factual correctness but a reflection of God's nature and His revelation to humanity. Jesus Himself is described as "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), indicating that truth is personified in Him. The truth is foundational for sanctification because it aligns believers with God's reality, as opposed to the deceptions of the world. Historically, the pursuit of truth has been a hallmark of Christian discipleship, urging believers to seek God's truth in Scripture and in their daily lives.

Your word
The term "word" here is translated from the Greek "logos," which can mean a spoken word, a message, or a divine utterance. In the Gospel of John, "logos" is also used to describe Jesus Himself as the divine Word made flesh (John 1:1, 14). The "word" of God is both the Scriptures and the living Word, Jesus Christ. It is through engagement with God's word that believers are sanctified, as it reveals God's character, will, and promises. Historically, the Bible has been the primary means through which Christians understand God's truth and are transformed by it.

is truth
This phrase underscores the absolute reliability and authority of God's word. The Greek construction emphasizes that God's word is not just true but is the very essence of truth. In a world filled with relative truths and shifting moral standards, the Bible stands as the unchanging standard of truth. This assertion of the Bible's truthfulness has been a cornerstone of conservative Christian belief, affirming that Scripture is inspired, inerrant, and authoritative for faith and practice. The truth of God's word is what sanctifies believers, guiding them in righteousness and equipping them for every good work.

(17) Sanctify them through thy truth.--Better, in Thy truth. Truth was the sphere in which their sanctification was to take place. They had through Christ received the Father's word, which was truth, and had passed into a new region of life, separate from the world (John 17:6-8; John 17:14-16). He has prayed that the Father would preserve them in this, and now He prays further that the Father would in this new region of life set them apart for the work to which He had sent them (John 17:18).

The idea at the root of the word rendered "sanctify," is not holiness, but separation. It is opposed not to what is impure, but to what is common, and is constantly used in the Greek of the Old Testament for the consecration of persons and things to the service of God. Hence our Lord can use it of Himself in John 10:36, and in this context (John 17:19; these are the only places where it occurs in St. John's writings). He was Himself "set apart and sent into the world." He has to send them into the world in the same way (John 17:18, and John 10:36), and prays that they may be in the same way consecrated for their work. . . .

Verse 17. - Sanctify them; consecrate them (cf. John 10:36, of the sanctification of the Son by the Father to the work of effecting human redemption), separate them from the evil of the world, as for holy purposes. Devote them to the glorious cause. Let them be sacrifices on the altar. The ἁγιάζω, to sanctify, is not synonymous with καθαρίζω, to purify; α{γιος ισ not a contradiction of the defiled so much as of the purely natural, and involves the higher ends of grace (Exodus 29:1, 36; Exodus 40:13). The sanctification of the Old Testament is a ritual process effected by ceremonial observance; the sanctification of the New Testament is a spiritual process passing over heart and conscience and will, and is the work of the Divine Spirit. Meyer, Westcott, and others translate the next clause, in the truth, as the atmosphere in which the disciples dwell; but a large number of commentators, with Godet, take ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ as equivalent to" by the aid of," with the instrumentality of, "the truth:" consecrate them, by revealing to them the reality, making known to them the truth. If they see the truth they will be discharged from the illusions of the world, the flesh, and the devil. (Luther takes ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ adverbially, and as equivalent to "verily and indeed; but this cannot well be, seeing the article is present, and taking account of the subsequent definition of ἀληθεία, it becomes improbable.) But what is "truth"? what is the full expression of reality? how are we to know where to find it? Thy Logos (thy Word), the utterance of thy thought, is truth. If we can ever cognize what is the Divine thought about anything, we shall reach the absolute truth. What God troweth is truth per se. The Logos of God, the full, God-chosen utterance of the reality of truth, is the nearest approach to truth that we possess. This revelation of God is the closest correspondence with the reality. God sanctifies his children, consecrates them to the service of his kingdom by revealing the truth, by making known the otherwise transcendental facts of his kingdom. A long controversy has prevailed in the Church as to whether the Spirit's gracious operations are or are not limited by the operation of truth on the mind. Numerous assurances of the New Testament seem thus to limit the grace of God, or to measure it by the ordinary effect produced on the understanding by Divine truth; e.g. "Of his own will begat he us by the Word of truth;" the parable of the sower, and other Scriptures. But seeing that the regeneration, the conference of new and supernatural life, is set forth by images of resurrection and new creation, and as a purification of taste, bias, and desire, the gift of a new heart and right spirit, the voice of a heavenly sonship crying within us, "Abba, Father," and seeing that the ministration of the Spirit is variously directed and operative, and that there is shadowed forth an immediate work on the heart," back of consciousness" itself, and that the witness of the Spirit and the teaching and indwelling of the Holy Ghost are continually referred to, - we are loath to accept the dogma. The Spirit of God is not limited to the normal operations of the Word.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
Sanctify
ἁγίασον (hagiason)
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 37: From hagios; to make holy, i.e. purify or consecrate; to venerate.

them
αὐτοὺς (autous)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

by
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

the
τῇ (tē)
Article - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

truth;
ἀληθείᾳ (alētheia)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 225: From alethes; truth.

Your
σὸς (sos)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative Masculine 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 4674: Yours, thy, thine. From su; thine.

word
λόγος (logos)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3056: From lego; something said; by implication, a topic, also reasoning or motive; by extension, a computation; specially, the Divine Expression.

is
ἐστιν (estin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

truth.
ἀλήθειά (alētheia)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 225: From alethes; truth.


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