1John 2:22

Who is the Liar?

The Greek phrase ὁ ἀρνούμενος ὅτι Ἰησοῦς οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ Χριστός can be understood in two ways, both of which depend on the interpretation of the negation οὐκ ("not").

1. "The one denying that Jesus is not the Christ": In this interpretation, οὐκ ἔστιν functions as a negation of Ἰησοῦς being the Χριστός ("Christ"). This creates a problem however because the phrase thus conveys that the person denies the claim that Jesus is not the Christ, and that doesn't make much sense, and thus, translations remove the word "not" altogether from the phrase:

   • "whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ" (NIV)
   • "he who denies that Jesus is the Christ" (ESV)
   • "the one denying that Jesus is the Christ" (Berean "Literal" Bible)
   • "but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ" (KJV)
   • "he who is denying that Jesus is the Christ" ("Literal" Standard Version)
   • "he who is denying that Jesus is the Christ" (YLT)
   • "he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ" (ASV)

2. "The one denying that he is not Jesus": This interpretation retains οὐκ ἔστιν negating the identity of the person as not being Jesus. This would imply that someone is denying their own identity, rejecting the claim that they are not Jesus. This interpretation, although honest and true to the text, was unpalatable to the interpreters. So they decided, and trusted in their own "authority" to present their translation to the world as though the word οὐκ didn't exist:

Where did that word go?

Not a single translation we have seen includes the word. The Pulpit Commentary adds in the words "(and says)" to avoid any explanation. Other scholars have said that it is simply "emphasizing" the verb "to deny":

On the construction of the negative idea ἀρνεῖσθαι with the following οὐκ, by which the negation is more strongly emphasized, see Kühner, II. p. 410.

(Meyer's NT Commentary)

By their reasoning, it is there to add emphasis, and therefore they deleted it.

To be clear, and true to standard Classical Greek, οὐκ is used to negate a verb, not emphasize it. οὐκ ἀρνέομαι – "I do not deny" (basic negation).