Now
Now
is used (a) of time, the immediate present, whether in contrast to the past, e.g., Joh 4:18; Act 7:52, or to the future, e.g., Joh 12:27; Rom 11:31; sometimes with the article, singular or plural, e.g., Act 4:29; Act 5:38; (b) of logical sequence, often partaking also of the character of (a), “now therefore, now however,” as it is, e.g., Luk 11:39; Joh 8:40; Joh 9:41; Joh 15:22, Joh 15:24; 1Co 5:11, RV marg., “as it is.”
Note: Under (a) comes the phrase in 2Co 8:14, with kairos, “a time,” all governed by en, “in,” or “at,” AV, “now at this time” (RV, “at this present time”).
a strengthened form of No. 1, is used (a) of time, e.g., Act 22:1 (in the best mss.); Act 24:13; Rom 6:22; Rom 15:23, Rom 15:25; (b) with logical import, e.g., Rom 7:17; 1Co 13:13, which some regard as temporal (a); but if this is the significance, “the clause means, ‘but faith, hope, love, are our abiding possession now in this present life.’ The objection to this rendering is that the whole course of thought has been to contrast the things which last only for the present time with the things which survive. And the main contrast so far has been between love and the special [then] present activity of prophecy, tongues, knowledge. There is something of disappointment, and even of bathos, in putting as a climax to these contrasts the statement that in this present state faith, hope, love abide; that is no more than can be said of [the then existing] prophecies, tongues and knowledge. If there is to be a true climax the ‘abiding’ must cover the future as well as the present state. And that involves as a consequence that nuni must be taken in its logical meaning, i.e., ‘as things are,’ ‘taking all into account’ … This logical sense of nuni … is enforced by the dominant note of the whole passage” (R. St. John Parry, in the Camb. Greek Test.).
It is certain that love will continue eternally; and hope will not cease at the Parousia of Christ, for hope will ever look forward to the accomplishment of God’s eternal purposes, a hope characterized by absolute assurance; and where hope is in exercise faith is its concomitant. Faith will not be lost in sight.
denotes “already, now already,” “the subjective present, with a suggested reference to some other time, or to some expectation” (Thayer), e.g., Mat 3:10; Mat 14:24; Luk 11:7; Joh 6:17; Rom 1:10; Rom 4:19; Rom 13:11; Phi 4:10.
expressing “coincidence,” and denoting “strictly present time,” signifies “just now, this moment,” in contrast (a) to the past, e.g., Mat 11:12; Joh 2:10; Joh 9:19, Joh 9:25; Joh 13:33; Gal 1:9-10; (b) to the future, e.g., Joh 13:37; Joh 16:12, Joh 16:31; 1Co 13:12 (cp. No. 2 in 1Co 13:13); 2Th 2:7; 1Pe 1:6, 1Pe 1:8; (c) sometimes without necessary reference to either, e.g., Mat 3:15; Mat 9:18; Mat 26:53; Gal 4:20; Rev 12:10.
sometimes written separately, ap’arti, i.e., apo, “from,” and No. 4, denotes “from now, henceforth,” Joh 13:19; Joh 14:7; Rev 14:13. See HENCEFORTH.
the neuter of loipos, “the rest, from now,” is used adverbially with the article and translated “now” in Mar 14:41.
“therefore, so then,” is sometimes used in continuing a narrative, e.g., Act 1:18; 1Co 9:25; or resuming it after a digression, usually rendered “therefore,” e.g., Act 11:19; Act 25:1, RV (AV, “now”). In the following it is absent from the best mss., Mar 12:20; Luk 10:36; Joh 16:19; Joh 18:24; Joh 19:29.
Note: In 2Co 5:20 oun is simply “therefore,” as in RV (AV, “now then”).
“but, and, now,” often implying an antithesis, is rendered “now” in Joh 19:23; 1Co 10:11; 1Co 15:50; Gal 1:20; Eph 4:9; in Act 27:9 (1st part), RV, “and” (AV, “now”); in Gal 4:1, RV, “but” (AV “now”).
a consecutive particle, giving stress to the word or words to which it is attached, sometimes with hardly any exact Eng. equivalent, is translated “now” in Luk 2:15, in the words of the shepherds; in Act 15:36, RV (AV, “and”). Some mss. have it in 2Co 12:1; see RV marg.
Notes: (1) In 1Co 4:7, AV, B, No. 2, followed by kai, and, is translated “now” (RV, “but”). (2) In Rom 14:15 and Phm 1:16, AV, ouketi, “no longer,” is translated “now … not” and “not now” (RV, “no longer”); cp. Joh 4:42; Joh 21:6, “now … not.” (3) The particle ara, “then,” expressing a more informal inference than oun (B, No. 1 above), is often in Paul’s Epistles coupled with oun, the phrase meaning “so then,” as AV and RV in Rom 7:3, Rom 7:25; Rom 9:16; Rom 14:12; in RV only (AV, “therefore”), Rom 5:18; Rom 8:12; Rom 9:18; Rom 14:19; Gal 6:10; 1Th 5:6; 2Th 2:15. In Eph 2:19 the AV renders it “now therefore.” (4) In 1Ti 1:4, the RV “so do I now” (AV, “so do”) is added to complete the sentence. (5) In Heb 9:9, RV, the perfect participle of enistemi, “to be present,” is translated “(the time) now present” (AV, “then present,” which misses the meaning). See COME, (AT) HAND, PRESENT.