He is the Spirit who reveals the truth about God is literally “the Spirit of truth.” See Appendix II. In some languages the expression must be rendered “the Spirit that shows people what is true about God.” However in other languages it is better to say simply “… what God is really like” or “… who God really is.”
The world (see 1.10) in this context must be understood as “the people of the world,” essentially equivalent to “unbelievers.” The term is based upon a contrast between people who are related only to the system of the world and those whose faith and confidence is in God, who is in heaven.
In this particular context the translation of cannot receive him presents a problem. It may be necessary to employ a term which is not applicable to the reception of things, because receiving the Spirit would mean not only welcoming the Spirit into one’s own life, but submitting to the Spirit’s control over one. An equivalent in many languages is “cannot receive him into their hearts” or “cannot accept him as their helper.”
In this verse the pronouns referring to the Spirit are actually neuter in Greek. This is because the Greek term for Spirit (pneuma) is neuter, although masculine pronouns are used elsewhere in reference to the Spirit (note 15.26; 16.7,8,13,14). If there is a choice in the receptor language between impersonal (neuter) and personal pronouns, it is better to choose personal pronouns, since in John’s Gospel the Spirit has a very personal role. In 4.22 the pronouns which Good News Translation renders whom are actually neuter in Greek, but the reference is obviously to a personal deity. In 1 John 1.1 the pronouns are also neuter, but since the reference is to Jesus Christ, they are better rendered as personal rather than impersonal pronouns.
In the phrase you know him, the pronoun you is emphatic.
There is some question regarding the tense of the verb rendered is in Good News Translation. Some translations follow Greek manuscripts which have the present tense (Good News Translation, Anchor, Jerusalem Bible, Goodspeed, New English Bible). Others follow those manuscripts which have the future tense “will be” or “will live” (New American Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Phillips, Revised Standard Version, Moffatt). As is easily seen in this sampling of translations, there is a considerable difference of opinion regarding the original text here. Jerusalem Bible and New English Bible each have footnotes indicating the possibility of the future tense, even though the translators prefer the present tense for their rendering. The UBS Committee favors the future tense, though rating its choice a “D” decision, indicating a very high degree of doubt regarding the original text. For some languages it seems almost essential to employ a future tense since, at least in the formal sense, the Holy Spirit had not as yet been given. He had simply been promised to his disciples. Accordingly, in some languages, a future form may be required by the context.
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .