12:46a

I have come into the world as a light: In this clause, Jesus clearly compared himself to light, as he did in 8:12b, 9:5b, and 12:35a,b. He came into the world to be its light. The Greek text emphasizes the word I.

This clause contains a simile. Jesus was like light in that he showed people the truth, especially about God and salvation. In some languages a literal translation of this simile may be difficult to understand. Here are some other ways to translate this simile:

• Make the simile clearer. For example:

I have come into the world to be like a light for you/it.

• Make the point of similarity explicit. For example:

I have come into the world like a light, ⌊to show/reveal God/truth to you⌋

12:46b

so that: This phrase introduces Jesus’ purpose in coming into the world to be its light.

no one who believes in Me should remain in darkness: In some languages it may be natural to use the subject “everyone” and a negative verb. For example:

everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness (New Revised Standard Version)

believes in Me: This phrase includes the idea of believing the facts about who Jesus was and what he did. But it also includes the idea of trusting Jesus instead of trusting oneself or someone else. Both ideas are very closely related. If someone believes the facts about Jesus, it should result in trusting him. See how you translated similar phrases in 1:12b, 3:16b, and 12:44a. Here are other ways to translate this idea:

has faith in me (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
put their trust in me (New Living Translation (2004))

should remain in darkness: The phrase remain in darkness is a figure of speech, a metaphor. The word darkness represents evil. Jesus came so that those who believe in him would no longer continue to live in evil. Those who remain in evil are like those who remain in darkness in the following ways:

(a) They live in fear.

(b) They do not know the truth, how things truly are.

(c) They cannot see/know the right way to act.

See how you translated the idea of darkness in 8:12c and 12:35d. For example:

in the dark (God’s Word)
-or-
in dark places
-or-
in a dark world

In some languages this figure of speech may be hard to understand. Here are other ways to translate it:

• Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:

they should not remain in what is like darkness
-or-
they should not live as though they were in the dark

• Make the meaning of the metaphor more explicit. For example:

they should not live in ⌊spiritual⌋ darkness
-or-
they need not live in the darkness ⌊of evil⌋

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