Paragraph 3:19–21

Jesus used the metaphors of light and darkness to describe the basis for God’s judgment. The basis is whether we love the darkness or love the light.

Jesus is represented as light. Light usually refers to that which is good. That is why those who love the darkness do evil deeds and hate the light. Those who love the darkness do not want their sins to be known. They also do not want to accept Jesus or allow him to shine truth in their lives. However, those who follow the truth come to Jesus. Jesus will then reveal that they did their good deeds only because of God.

3:19a

And: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as And here introduces an explanation. Jesus explains the basis of the judgment that he talked about in 3:17-18. Some English translations, such as the New International Version and Good News Translation, do not explicitly translate it. The NET Bible translates it as “Now” because that is a common way to introduce an explanation in English. It is not a time word in this context. You should introduce Jesus’ explanation in a way that is natural in your language.

this is the verdict: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as this is the verdict refers forward to 3:19b–d. It indicates that what follows is the ground or basis of God’s judgment on people. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

this is the basis for judging (NET Bible)
-or-
the judgment is based on this fact (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
This is how the judgment works (Good News Translation)

verdict: The word verdict refers to a judge deciding whether someone is guilty or innocent. In this case the judge is God himself. In some languages the noun verdict needs to be translated as a verb phrase. For example:

God is judging/declaring people ⌊guilty⌋ because…
-or-
This is why people are condemned: (God’s Word)
-or-
They are judged by this fact: (New Century Version)

3:19b

The Light has come into the world: The word Light here is a metaphor and refers to Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus was speaking, but he did not directly say that he was the light. So try to keep the reference to the light indirect, in the third person. Jesus was like a light because he was good. He also revealed the truth about things, both the good and the evil. If this metaphor is not understood in your language, you may need to follow one of these translation suggestions:

• Make explicit or explain the meaning of the metaphor. For example:

Light has come into the world ⌊through the one who reveals/shows the truth about everything⌋ .

• Change the metaphor to a simile and make it explicit that it refers to the Son of God. For example:

⌊The Son of God is like⌋ a light coming into the world.

See how you translated the metaphor Light in 1:4b.

3:19c

but: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as but here introduces something that is not expected. Instead of loving the light, which we might expect, people loved the darkness. So here is the basis for God’s judgment: although the light came into the world, they did not love the light. In some languages it may be natural to make it clearer that what is said next is not expected.

men loved the darkness: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as men here means “people in general.” However, it does not mean all people without exception, because some people did trust Jesus. In some languages it is therefore more natural to say:

They wanted darkness (New Century Version)
-or-
many people loved darkness

loved the darkness: This is a metaphor. It compares people who deliberately refuse to believe in Jesus to people who love darkness.

Darkness hides people who are doing evil. In the same way, people hoped that by staying far from Jesus (the light), they could hide their sin. They wanted to continue sinning. They also wanted to avoid God. So they did not come to hear and believe Jesus.

If this metaphor is not understood in your language, here are some other ways to translate it:

• Explain the meaning of the metaphor. For example:

loved the darkness ⌊of their sin⌋

• Change the metaphor to a simile and make the meaning explicit. For example:

loved ⌊their sins, which was like loving⌋ darkness

• State the meaning directly. For example:

loved ⌊sin⌋

the darkness: See how you translated the term darkness in 1:5a, and see the note there.

rather than the Light: There is an interpretation issue here. There are two ways to understand the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as rather :

(1) It means “rather” or “instead.” For example:

people loved darkness instead of light (New International Version)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, NET Bible, King James Version, Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, English Standard Version, God’s Word, New Century Version)

(2) It means “more than.” For example:

they love the dark more than the light (Contemporary English Version)

(New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version)

New Jerusalem Bible and Revised English Bible could be understood either way. It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) and most English translations and Bible scholars. People loved and chose darkness instead of light.

Here again Light is a metaphor referring to Jesus. He is like a light in that he is good and reveals the truth about things to people. But people did not love him. Refer to your translation of 3:19b and the note there.

3:19d

because their deeds were evil: This is the reason why people loved darkness more than light. In some languages it is more natural to translate the noun deeds with a verb. For example:

because they were doing evil things (New Century Version)

General Comment on 3:19a–c

In some languages it may be more natural to reorder this verse. For example:

19b The light has come into the world, 19a, d and ⌊God⌋ judges the people who do evil things as guilty because 19c they love the dark rather than the light.
-or-

19b He arrived among the people of the world bringing light ⌊from God⌋ . 19c But people wanted darkness and not light, 19d because their actions were evil. 19a That is why God judges/punishes them.

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