Paragraph 6:35–40
Jesus told the people that he himself was the bread that gives life.
6:35a
I am the bread of life: Jesus described himself with a metaphor. He compared himself to bread. He was like bread because both give life. Jesus gives true, spiritual life, while bread gives us physical life.
It is necessary to keep the figure of speech here because that is what confuses the people in 6:52. However, if the meaning of this metaphor is not clear in your language, here are some other ways to translate it:
• Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
I am like the bread of life.
-or-
I am like bread/food that gives/brings life.
• Use a metaphor or simile and make the similarity clear. For example:
I am the bread/food that gives ⌊new/spiritual life⌋
-or-
Like bread/food gives physical life, I give people ⌊spiritual life⌋ .
bread of life: The phrase bread of life means “bread that gives life.” Ordinary food like bread makes it possible for people’s bodies to live, and Jesus makes it possible for people’s spirits to live.
Here is another way to translate this phrase:
bread that gives life! (Contemporary English Version)
bread: Jesus used this word because bread was the main food of the Jews, so it was essential for life. That means that Jesus was saying that he was essential for spiritual life. In Jesus’ time, bread was made from wheat or barley. See 6:9a.
If bread is not an important food in your language group, you may need to use a general word. For example:
food
6:35b
Whoever comes to Me will never hunger: This clause is also a metaphor because it refers to someone being hungry for spiritual things, lacking spiritual food. No one who trusts or believes in Jesus will lack spiritual food. Jesus will satisfy them. Most English translations translate this as a metaphor. For example:
No one who comes to me will ever be hungry again. (New Living Translation (2004))
It is also possible to translate this using a conditional clause. For example:
If someone comes to me, he will never be hungry.
If the meaning of this metaphor is not clear in your language, here are some other ways to translate it:
• Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
No one who comes to me will be like a hungry person.
• Use a metaphor or simile and make the similarity clear. For example:
Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, ⌊lacking spiritual food/bread⌋ .
-or-
No one who comes to me will be like a hungry person ⌊who does not have enough spiritual food/bread⌋ .
-or-
If anyone comes to me he will not be hungry ⌊because I will always give him spiritual life⌋ .
Whoever: This refers to anyone and everyone who trusts in Jesus. So it may be natural to use the plural:
those who come to me will never be hungry
comes to Me: This refers to trusting or believing in Jesus. The parallel statement in 6:35c, “whoever believes in Me,” makes it clear what comes to Me means here.
hunger: The English word hunger describes someone who desires or needs food or another necessity. Here it also implies that the person cannot get what he needs for his spiritual life.
6:35c
and: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and here introduces a different metaphor that means the same thing as the metaphor in 6:35b.
whoever believes in Me will never thirst: Here it is implied that Jesus is “the water of life” as well as “the bread of life.” See the notes on 4:10d. Most English translations translate this as a metaphor. For example:
no one who has faith in me will ever be thirsty (Contemporary English Version)
If the meaning of this metaphor is not clear in your language, here are some other ways to translate it:
• Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
No one who believes in me will be like a thirsty person.
• Use a metaphor or simile and make the similarity clear. For example:
Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty, ⌊lacking spiritual water⌋ .
-or-
No one who believes in me will be like a thirsty person ⌊who does not have enough spiritual water⌋ .
-or-
If anyone believes in me he will not be thirsty ⌊because I will always give him spiritual life⌋ .
See how you translated 6:35b and follow a similar pattern here. Also, see the General Comment on 6:35b–c for a way to combine these two clauses.
whoever: It may again be natural to use the plural:
all who believe in me will never thirst
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 this phrase in 1:12 and 6:29. Here are other ways to translate this idea:
has faith in me (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
trusts in me
thirst: In this context the word thirst refers to an unpleasant, even painful, desire for water when none is available. See the note on “hungry” in 6:35b.
General Comment on 6:35b–c
In some languages it may be more natural to combine these clauses. For example:
Whoever comes to me to believe, he will never be hungry or thirsty ⌊for spiritual bread/food and water⌋ .
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