7:16a

My teaching is not My own: This clause means “I am not teaching things that I invented myself.” Jesus was saying that the source of his teaching was not his own mind or thinking. In some languages it is more natural to translate the noun teaching as a verb. For example:

What I teach doesn’t come from me (God’s Word)
-or-
The things I teach are not my own ⌊ideas⌋ .

7:16b

The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible does not translate here connects a negative statement (7:16a) to a positive statement (7:16b). The negative statement says what is not true, while the positive statement says what is true. This kind of sentence emphasizes the positive statement.

Languages have different ways to indicate this type of emphasis. For example:

• Use a conjunction like “but” as in the New Revised Standard Version. For example:

What I teach doesn’t come from me but from the one who sent me. (God’s Word)

• After the negative statement, use a conjunction other than “but” to indicate the positive statement. This is a common way in English to show this type of emphasis. For example:

My teaching is not mine, rather/instead it is his who sent me.

• Do not use a conjunction. For example:

My teaching is not mine. It is his who sent me.

• Change the order of the clauses. For example:

The one who sent me told me what to teach. What I teach did not come from my own mind.

You should translate this emphasis in the way that is most natural in your language.

It comes from Him who sent Me: This expression is a short way of saying “my teaching is from the one who sent me.” In some languages it may be natural to translate this as a complete clause or sentence. For example:

What I teach comes from the one who sent me. (Contemporary English Version)

God is the one who sent Jesus to the world. In some languages it may be natural to make this explicit. For example:

it comes from God who sent me (New Living Translation (2004))

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