8:14a

See the General Comment on 8:14a-c for a different way to order the clauses in this verse.

Jesus replied: This clause means that Jesus answered the Pharisees. In some languages it is natural to supply an object. For example:

Jesus told them (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Jesus replied to the Pharisees

Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is valid: Jesus accepted that it was true that he testified on his own behalf (about himself). He rejected the expected conclusion that his testimony was therefore not valid (valid here means “acceptable in a law court”). In your translation of these clauses, use phrases that connect back with 8:13. For example:

13 Then the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself, so Your testimony is not valid.” 14 Yeshua answered them, “Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is valid….” (TLV)

In some languages it may be natural to reverse the order of these clauses. For example:

My testimony is valid, even though I do testify on my own behalf (Revised English Bible)

Even if: The Greek conjunction that Berean Standard Bible translates as Even if means “although” or “even though.” Jesus was saying that the clause that this conjunction introduces was true. But the conjunction also means that expected conclusion (that his testimony was not valid) is not true with Jesus.

Here are other ways to translate this conjunction:

Although….
-or-
Even though (New Jerusalem Bible)

My testimony is valid: Use the same words for testimony and valid that you used in 8:13b. People did not expect that a person’s testimony about himself was valid. But Jesus’ testimony was valid.

8:14b

because: The Greek conjunction that Berean Standard Bible translates as because introduces the reason why Jesus could say his own testimony was valid. A few translations (Contemporary English Version, New Century Version) leave this conjunction implicit. Translate this conjunction in a way that is natural in your language.

I know where I came from and where I am going: Jesus knew that God had sent him to earth from heaven and that he would return to God in heaven. However, he did not say this explicitly, and you should not make it explicit in your translation.

where I am going: Even though the verb phrase am going is present tense, it has a future meaning. Jesus was talking about where he would go later. So it may be clearer and more natural in many languages to use a future tense verb. For example:

where I will go (Easy English Bible)

8:14c

But: The conjunction But indicates a contrast between what Jesus knew and what the religious leaders knew. He knew where he came from and would go to, but they did not know where he was really from.

you do not know where I came from: The religious leaders did not know that Jesus had come from God. The Greek text emphasizes the word you to emphasize the contrast between Jesus and the leaders. Jesus knew where he came from and where he would go, but the leaders did not know.

The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as came is present tense, but here it has a past meaning. It refers to the fact that Jesus came from heaven, so you may want to use a past tense verb in your translation.

Here are other ways to translate this clause:

you know neither where I come from (Revised English Bible)

or where I am going: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as or here introduces a second thing that the religious leaders did not know. They also did not know where Jesus would go. (Again, the present tense am going has a future meaning.) Jesus would go back to God, but he did not say so here. In some languages it may be more natural to use a different conjunction. For example:

and where I will go
-or-
nor where I will go

Translate this conjunction in a way that is natural in your language.

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