They answered is literally “the Jews answered him.” In Greek the first part of the Jews’ answer to Jesus is literally “concerning a good work we are not stoning you but concerning blasphemy.” Good News Translation takes the verb “we are … stoning” to mean we … want to stone, and places it at the beginning of the sentence. “Good work” of the Greek text is rendered in the plural by Good News Translation good deeds, making the phrase more generic.

In most languages there is no technical term for blasphemy in the sense of a person insulting God by means of preempting some of the qualities or attributes of God. However, blasphemy may be rendered in some languages “the way in which one insults God.” Accordingly, one may translate the statement of the Jews “We do not want to stone you because of any of the good works which you have done, but because of the way in which you insult God.” In Jewish thought blasphemy consisted primarily of speaking evil against God, though the word could also be used of abusive speech against people or sacred objects. In the present context Jesus is accused of insulting God because, although merely a man, he is trying to make himself God.

In Greek the pronoun you in the statement you are only a man is emphatic. Are only a man is literally “being a man” (Revised Standard Version), but the adverb only brings out the impact of the Greek. New English Bible translates “You, a mere man….” Jerusalem Bible and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translate exactly as Good News Translation does.

You are trying to make expresses accurately the force of the Greek, literally “you are making.” Jerusalem Bible and New English Bible translate “you claim to be.” It is important to avoid a translation of you are trying to make yourself God which would suggest that Jesus was “making himself into God,” that is, “changing himself into God.” In most instances it seems better to translate “because you claim to be God” or “because you say that you are God.”

In the clause but you are trying to make yourself God the Greek does not have the definite article “the” before the noun God. Normally in the New Testament when God the Father is referred to, the definite article “the” is used before the noun God. Purely on the basis of the Greek text, therefore, it is possible to translate “a god,” as New English Bible does, rather than to translate God, as Good News Translation and several other translations do. One might argue, on the basis of both the Greek and the context, that the Jews were accusing Jesus of claiming to be “a god” rather than “God.” But to do so is certainly not in keeping with the theology of John’s Gospel, nor with the accusation of blasphemy brought against Jesus. Jesus does quote from Psalm 82.6, which says “you are gods,” (see verse 34) but to assume that Jesus is doing no more than claiming an equal status with the people addressed in that Psalm is to miss the entire point of the passage. Jesus’ argument is, in fact, a typically rabbinical one by which the speaker argues from the lesser to the greater. According to the rabbis, Psalm 82 was addressed to Israel when they received the Law at Mount Sinai. Jesus’ argument proceeds in this way. If those persons who received God’s Law on Mount Sinai could be spoken of as “gods,” how much more can the one whom the Father has chosen and sent into the world claim to be “the Son of God.” In verse 36 the Greek does not have the article “the” before “Son,” and so it is possible to translate as New English Bible does “I am God’s son” (“son” with lower case “s”). However, once again this interpretation is not in keeping with the theology of the Gospel of John. Moreover, it does not fit well with the context. Jesus is not claiming to be a divine being among many others; he is claiming a unique prerogative, and the Jews recognize this. Accordingly, it is best to follow Good News Translation and most other translations.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .