Weeping is the rendering of most English translations. Moffatt has “wailing,” and Jerusalem Bible “At the sight of her tears.” This strong verb is the same one that describes Mary Magdalene’s behavior at the tomb (20.11,15). The closest equivalent in most languages is the regular expression used of mourning for the dead.
It is difficult to know exactly what is meant by the phrase his heart was touched. Revised Standard Version translates “deeply moved in spirit”; New English Bible “he sighed heavily”; New American Bible “he was troubled in spirit”; Jerusalem Bible “said in great distress”; Goodspeed “repressing a groan”; Moffatt “chaffed in spirit”; Phillips “deeply moved.” Etymologically the words mean “to snort like a horse,” and in the Septuagint of Daniel 11.30 it means “to be enraged” or “to be greatly angry.” This same verb appears again in verse 38; elsewhere it is used of Jesus in addressing the leper whom he afterward cleansed (Mark 1.43), and in addressing the blind man whose sight he had restored (Matt 9.30). In both these instances Good News Translation renders with the meaning “to speak harshly to.” In Mark 14.5 this verb is used of the anger of the guests in the house of Simon the leper toward the woman who poured the expensive perfume on Jesus’ head (Good News Translation they criticized her harshly). In the present context Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Zürcher Bibel, and Luther all have the idea of “to become angry”; New American Bible provides a note: “he was troubled in spirit … deepest emotions: probably signifies that Jesus was angry, perhaps at the lack of faith or at the presence of evil (death).” It is impossible to conclude that anything less than anger is meant here or in verse 38. The use of this verb and its cognates, both in the New Testament and elsewhere, clearly implies anger. Evidently the translations which attempt to remove the concept of anger from these verses do so on theological rather than linguistic or exegetical grounds. The actual basis for Jesus’ anger is not explicitly indicated, but the contents of verse 33 and verse 37 imply that it was caused by the immature faith of the Jews who were present.
In some languages the difficulty of interpretation of the expression his heart was touched may be resolved by using an ambiguous expression, for example, “he was very much disturbed” or “… agitated.” A literal translation, such as “was moved in spirit,” may be wrongly interpreted in some languages as “changed his mind.”
He was deeply moved also appears in a variety of ways. Revised Standard Version has “was … troubled,” New English Bible “was deeply moved”; New American Bible “moved by the deepest emotions”; Jerusalem Bible “with a sigh that came straight from the heart”; Goodspeed “showing great agitation”; Moffatt “was disquieted”; Phillips “visibly distressed.” This verb, also used of Jesus in 12.27 (my heart is troubled) and in 13.21 (he was deeply troubled), is literally “he stirred himself up.” It is used by Jesus in speaking to his disciples in 14.1,27, where it is translated worried and upset by Good News Translation; in 5.4,7 it is used of the stirring of the waters at the pool of Bethzatha. The particular form in which the verb occurs in this verse is transitive with “himself” as object. It may be that this form is a kind of substitute passive (the passive form is used in 12.27 and 13.21 of Jesus), but it is also possible that John uses the active form with an object (“he troubled himself”) in order to indicate that Jesus was master over his own emotions.
It is difficult in some languages to employ two different expressions, namely, his heart was touched and he was deeply moved. They may sometimes be combined into a single expression, provided it is in some way marked as an intensive, for example, “he was very much disturbed.” These two expressions need not be interpreted as two completely different types of emotion. The two phrases may simply serve to reinforce each other.
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 .