It should be noted that the mention of the festival in this verse ties this theme closely to the overall context of Passover, which has been the background since 11.55. The term Greeks (see also 7.35) is not used in the nationalistic sense; it refers rather to “non-Jews” or “Gentiles.” In this instance the reference is to Gentiles who have become proselytes to Judaism and so have come up to Jerusalem to worship during the festival. They are mentioned only in this verse and those that follow. It is not sufficient to translate Greeks merely as “Greek-speaking people,” since this term could refer to many Jews who spoke only Greek. The term Greeks may be expressed in some languages as “people known as Greeks” or “Greek people” or “people who were not Jews.”

It may be essential in some languages to introduce an object of worship, for example, “to worship God.” During the festival may be rendered “during the time of the celebration” or even “during the time that people were celebrating the Passover.”

In the Greek text Jerusalem is not explicitly mentioned and the verb had gone is literally “went up”; but this verb is normally used for describing a journey to Jerusalem (see 2.13; 5.1; 7.8; and 11.55).

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 .