And if God’s glory is revealed through him does not appear in some of the best Greek manuscripts. Most modern translations include these words, though New American Bible places them in square brackets, and Jerusalem Bible and New English Bible add a footnote indicating that they do not appear in some of the Greek manuscripts. Ordinarily, when the manuscript evidence favors a shorter as oppose to a longer reading, the shorter is considered more likely to be the original. However, it is possible that these words were unintentionally left out be some scribe. But it is also possible that a scribe intentionally omitted these words, because he felt that they were redundant. The UBS Committee includes these words in brackets and rates its choice “C,” indicating a considerable degree of doubt as to whether the text or the apparatus contains the better reading.

If the clause we have just discussed was indeed an original part of the Greek text, it makes a good transition to the next clause: then God will reveal the glory of the Son of Man in himself. In the Greek text the Son of Man is literally “him,” but to translate literally could create a serious ambiguity (Revised Standard Version “God will also glorify him in himself”). In himself is best taken as a reference to God, and not to the Son of Man. Parallel in meaning to this verse is 17.5: Give me glory in your presence now, the same glory I had with you before the world was made. In some languages a literal translation of in himself would be relatively meaningless, for it would not indicate that God himself makes possible the revelation of the glory of the Son of Man. However, in the preceding clause God is indicated as the one who reveals this glory, and therefore it is possible to understand in himself as emphasizing God’s agency. Accordingly, one may translate “Then God himself will show people how wonderful the Son of Man is.”

And he will do so at once is more literally “and he will glorify him at once.” For stylistic reasons Good News Translation omits a further reference to revealing Jesus’ glory in this verse. Jerusalem Bible translates “and will glorify him very soon,” and New English Bible has “and he will glorify him now.” Once again the time sequence is difficult, and the translator need not try to make consistent in translation the time sequences which are not consistent in the original.

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 .