For the expression be expelled from the synagogues, see 9.22 and 12.42. This meaning may be expressed in some languages as “They will no longer count you as members of their worship houses” or “They will exclude you from worship in the synagogues.”

And the time will come is more literally “but an hour is coming.” The conjunction that Good News Translation translates and (Greek alla) literally means “but”; however, in the present context it is used to introduce an additional point (“not only that, but…”). Moffatt and New English Bible translate the whole phrase as “indeed the time is coming,” and Goodspeed translates “the time is coming.” New American Bible uses a semicolon to express the force of the Greek particle. For English readers the Greek word “hour” is best taken in the present context with the more generic sense of “time.” In some languages the equivalent of the time will come is simply “it will happen that.”

He is serving God is more literally “he is offering service to God” (Revised Standard Version). But this expression is redundant, for in Greek the verb “to offer” and the noun “service” both refer primarily to worship offered to God. Jerusalem Bible translates “doing a holy duty for God,” while New English Bible has “performing a religious duty.” Moffatt translates “will imagine that he is doing God a service,” and Goodspeed “will think he is doing religious service to God.” In some languages he is serving God may be expressed as “he is helping God.” In others the concept of serving God may be expressed specifically as “he is worshipping God by this means” or “he is honoring God by doing what he does.”

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 .