The initial I of this verse is emphatic; Anchor Bible translates it as “I myself.” It is one of several instances in the Gospel of John where “I am” is used with a predicate (see 4.26).

Living bread is synonymous with “bread of life,” and both mean “the bread which gives life.” The last sentence of this verse introduces a new thought: the bread that I will give him is my flesh. The shift from the present tense to the future (will give) points to the time of Jesus’ sacrificial death, when he will give himself for the needs of his people, the event symbolized in part by the broken bread of the Lord’s Supper. Good News Translation attempts to relate this last sentence to the preceding one by introducing him as the object of the verb give, thus tying it to anyone and he of the previous sentence.

In many languages my flesh can be translated as “my body.” Some translators suggest the use of “myself” here, but if this had been the meaning intended, it would not have caused the argument which follows in verse 52.

Which I give so that the world may live is literally “in behalf of the life of the world.” Good News Translation transforms this series of noun phrases into two verb phrases. Which I give so that picks up the meaning of “in behalf of” (Greek huper), while “the life of the world” is taken to mean the world may live. New English Bible retains the expression “for the life of the world,” though it reintroduces the verb “give” (“I give it for the life of the world”).

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 .