This, then, is the bread that came down from heaven is verbally almost identical with the first part of verse 50 (but the bread that comes down from heaven is such that) except that in this verse the past tense came down is used. Note also the link with verse 31 and the dialogue that followed.

It is not like the bread that your ancestors ate, but then later died is literally “not as the fathers ate and died.” In New English Bible this passage is rendered “and it is not like the bread which our fathers ate: they are dead….” There is no problem in translating “fathers” as ancestors, since “fathers” is often used with this sense in the New Testament (see 6.31). The problem is whether to translate “our ancestors” (inclusive) or your ancestors (exclusive). There is some manuscript evidence in support of the reading your ancestors, but the best Greek manuscripts read simply “the ancestors.” In many languages one simply cannot speak of “the fathers,” since all kinship terms occur with so-called “obligatory possession.” This means that one must have some pronominal or nominal reference to identify each kin relationship. But even in languages which do not have obligatory possession with kinship terms there is a tendency to specify kin relationships. Whether one chooses in English “your” or “our” in rendering “fathers” in this context depends primarily upon how one interprets the emotional tone of the discourse. The rendering “our fathers” suggests a more friendly atmosphere in the dispute which Jesus had with Jewish leaders, and the rendering “your ancestors” suggests a more hostile type of dialogue, in which Jesus separated himself from identification with the religious leaders of his own nation. That is, Jesus refers to your ancestors in a derogatory sense, in the same way that they referred to him as this man (verse 52). As has already been pointed out, in translating “the Father” one must often choose between “my Father” and “our Father,” but in such contexts the decision as to which pronoun to use depends not on the emotional tone of the discourse but upon the probable relations of the heavenly Father, either exclusively with his Son (therefore, “my Father”) or more inclusively with all the believers included in the particular context (therefore, “our Father”).

Good News Translation translates “but then died” of the Greek text by but then later died, in order not to suggest that the persons who ate died immediately, perhaps as a result of eating the bread.

While both Good News Translation and New English Bible translate so that the comparison is between the bread that the ancestors ate and the bread that Jesus offers, New American Bible makes a comparison between the ancestors who ate and died (“unlike your ancestors who ate and died…”) and those who eat the bread which Jesus will give. The Greek text itself can be understood to support either interpretation. However, the renderings of most translations are basically the same as that of Good News Translation and New English Bible (see, for example, Jerusalem Bible, Moffatt).

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 .