For the use of Just as … in the same way, see the note at verse 21.

Is himself the source of life is literally “has life in himself.” This statement is not a mere affirmation that “God is alive,” but rather an affirmation that God has the power to give life. Good News Translation makes this meaning explicit. Jerusalem Bible (“who is the source of life”) and New English Bible (“has life-giving power in himself”) also make this meaning clear. (See also 1.4.)

In many languages the Father must be rendered “my Father” and the source of life as a causative, for example, “in the same way as my Father is the one who causes people to live.” The same type of construction may be employed in the second half of verse 26, for example, “in that same way my Father has made me to cause people to live” or “… has given me the power to cause people to live.”

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 .

Gave thanks is a participle in Greek which Good News Translation translates as a finite verb (so also Moffatt, New English Bible, Phillips). To God (so also Moffatt) is not expressed explicitly in the Greek text, but it is clearly implied. Phillips has “gave thanks for them” (that is, for the loaves of bread), thus supplying an object for the verb gave thanks.

Gave thanks to God must be expressed in some languages as direct discourse, for example, “said to God, ‘We thank you for this.’ ” Other languages may have “prayed to God saying, ‘Thanks’ ” or “… ‘we are grateful.’ ”

A literal translation of distributed it to the people who were sitting there may give the impression that Jesus himself distributed the bread to all the people. This interpretation can be avoided by the use of a causative, for example, “he caused it to be distributed to the people who were sitting there.”

He did the same with the fish, and they all had as much as they wanted translates only seven words in Greek. Here New English Bible has almost the precise words of Good News Translation, and Jerusalem Bible is similar: “He then did the same thing with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted.”

He did the same with the fish must be expressed in some languages in a more specific manner, for example, “He thanked God for the fish also and distributed the fish also” or “… caused the fish to be distributed to the people.” In some languages the term distributed may be readily translated “to give,” sometimes with a special form indicating a distributive plural, that is, the bread and the fish were given to people not collectively but individually.

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 .

Jesus answered is literally “Jesus answered and said to them,” another instance of Semitic style. Good News Translation (Stop grumbling) and New English Bible (“Stop murmuring”) both attempt to capture the force of the Greek present imperative, which indicates that the people are to stop an action they are already in the process of doing. A simple negative imperative, “Don’t grumble,” would not have this force.

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 .

Special care must be used in translating No one hides what he is doing. A literal translation may imply that Jesus was hiding away in some secret place things he had been making. The meaning of hides in this context is “to do something without letting people know what one is doing.” An equivalent rendering may be “No one keeps people from knowing what he is doing, if he wants people to know who he really is.”

To be well known is more literally rendered “to be known publicly” (New American Bible) or “to be known openly” (Revised Standard Version). Moffatt translates this phrase “aims at public recognition” and New English Bible “to be in the public eye.” It may be rendered simply “in order for many people to know about you” or “in order that everyone will know who you are.”

Since (so also Moffatt and Jerusalem Bible) is “if” in most translations. In Greek the “if” clause indicates that the condition stated is true. This meaning is more clearly indicated in English by since. New English Bible implies doubt (“If you really are doing such things as these”), which seems not to be in keeping with the force of the Greek.

Let the whole world know about you is literally “show yourself to the world.” The whole world is equivalent to “the world of mankind” (see 1.10). The verb let may suggest mere permission in some languages, and a more appropriate rendering may be an expression of cause, for example, “cause everyone in the world to know about you.”

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 .

It should be noted that in the Greek text the question What does he mean? comes first, whereas in Good News Translation it is placed last for purposes of English style. This question may be rendered as “What is he trying to say?” or “What is he trying to tell us?” or “What do his words mean?”

One Greek manuscript of the Gospels includes the story of the woman taken in adultery (7.53-8.11) after this verse. See the comments at 8.1.

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 .

The pronoun you is emphatic.

In a purely human way is literally “according to the flesh.” Phillips and Jerusalem Bible translate “by human standards”; New English Bible “by worldly standards”; and New American Bible “according to appearances.” “According to the flesh” is a term found frequently in Paul’s writings. It is used only here by John; no other New Testament writer uses it. In 7.24 Jesus had warned the crowd not to judge by external standards. It may be that in a purely human way and by external standards are very close. The first throws emphasis on what something seems to be, while the second phrase stresses the subjective aspect of the person making the judgment. That is, he judges as he does because he is “flesh” and not God, and his judgments are therefore neither adequate nor valid. In a purely human way may be rendered “following people’s customs” or “in the way in which people generally judge” or “in the way in which people usually condemn others.”

Many believe that Jesus’ words I pass judgment on no one prompted the addition of the story of the woman caught in adultery. Elsewhere Jesus says he does judge (9.39), and the very heart of the Gospel of John is to proclaim to the world that it is judged in the light of who Jesus is. However, there is no essential contradiction in the truth stated here. Jesus is merely stating in another way his perfect unity with the Father. Thus any judgment that Jesus makes is not made on his own, as though in a purely human way; rather, it is a judgment made on the basis of his absolute relationship with God. So then, any judgment that Jesus makes actually originates from God.

Usually in translating I pass judgment on no one, it is useful to employ a neutral word of “judging.” However, in this particular context it is possible to employ a term which may suggest primarily “condemning,” that is, “I am not condemning anyone.”

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 .

These men who oppose Jesus do not come from God, and so they do not listen to God’s words (see verse 42-43).

The last sentence of this verse reads literally “because of this you do not listen, because you are not from God.” Good News Translation and New English Bible invert the order of the two clauses to attain a more natural English structure. New English Bible reads “You are not God’s children; that is why you do not listen.” You will not listen is literally “you do not listen,” but it is obvious that the idea of willfulness is involved (note Jerusalem Bible “if you refuse to listen”).

In this context listen must be understood in the sense of “pay heed to.” It is not merely a matter of hearing what is said but of responding positively to it. One may translate therefore this passage “The one who comes from God pays attention to what God has said; but you are not from God, and that is why you refuse to pay attention.”

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 .

His parents answered is literally “therefore his parents answered and said.” The redundancy “answered and said” reflects Semitic style, while the use of the particle translated “therefore” (oun) is characteristic of John’s style. For stylistic reasons Good News Translation repeats the verb we know (so also Jerusalem Bible). Moffatt restructures by translating “This is our son, and he was born blind; we know that.”

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 .