it is finished

For the Greek in John 19:30 that is translated with an equivalent of “It is finished (or: completed)” in most English Bible translations a perfect tense is used that has no direct equivalent in English. It expresses that an event has happened at a specific point in the past but that that event has ongoing results. The English “Expanded Translation” by Kenneth S. Wuest (publ. 1961) attempted to recreate that by translating “It has been finished and stands complete.”

Irish uses yet a different system of tenses, resulting in these translations:

  • Atá sé ar na chríochnughadh (Bedell An Biobla Naomhtha, publ. early 17th century): “It is upon its completion”
  • Tá críoch curtha air (Ó Cuinn Tiomna Nua, publ. 1970): “Completion is put on it”
  • Tá sé curtha i gcrích (An Bíobla Naofa, publ. 1981): “It is put in completion”

Source for the Irish: Kevin Scannell

In Ojitlán Chinantec it is translated as “My work is finished,” in Aguaruna as “It is completely accomplished,” and in Mezquital Otomi as “Now all is finished which I was commanded to do.” (Source for this and above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)

In Cherokee an immediate past form of the verb alsgwada (ᎠᎵᏍᏆᏓ) is used. This indicates that “the action is concurrently effected.” (Source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 56)

In Mandarin Chinese, it is translated as chéng le (成了) which means both “it is completed” and “it is finished” (source: Zetzsche), in Ebira it is translated as Ma sị mẹ ta or “I have finally completed/finished it” (source: Scholz /Scholz 2015, p. 98), and in both German and Dutch major translations it is translated as vollbracht and volbracht respectively, which means “finished” but comes from “to bring (or: deliver) completely.”

The following is a contemporary stained glass window in the Catholic Church of the Resurrection in Bryanston, New Zealand:

Photo by Catholic Church of the Resurrection in Bryanston

The Window of the Saviour: Jesus said, “It is accomplished,” and bowing His head He gave up His spirit (John 19:30). This window with its powerful colours of sorrow and mourning yet glory and new life shows the Saviour at the moment of His supreme sacrifice of Himself for love of all humanity. (Source: Catholic Church of the Resurrection in Bryanston )

Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum .

See also this devotion on YouVersion .

looking like flower beds

The Greek πρασιαὶ πρασιαὶ (prasiai prasiai) that is typically not directly translated in English (the UBS Handbook says: prasia (only here in the N.T.) meant originally ‘a garden plot’; when used as here it means ‘in orderly groups,’ ‘in rows,’ ‘in ranks’) is translated as “looking like flower beds set side to side” by Pakaluk (2019) (the complete verse: And they sat down in groups of a hundred and groups of fifty, looking like flower beds set side to side).

Palaluk explains (p. 108f.): “These are fascinating lines [verses 39 and 40]. Mark uses two idioms that occur only here in recorded Greek literature: “dinner parties, side by side” and “looking like flower beds set side to side.” The phrase for the first is sumposia sumposia. A symposium is literally a drinking party, though we would say dinner party. The phrase for the second is prasiai prasiai. A prasia is a flower bed. Mark repeats each word so that the position of the words in the sentence, side by side, is like the position of the things represented by the words, side by side. It is very clever. But notice this. Jesus commands the disciples to seat everyone in groups like dinner parties. But in following the command, the disciples seat everyone in groups of fifty or one hundred, in rectangular formations. The first sentence records the Lord’s command; the second is Peter’s [Mark’s assumed source for the gospel] vivid description of how it looked after the fact. The contrast between the two expressions shows that Jesus would leave the details to the disciples’ discretion as they followed his command. The apostles are given scope to set down definite realizations of what the Lord intends.”

Wuest (1961) and Blakwelder (1980) offer similar translations. While Ruden (2021) does not, she explains in a footnote (p. 23): “To depict this unconventional feast, outdoor terms are whimsically combined with terms for an ordinary indoor social gathering. The arrangement of the diners here is literally ‘drinking parties drinking parties,’ ‘on the green greenery,’ and ‘garden plots garden plots.’ Two are expressions like the modern Greek plai plai for ‘side by side.'”