VERSE 2. This verse gives fuller explanation about “the life.” The Greek uses the connective kai “and.” This may be rendered here ‘for,’ ‘indeed,’ ‘yes,’ ‘this, of a truth,’ but in some cases it is better left untranslated; for example, where the use of a parenthesis in itself already suggests that the verse functions as an explanation. To strengthen the coherence of the discourse, one may add a back-pointing element, as in ‘this life,’ ‘the life just mentioned.’
The life was made manifest, or ‘was revealed,’ ‘was brought to the open,’ ‘was to be seen,’ ‘became visible,’ ‘showed itself.’ The tense used in the Greek is the aorist, indicating that the reference is to an event in the past, namely Jesus’ appearance in history. To bring this out, one language uses ‘to come’ with a suffix indicating that this happened for the first time and that he had never before been seen by the speaker.
† Was made manifest (in this verse and 4.9) renders the passive form of a Greek verb “to reveal,” “to show.” The same Greek form is often used in connection with Jesus, especially so in the Johannine writings. Then it refers to his appearing among men during his earthly life (here, and 3.5, 8), or to the appearances after his resurrection (John 21.14), or to the final manifestation at his second coming (1 John 2.28; perhaps also 3.2). In most of these occurrences Revised Standard Version and Good News Bible use “to appear,” but in John 21.14 they have “was revealed” and “showed himself.”
We saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life: in this rendering it refers back to “life,” which is thus taken as the goal of the two first verbs. It is possible, even preferable, however, to understand “the eternal life” as the goal of all three verbs, for example, ‘we saw, and testify to, and proclaim the eternal life,’ or ‘we saw the eternal life, and testify to it, and proclaim it.’
Semantically speaking, however, this difference of construction is not very important in the context, because the eternal life is only a more expressive repetition of “the life,” and both are virtually interchangeable in the Johannine writings. Hence a construction like that of Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, or of Translators’ Translation of the Johannine Epistles (Translators’ Translation) (“we have seen it, we bear witness to it, we declare it to you, that eternal life”), is quite acceptable also. The same is true of an alternative solution that transposes the phrase “the eternal life” to verse 2c (which see).
In the Greek the first verb is in the perfect tense, again referring to the past, but the next two verbs are in the present tense. This sequence serves to express that what happened before has its results now. Therefore and before the second verb is better rendered “so” (Good News Translation) or, subordinating the rest of the sentence, ‘so that (now).’
The last verb (we … proclaim) is identical with the main verb of the sentence (in verse 3a). This stylistic feature serves to strengthen the connection between the parenthesis and the sentence as a whole.
† The verb testify is basically a legal term for telling in court what one has seen and heard. The phrase here means to tell publicly what life really is, as witnesses who know the life revealed by Jesus, “the Word of life,” in the deeds they saw him perform and the words they heard him speak. The use of this verb implies that they spoke about these words and deeds because they were well aware of their real meaning, and believed in Jesus. For this interaction of hearing and seeing with testifying, and with faith see also 4.14-16; John 1.32, 34; 19.35, and compare 3.11, 32. Where a specific term for “to testify” or “to bear witness” does not exist, a descriptive rendering of the phrase may be given; for example, ‘tell just how it is,’ ‘tell what one has heard and seen,’ ‘tell what one has experienced.’
The verb testify (occurring also in 4.14; 3 John 3, 6, 12) stands for a Greek verb which is also rendered “to bear witness” (5.9) and “to bear testimony” (5.10). The present participle of the same Greek verb, functioning as an agent noun, has as its equivalent in English the noun “witness” (5.7-8). And the related verbal noun, referring to the act of testifying, or the words spoken when testifying, occurs in Revised Standard Version as “testimony” (5.9 and following; 3 John 12).
Proclaim renders a Greek verb that has the meaning “to report” or “to tell,” rather than “to proclaim.” It has an important semantic component in common with “to testify,” namely that of reporting. Accordingly, the two verbs are in some cases better combined into one; for example, ‘we report to you what we heard and saw.’ If a verb referring to communication by mouth would be confusing in the context of a letter, one may use a verb for “to write” (as the text itself has in verse 4).
† The eternal life (also in 2.25; 3.15; 5.11, 13, 20), or, shifting from noun to verb, ‘what causes people to live eternally’: The qualification eternal (Greek aiōnios) is added in order to make explicit that this life is something of a different order, namely, the order of the coming aeon or age (Greek aiōn), and accordingly has a quality which is superior to anything in the present age. This life of the coming age, revealed in the person of Jesus Christ, is attainable in the present age for all who believe in him.
One of the superior qualities of this life is that sin, illness, and death no longer exist. Consequently the Greek term for eternal has also the semantic component of unending duration, but this, though important, is a secondary component. To express the primary component one can often best use such terms as ‘true,’ ‘real,’ ‘full.’ Thus one Papuan language has ‘fullness/hugeness of life,’ the term ‘fullness/hugeness’ being used in the language as a qualification of things divine.
However, several versions, probably even the majority, follow the reverse method when translating the term in question. They use a rendering which only secondarily means superior quality but primarily refers to long or endless duration, such as, ‘everlasting,’ ‘for ever,’ ‘continuous,’ ‘all times,’ ‘year and year,’ ‘without end.’ This is done on the assumption that such a term also possesses the meaning of superior quality, or has acquired it by usage. Before introducing such a rendering translators should carefully investigate whether this assumption holds true for the receptor language concerned.
Which was with the Father and was made manifest to us. The first part of this relative clause closely parallels verse 1a; both refer to what is outside the human sphere of space and time. The second part repeats verse 2a and serves to bring the parenthesis to a close. These stylistic features are intended to strengthen the inner structure of the long sentence. At the same time verse 2c forms a climax, which is often best brought out when the phrase “the eternal life” is transposed from verse 2b to verse 2c; compare, for example, ‘we have seen it, we bear witness to it, and proclaim it to you: the eternal life, which was with the Father, appeared to us.’
Was with indicates that the life and the Father ‘belonged together’ (as one language has it, using a reciprocal derivation of ‘yoke/cross-beam’). Another way to express the same concept is found in such renderings of the clause as ‘life was near the Father.’ Sometimes the function of “to be” is performed by such verbs as ‘to live,’ ‘to dwell,’ or ‘to sit’ (the third being used in one language when the subject is a person, as against ‘to lie’ when it is a thing).
† The Father (here and in 1.3; 2.1, 13 (14 in the Greek New Testament), 15-16, 22-24; 3.1; 4.14; 2 John 3-4, 9) refers to God, the heavenly Father of Jesus and men. This reference may have to be made explicit; for example, ‘Father God,’ ‘the Father above.’ Often the noun may best be treated as a proper name, for example, by adding a name qualifier.
If the receptor language word for father must show to whom the person is father, one has the choice between ‘his father,’ that is, the father of Jesus Christ, or ‘our (inclusive) father.’ The latter is preferable provided it does not obscure the fact that God is men’s Father because he is Jesus’ Father. But it may create a problem in languages that differentiate according to social status. In such languages the translator may hesitate between considerations of reverence, requiring the use of honorifics when referring to the deity, and considerations of modesty, making obligatory the avoidance of honorifics with reference to what is the speaker’s own, such as his possessions, body, or family. In this conflict considerations of reverence seem, as a rule, to predominate, resulting in the use of honorific term for ‘father,’ even in phrases which refer to the speaker’s father. This is acceptable because the word is used metaphorically.
Quoted with permission from Haas, C., de Jonge, M. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on The First Letter of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .