eternal life

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The Greek that is translated in English as “eternal life” is translated in various ways:

Lloyd Peckham explains the Mairasi translation: “In secret stories, not knowable to women nor children, there was a magical fruit of life. If referred to vaguely, without specifying the specific ‘fruit,’ it can be an expression for eternity.”

See also eternity / forever and salvation.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Eternal Life in John .

promise

The Greek in 1 John 2:25 that is translated as “promise” in English is translated in Mbandja as “the thing which he said he would certainly give.”

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (1John 2:25)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, translators typically select the inclusive form (including the addressee).

Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.

complete verse (1 John 2:25)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 John 2:25:

  • Uma: “And this is his promise to us: good life forever.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “And this is hep what Almasi promised, that he would give us (incl.) life forever.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “For what Christ has promised us is life forever.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “because this just the same is the life that has no end that Cristo promised to us.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “And this is what God promised us, life which has no ending.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “And Jesus Christ also promised that he will give us the new life forever.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “Jesus Christ promised us this, that he will give us eternal life.”
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “And he himself said truly that he will give us the new life of our hearts, which is now and will never end.”
  • Tzotzil: “Because Jesus Christ told us that he gives us our life forever.” (Source for this and two above: John Beekman in Notes on Translation 12, November 1964, p. 1ff.)

Japanese benefactives (yakusokushite)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.

Here, yakusokushite (約束して) or “promise” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on 1 John 2:25

By way of conclusion of this paragraph, John mentions what all this will mean.

This is what he has promised us, eternal life, in the Greek literally “and this is the promise which he has promised us, eternal life.” The more common sentence type would be ‘eternal life is what he has promised to us.’ The construction with the demonstrative pronoun pointing forward to the actual topic of the sentence postpones the mentioning of what has been promised, and thus creates a certain tension.

The clause what he has promised us may have to be translated as ‘the gift he has promised us,’ ‘the promise he has made to (or given) us,’ ‘what he has said he would (surely) give us.’ This may lead to further restructuring of the sentence; for example, ‘didn’t he himself say to us, “I will give you eternal life,” ’ as in one American Indian language. The pronoun he refers to Christ here. If it must be specified, one may use ‘Christ’ or ‘the Son,’ since both terms occur in the preceding verse.

The phrase eternal life is in the Greek in apposition to “the promise.” This is because of “inverse attraction” to the preceding relative pronoun in the accusative. For a discussion of eternal life, see comments on 1.1-2. Where one must shift from noun to verb, one may say something like ‘that we will live eternally.’

Verses 26-29 conclude the second attack on the false teachers (referred to as “those who would deceive you,” verse 26). The last two of the four verses form the transition to the next part. They contain allusions to the appearing of Christ and to one’s being born of him, but these topics do not form the main subject of the discourse as they do from 3.1 onward. At the same time the words “and now little children” (in verse 28) seem to form a certain break. Hence verses 28-29 may be taken as belonging to what precedes (as in Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and also in this Handbook) or to what follows (as in Greek New Testament, Nestle, New English Bible, Bijbel in Gewone Taal).

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 .

SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 2:25

2:25

this: (Pronoun Reference) The pronoun this refers back to the idea of remaining in the Son and in the Father.

He: (Pronoun Reference) The Greek pronoun translated He clearly refers to Jesus here.

to us: (Text) Some Greek manuscripts have “you.” This is what The Jerusalem Bible translates. But the best manuscripts have to us. It is recommended that you translate “to us” here.

eternal life: (Logical Relationship) John is saying that if we remain in the Son and in the Father, then we have the eternal life which Jesus promised. See Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English.

eternal life: (Special Biblical Term) Just as in other places in the New Testament where this term is used, it describes the heavenly life which God himself has and which he gives to us. See the note on 1:2d.

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