complete verse (John 1:11)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 1:11:

  • Lalana Chinantec: “He came back to his place, but they didn’t accept the Owner of the place where they were living.”
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “He was born among us who are of his nation, and nearly all of us, his fellow countrymen, didn’t believe in him.”
  • Aguaruna: “He arrived at his own place but his relatives did not welcome him.”
  • Ojitlán Chinantec: “He came to the earth, his land, but his countrymen did not receive him.” (Source for this and above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
  • Uma: “He arrived in his own town, but his fellow townspeople did not want to receive him.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “He came here to his place/country but he was not received by his tribe.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Even though he came to his own towns, there were not many of his companions there who accepted him.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “He came to his country/town, and his countrymen didn’t receive/accept him either.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “He came here to the nation he had chosen, but even they, these people he had chosen as his own, they didn’t receive him.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “He lived in his own land. But the inhabitants didn’t look favorably upon him.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “He went to his own countrymen/townmates, but the majority of them did not receive him.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Mairasi: “He Himself came to His own place, but His own kinsmen did not receive Him.” (Source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Bariai: “He went to his village of origin, yet his people didn’t receive him.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Kupsabiny: “He came to his world but people refused to welcome (him),” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)

3rd person pronoun with high register (Japanese)

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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 third person singular and plural pronoun (“he,” “she,” “it” and their various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. While it’s not uncommon to avoid pronouns altogether in Japanese, there are is a range of third person pronouns that can be used. In these verses a number of them are used that pay particularly much respect to the referred person (or, in fact, God, as in Exodus 15:2), including kono kata (この方), sono kata (その方), and ano kata (あの方), meaning “this person,” “that person,” and “that person over there.”

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also third person pronoun with exalted register.

Translation commentary on John 1:11

His own country represents the Greek “his own,” a neuter phrase in Greek. Although translators differ as to the specific way in which they render this phrase, most commentators indicate that the reference is specifically to his own country, perhaps to the region of Judea in particular, which, together with Jerusalem and the Temple, is placed in focus in John’s Gospel.

His own people is literally “his own,” a masculine expression in Greek. It is best taken as a reference to the Jewish people. It is possible, of course, to take the first expression as a reference to the world in general, and the second as a reference to the peoples of the world in general, but the more restricted choice is preferable. However, Goodspeed (“he came to his home, and his own family did not welcome him”), though possible, seems too narrowly restricted. Perhaps Goodspeed bases this interpretation on the fact that the neuter phrase “his own” is used in 19.27 as a reference to the disciple’s “own home.”

Should He came to his own country be interpreted as “the country which he possessed” or “the country to which he belonged”? If it is a reference to the land of the Jewish people and to his rejection by his own Jewish people, then “country” should be understood in the sense of the country to which he belonged. However, it is important to avoid any implication that it was a country to which he belonged prior to his coming to it.

Depending upon viewpoint, it may be necessary in some languages to say “he went to his country.” In saying “he came,” one might have to assume that the writer of this Gospel was actually in Palestine when he wrote the book.

His own people did not receive him may be rendered “the people of which he was a part did not welcome him.” It is often necessary to render his own people “the people of which he was a part” or “the people to which he belonged”; otherwise readers may think that these people were his own possession, either “his own slaves” or “those over whom he ruled.”

In some languages “to receive a person” may be expressed idiomatically as “to greet him in one’s home,” “to say welcome to him,” “to accept him with happiness,” or even “to greet him as a kinsman.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on John 1:11

1:11a

He came to His own: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as His own is more literally “his own things/property.” This is ambiguous and can refer to the whole earth or specifically to the land of Israel/Judea. In your translation, it is good to be ambiguous. You may be able to follow one of these examples:

He came to the place that he owns
-or-
He came to his own country (Good News Translation)
-or-
He came to his own home (Revised Standard Version)

1:11b

and: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and here introduces an event that one might not expect. Other translations, such as the New International Version, translate the conjunction as “but.” You should translate this conjunction in the way that is most natural for your language.

His own did not receive Him: The phrase His own refers to the Jews. Most of Jesus’ own people, the Jews, did not accept what he had to say. Verse 1:12a shows that there were some who did accept. If a literal translation here implies that none of the Jews received him, you may need to say this:

not many of his people accepted him

did not receive Him: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as receive in this context means “welcome.” That is, it means “receive with pleasure or as a guest.” For example:

did not welcome him (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
did not accept him (New Revised Standard Version)

In some languages it may be more natural to translate did not receive with a positive expression. For example:

they rejected him (New Living Translation (2004))

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