complete verse (John 1:15)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 1:15:

  • Uma: “Yohanes the Baptizer caused-to-know the people who that Word was. He called loudly he said: ‘He is the one I said earlier! I said: there will be one who comes after me, but his power surpasses mine. Because before I was born, he already was.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Yahiya talked about the Word. He spoke loudly, he said, ‘This is he/it that I talked to you about, I said, ‘There is somebody coming here after me. He is greater than I because when I was not yet born, he was already beforehand.’ ‘ This is what Yahiya said.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And this John, he caused people to understand who that one was who is titled the Word of God. John spoke out loudly. He said, ‘This is the person I told about when I said, ‘There is one who comes later than I who is greater than I because long ago before I was born, he already was,’ ‘ said John.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Juan confirmed/verified-concerning him saying, ‘This is the one I was talking-about when I told you that the one who would-follow-me was greater than I, because before I was yet born, he already-existed.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “He was being testified about by this Juan who was shouting it out, saying, ‘This one is he of whom I told when I said then as-you-heard, the one who is coming next after me, he is superior to me, because before I was born, he already was/existed.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “John told the people who he was. He said, ‘This one is that one I spoke of before. Because I already said, ‘He who comes afterwards is greater than I because before I was living, already he was living.”” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
  • Huehuetla Tepehua: “John told what he knew about that Word. When he was preaching he spoke loudly and this is what he said: ‘The one who is coming afterwards, he is the big one. Not I, since he was living before me. Not I. He is the one I preached to you about.'” (Source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
  • Hiligaynon: “Juan bore-witness about him. He said, ‘He is whom I am-speaking-of who will-arrive after me. But he is higher-(in position) than I, for before I was born, he was already there before.'” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Mairasi: “Yohanis lived as a witness about this message then shouting, he said: ‘This is the One, consistent with my throat which I said: ‘He Himself, the One Who will eventually come, He Himself is the One Who is Important. I myself am small. Because He Himself lived ahead of time then I myself was born.’ I regularly say’ said Yohanis.” (Source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Bariai: “Ioanes confirmed talk about him and so called and said, ‘This man, previously I spoke to you(pl) about him as follows, ‘A man comes after me, his name/status is greater than me. For he was living prior to the day in which I hadn’t come forth yet.’’ ” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Kupsabiny: “He is the one whom John said by calling aloud that, ‘He is the one whom I said will come after me who has powers more than me because he was there when I was not yet born.'” (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 1:15

Once again (see verses 6-9) the testimony of John the Baptist interrupts the prologue. This interruption show how important the author of the Gospel understood the testimony of John the Baptist to be, especially since cried out denotes a solemn proclamation and is used of prophetic activity (see 7.28,37 and 12.44). For the meaning of the verb spoke about, see verse 7. Spoke about is in the present tense and cried out is in the perfect tense in Greek. In this context, these tenses have essentially the same significance, that is, they point to the present significance of John’s testimony.

It may be necessary in some languages to indicate to whom John spoke or cried out, for example, “John spoke to the people about him. He cried out to them.” The important components of meaning in the expression cried out are the loudness of voice and the urgency of the message, equivalent in some languages to “shout with insistence” or “shout strongly” or “shout urgently.” It is important to avoid terms which may seem contradictory, for in some languages a translation of spoke and of cried out may appear to be contradictory; in the one instance one would simply say “he spoke,” but in the other, “he shouted.”

He comes after me (see 1.27,30) is, of course, a reference to the historical appearance of Jesus, while he existed before I was born is a reference to the eternal pre-existence of the Word (see verse 1). He comes after me must be rendered as a temporal expression and not one of position, that is to say, Jesus followed John in time. However, since Jesus’ manifestation of himself was later than that of John, it may be necessary in some languages to use the future tense, for example, “he will come later.” However, such a translation must not suggest any special interval of time between the ministry of John the Baptist and that of Jesus.

He is greater than I am must be interpreted as expressing greater importance, for example, “he is more important than I am.” It may be expressed in some languages as “he is stronger than I am” (though in such instances the term “strong” has nothing to do with physical strength). In other languages the concept of importance may be related to leadership in the sense of “he is more of a chief than I am.”

It is important to avoid a translation of he existed before I was born which could suggest merely that Jesus was older than John, a meaning often conveyed by translations which render “existed” as “lived.”

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 1:15

1:15

Here John interrupted his description of Jesus the Word by telling what John the Baptist said about him. Some English versions indicate this interruption by putting this verse in parentheses. Consider whether or not it is natural to use parentheses in your language.

1:15a

John testified concerning Him: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as testified refers to telling about what the speaker witnessed. See the note on 1:7a, where the same word appears. (The phrase testified concerning is a verb phrase that means “testified about.” It does not mean that John spoke to him, Jesus, about what he witnessed.) The Greek verb here in 1:15a is in the present tense. However, in many languages it may be more natural to use the past tense, as the Berean Standard Bible did. For example:

John told the people what he knew about the Word.
-or-
John declared the truth about him. (New Century Version)
-or-
John spoke about him. (Contemporary English Version)

Him: The person about whom John testified was the Word: Jesus Christ. If you need to make this explicit, refer to “the Word,” as in 1:14a.

1:15b

In Greek, 1:15a and 1:15b are connected with the common conjunction that the New Revised Standard Version translates as “and.” The Berean Standard Bible does not translate this conjunction and starts a new sentence. You may also use “when,” and translate 1:15a–b like this:

John declared the truth about him when he said loudly…. (God’s Word)

Connect 1:15a and 1:15b in the way that is natural in your language.

cried out: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as cried out here means “spoke loudly.” Use a word that refers to the public proclaiming of an important, even urgent, message.

Here are other ways to translate this word:

proclaimed (Revised English Bible)
-or-
shouted to the crowds (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
preached

1:15c–e

“This is He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’”: This sentence is a quote that includes a quote. John the Baptist quoted something he had said earlier. See the General Comment at on 1:15c–e for more information about translating a quote that includes a quote.

1:15c

This is He of whom I said: John was referring to the Word, Jesus Christ. He was identifying someone he described earlier. In many languages it will be more natural to use the present tense: “This is he.” For example:

This is the One whom I told you (plur.) about.
-or-
This is the One I was talking about. (Good News Translation)

1:15d

He: This pronoun refers to Jesus, the Word.

who comes after me: This clause indicates that Jesus came after John in time. John was about six months older than Jesus (see the narrative in Luke 1, especially Luke 1:26). John began his public ministry before Jesus did. When John said this, Jesus had not yet begun his ministry.

Here are other ways to translate this clause:

He comes after me (Revised English Bible)
-or-
Someone is coming after me (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
There is someone coming after me who…

has surpassed me: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as has surpassed me means “is greater than I am” or “is more important than I am.” For example:

who is far greater than I am (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
is superior to me (Tagbanwa Back Translation)

1:15e

because He was before me: This clause indicates the reason why Jesus was greater than John. Although he was six months younger than John, Jesus existed before John was born. He existed with God as the Word. In your translation, try to imply that this refers to Jesus always living rather than his age on earth. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

for he existed long before I did (NET Bible)
-or-
before I was born, he already was (Revised English Bible)

General Comment on 1:15c–e

This verse includes a quotation that includes a quotation. In some languages it may be natural to avoid this quotation that includes a quotation by using indirect speech. For example:

15c This is the one about whom I spoke when I said that 15d one would come after me. And he would be one who is greater than I am, 15e because he existed before me.

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