complete verse (John 1:47)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 1:47:

  • Uma: “Yesus saw Natanael coming to meet-with him, he said: ‘Here comes a Yahudi person who really takes-after the character of Israel his ancestor long ago, he is not a deceiver!'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “When Isa saw Natanael coming towards him, Isa said, ‘Here is one real Isra’il person. He does not deceive.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when they arrived there, Jesus saw Nathaniel and said, ‘This one really is a true descendant of Israel because he doesn’t cover up anything.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Upon Jesus’ seeing Nataniel coming, he said, ‘This is a true descendant of Israel, because he has no trickery.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Jesus saw that Natanael was approaching him. Having seen, he said, ‘Here is someone who is a true Israelita who has no deceitfulness at all.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Jesus saw that Nathanael was approaching and said, ‘Now you see coming here a Jew who truly lives uprightly and is not a deceiver.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on John 1:47

Here is a real Israelite (Anchor “Here is a genuine Israelite”; New American Bible “This man is a true Israelite”) is literally “Here is truly an Israelite,” but it is possible to take the adverb “truly” in this type of sentence structure as the equivalent of an adjective. Some commentators understand “truly” to have here the force of “one worthy to have the name of Israel” (Jerusalem Bible “There is an Israelite who deserves the name”; New English Bible “Here is an Israelite worthy of the name”). Israelite occurs only here in the Gospel of John, and it is obviously has a positive connotation, whereas the expression “the Jews” in its many occurrences throughout the Gospel is generally derogatory in connotation.

There is nothing false in him (so also New English Bible) appears in Revised Standard Version as “in whom is no guile” (Moffatt “There is no guile in him”). Perhaps a reference is intended to the deceitfulness of Jacob, who was later called “Israel.” This possibility is strengthened by the observation that verse 51 quotes Genesis 28.12, though the word may have the more generic meaning of “sin” or “impurity,” as some commentators suggest. On the other hand, it may be that this statement is simply an amplification of the meaning of the preceding statement, Here is a real Israelite.

It is not easy to translate literally there is nothing false in him. It would imply that falsehood could in a sense lie within a person, or that something not genuine could be inside one. A more appropriate equivalent in some languages is “this man would never lie” or “this man would never deceive anyone.” In some other languages a positive expression is much more appropriate, for example, “he is a person who really tells the truth sincerely.”

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 1:47

1:47a

There is implied information here: Nathanael decided to go and see Jesus, and then set out. In some languages it may be natural to make this explicit:

⌊So Nathanael went to meet Jesus.⌋

When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him: The pronoun He refers to Jesus and him refers to Nathanael. In some languages it may be natural to use one or both of these names. For example:

As Jesus saw Nathanael come toward him, Jesus spoke ⌊to the other disciples⌋ about Nathanael.

1:47b

Here is a true Israelite: When Jesus said the words Here is a true Israelite, he was saying something good about Nathanael. He was saying that Nathanael deserved to be called an Israelite.

Here are other ways to translate this statement:

Here is an Israelite who deserves the name
-or-
Now here is a true man of Israel (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
Here is a real Israelite. (Good News Translation)
-or-
How here is a genuine son of Israel. (New Living Translation (2004))

in whom there is no deceit: Jesus was saying that Nathaniel was not a liar or a hypocrite. Nathanael said what he believed and did not try to trick others. The word deceit refers to an act of deceiving or not telling the truth. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

There is no deceit in him. (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
And he isn’t deceitful. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
in whom there is nothing false (New International Version)

In some languages it may be natural to translate this using a positive statement. For example:

a man who is completely honest
-or-
who is sincere (God’s Word)

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