Honorary "rare" construct denoting God ("answer")

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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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, kotae-rare-ru (答えられる) or “answer” is used.

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

Translation commentary on John 1:19

For a formal translation of this verse, see Revised Standard Version.

The fact that this section begins with “and” indicates that we have here a form of Semitic Greek. In the Old Testament the “and” was a natural way of connecting one section with another. Good News Translation indicates this transition by beginning a new paragraph and including a section heading.

The clause “this is the testimony of John” is shifted in Good News Translation to verse 20 (saying), where it serves to introduce John’s words. But it is also preserved in the section heading of Good News Translation: “John the Baptist’s Message.”

The Jewish authorities translates “the Jews,” the phrase regularly used by John to refer to the official leaders of Judaism who opposed Jesus and his disciples. Here, of course, they stand in opposition to John the Baptist. See Appendix I, “the Jews in the Gospel of John,” by Robert G Bratcher, which discusses each occurrence of the word in the Gospel.

In many languages authorities are spoken of as “leaders” or “chiefs,” in others they may be simply “important men,” while in certain instances the closest equivalent may be “government officials.” Despite the fact that in New Testament times ultimate authority rested with the Romans, the Jewish authorities did have certain administrative functions and therefore can be regarded as “officials.”

The Levites were a lesser grade of priests whose primary function was to help in the temple services, especially as musicians. According to rabbinical sources, they sometimes served as temple police. In the New Testament Levites are mentioned elsewhere only in Luke 10.32 and Acts 4.36. In some languages one may speak of Levites as “helper priests” or even “second grade priests,” provided that “second grade” does not carry a wrong connotation of inferiority.

The Good News Translation rendering to John is supplied translationally, not on the basis of manuscript evidence. However, some manuscripts do have “to him” (that is, to John).

The question Who are you? must be understood in terms of the following verses. This same question is directed to Jesus in 8.25. In each instance the force of the question is to ask John or Jesus Who are you? in the light of the Jewish eschatological expectation. In translating this question, it is important to avoid the impression that the Jewish authorities had no information about John the Baptist’s name. What they were interested in was his role or ministry. In many languages the closest equivalent is “What sort of a person are you?”

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 1:19

Section 1:19–28

John the Baptist said that he was not the Messiah

In this section John the Baptist told messengers from the Jewish leaders that he himself was not the Messiah. He had come to prepare people for the coming of someone else, someone much greater than he was. He was referring to Jesus.

Here are other possible section headings:

John the Baptist said that he prepared people for someone much greater than him
-or-
John the Baptist told about his mission
-or-
John the Baptist was not the Messiah

Paragraph 1:19–23

The Jewish religious leaders sent priests and Levites to John to ask him who he claimed to be. They believed that he had no right to baptize if God had not sent him. He told them that he was preparing people to believe in the Messiah, the Chosen One. He quoted from Isaiah the prophet about a voice shouting in the wilderness to describe himself.

1:19a

And: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as And introduces the next event in the story. In some languages it may be more natural not to translate it. You should introduce this new event in the story in a way that is natural in your language.

this was John’s testimony: The word this refers forward to the testimony John gave in 1:20, “I am not the Christ.” (The word testimony means a statement where you tell what you know.) See the General Comment after 1:20 for a possible way to reorder this information.

Here are other ways to translate this clause:

This was John’s answer (God’s Word)
-or-
Here is the truth John told (New Century Version)

testimony: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as testimony can also be translated as “statement about what one saw.” See the note on 1:7a, where the same word refers to a person, John the Baptist himself. Here it refers to John the Baptist’s message. In some languages it is more natural to use a verb phrase instead of a noun. For example:

John told what he witnessed, saying….
-or-
John declared the truth in this way:

1:19b

when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites: The phrase the Jews here probably refers to the Jewish religious leaders. They lived and worked in the city of Jerusalem. In some languages it is more natural to make it explicit that these Jews were leaders based in Jerusalem. For example:

the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites (New International Version)
-or-
The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem sent some priests and Levites (Good News Translation)
-or-
The leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and temple helpers (Contemporary English Version)

The priests and the Levites were probably from Jerusalem, in addition to the Jewish leaders. In your translation, you should indicate that they all lived in Jerusalem. Also indicate that the leaders sent a group of priests and Levites from Jerusalem to question John. John was not in Jerusalem, but in a desert where nobody lived.

priests: Jewish priests were men who served God in the temple in Jerusalem. They served as mediators between God and the Jewish people. They offered animal sacrifices to God for the people. The priests also did other religious rituals and were in charge of the ceremonies in the temple. Here are some other ways to translate priests :

sacrificers
-or-
men who offer sacrifices
-or-
men who are representatives of people to God

See also Key Biblical Terms priest, meaning 1.

Levites: The Levites were men who helped the priests in the temple. They were descendants of Levi and therefore were members of the tribe of Levi. Priests were Levites, but also had to be descendants of Aaron, Moses’ brother. So all priests were Levites, but not all Levites were priests. In the Bible, the word Levites refers to the descendants of Levi who were not priests. See Levite in Key Biblical Terms. Here are other ways to translate this word:

members of the tribe/clan of Levi
-or-
descendants of Levi
-or-
Temple assistants (New Living Translation (2004))

1:19c

to ask him, “Who are you?”: The pronouns him and you both refer to John the Baptist. The Jewish leaders wanted to know what his authority was; in other words, what right did he have to baptize people.

In some languages it may be better to use indirect speech for this question. For example:

to ask him who he was (New International Version)
-or-
to ask John who he was (Contemporary English Version)

Refer to the General Comment after 1:23 on indirect speech in 1:19–23.

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