Translation commentary on John 12:13

The Greek phrase John uses for branches of palm trees is redundant, but its meaning is clear. The question has been raised whether there was an abundance of palm trees in Jerusalem. In modern times, palm branches are brought in from the region around Jericho for the celebration of Palm Sunday in Jerusalem. However, some palms do grow in the region of Jerusalem, and the question of how many there were in New Testament times is not important as far as translation is concerned. In translating they took branches of palm trees one must assume that they “cut off branches of palm trees.” A literal translation might imply that they simply picked up branches of palm trees which were discarded along the road.

Praise God! translates the meaning of an Aramaic phrase, which is transliterated “Hosanna” in many translations. A literal translation would be “Save—please!” In general “Hosanna” was a prayer for help. During the Festival of Shelters it was a prayer for rain. But here the term is better taken to indicate praise rather than petition. Goodspeed renders “Bless him!” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch and Bible en français courant render in the same way as Good News Translation. Praise God! cannot be translated literally in some languages, since it would mean only that the speakers were commanding others to praise God. In some languages the closest equivalent would be “Let us praise God” or “God deserves our praise.” In some languages, however, instead of using a verb meaning “praise,” it is better to indicate the content of the praise, namely, “God is wonderful!”

God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord is more literally “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” However, the blessing referred to or appealed for comes from God, and Good News Translation makes this explicit. The words come from Psalm 118.26, and the meaning of the Hebrew is evidently “Blessed in the Lord’s name is the one who comes.” In the original setting of the Psalm, the reference was to the pilgrims who came to the Temple to worship, but the meaning for John is obviously different. According to John’s Gospel, the one who comes in the name of the Lord is Jesus.

The third person imperative in God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord! is essentially a type of request or prayer, and it must be expressed as such in certain languages, for example, “We pray that God will bless him….”

There is, however, a problem involved in the clause who comes in the name of the Lord. If in this context “Lord” refers to Jesus Christ, the request will seem to be for God to bless someone who has come representing Jesus. However, the blessing is requested for Jesus himself and this meaning makes the term Lord equivalent to God. One may translate in many languages “We pray that God will bless the one that comes in his name,” that is, in the sense of “in God’s name.” In some languages, however, the expression “in his name” has no real meaning, and one must translate “We pray that God will bless the one who comes representing him” or “… comes as his representative” or “… as his messenger.”

God bless the King of Israel is literally, “even the king of Israel.” But the force of the Greek structure is to equate him who comes in the name of the Lord with the King of Israel, and Good News Translation does this explicitly. This slight restructuring also makes the elements of praise in this verse emphatic. By breaking the sentence into two parts and introducing each part with God bless, the meaning is made clearer, and the staccato style is more in keeping with spontaneous utterances of praise. (For Jesus as the King of Israel, see 1.49. See comments at 14.13 for a discussion of “in my name.”)

It may sometimes be best to translate the King of Israel “the one who will rule over Israel,” since Jesus was not at that time actually ruling over Israel. King must often be translated by a verb “to rule” rather than by a noun designating a particular kind of ruler.

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 12:13

12:13a

They took palm branches and went out to meet Him: This took place on “the next day” mentioned in 12:12. The word They refers back to the great crowd also mentioned there. The people in the crowd cut branches off some of the palm trees that were growing there. Then they carried the branches in their hands to wave and celebrate Jesus’ coming. This was the custom at this time as a way to welcome a famous person. In some languages it may be natural to make some of this explicit. For example:

and went out to meet him with palm branches in their hands (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
the people went out ⌊of the city⌋ to welcome him, ⌊waving⌋ palm branches

palm branches: This phrase refers to the parts of a palm plant/tree that grow out of the trunk. See the picture below where the man is cutting a “branch” off of the trunk of a palm tree. In many languages, these branches are referred to as “leaves,” and that is really what they are. Also, some languages do not call a palm a “tree” because they do not have wood branches like a regular tree. Other areas may not have any plants like palms. You should refer to these palms and their branches in ways that are natural in your language. For example:

palm leaves
-or-
leaves from a palm plant
-or-
leafy branches
-or-
leaves from a plant like a coconut

went out to meet Him: This phrase indicates that the people left the city to welcome Jesus, who was on his way into the city. They greeted him as people might greet a king who won a war, showing him honor by welcoming him. Here are other ways to translate this phrase.

went down the road to meet him (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
went out to greet him (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
went out ⌊of the city⌋ to welcome Jesus

12:13b

shouting: The people were praising Jesus with loud voices. Use the expression that is most natural for indicating this. The people were not shouting because they were angry. Here is another way to translate this word:

praising him loudly

Hosanna!: Hosanna is a Hebrew expression that means “please save!” It is literally a prayer for help but here it is used as an expression of praise. Here are two ways to translate this word:

• Use a word that sounds like the Aramaic word without translating it. If the expression Hosanna is already known and used in churches in your area, this may be the best choice.

• Translate the meaning in this context. For example:

Praise God! (Good News Translation)
-or-
Let us praise God!

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!: This is a formula welcoming the Messiah. It is a quotation from Psalm 118:26. There are two ways to interpret it here:

(1) The speakers were praising Jesus, the one who came to them in the name of the Lord. They declared him to be Blessed, that is, God has given him special love and favor. For example:

Blessed is he who is coming in the name of the Lord (New Jerusalem Bible)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, English Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, NET Bible Bible, God’s Word)

(2) The speakers were asking God to bless the one who was coming to them in the name of the Lord. For example:

May God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord!

(Good News Translation, New Century Version, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation (2004))

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most English translations.

Blessed is: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Blessed is is passive and the implied subject is God. The speakers praised Jesus by saying that he was blessed by God. That means that God had given him his special love and favor. See how you translated this Greek word in Mark 11:9. Here are two ways to translate this passive verb:

• Use a passive verb. For example:

Blessed is the one who comes in the Lord’s name!
-or-
The one who comes in the Lord’s name has been blessed ⌊by God⌋ !

• Use an active verb. For example:

⌊God⌋ has blessed/favored the one who comes in his name
-or-

⌊The Lord⌋ has blessed/favored the one who comes as his representative

He who comes in the name of the Lord: This noun phrase is a reference to the Messiah. The crowds were saying that Jesus was the Messiah, admitting the truth that Jesus came from God.

in the name of the Lord: This phrase means “with the authority of God” or “as God’s representative.” Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

whom the Lord sent
-or-
whom the Lord sent as his representative

12:13c

the King of Israel: This phrase is not part of the quotation from Psalm 118:26. They are part of what the people were shouting to welcome Jesus. The people blessed Jesus as the King and welcomed him. They also gave him one of the titles of the Messiah. In some languages it is more natural to start a new sentence here like the Berean Standard Bible does.

If you begin a new sentence, check that your readers understand that “the one who comes in the name of the Lord” (12:13b) is the King of Israel. Also check that people understand that both expressions refer to Jesus.

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