ἐὰν ἐμοί τις διακονῇ, ἐμοὶ ἀκολουθείτω, καὶ ὅπου εἰμὶ ἐγὼ ἐκεῖ καὶ ὁ διάκονος ὁ ἐμὸς ἔσται· ἐάν τις ἐμοὶ διακονῇ τιμήσει αὐτὸν ὁ πατήρ.
26Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.
The Greek that is translated as “my Father” in English is translated in Matumbi as Tati’ bangu’ or “my fathers.” “Our Father” is translated as “our Fathers” (and likewise “our ancestor” as “our ancestors”). Matumbi uses a majestic plural as an honorific when addressing parents. (Source: Tim Macsaveny)
See also addressing one’s or someone else’s father humbly / respectfully in Japanese (父) and Father (address for God).
The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated in English as “serve,” “minister,” “walk with,” or “service” is translated in Igede as myị ẹrụ or “agree with message (of the one you’re serving).” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
In Quetzaltepec Mixe, “serve” is translated as “obey.” (Source: Robert Bascom)
Following are a number of back-translations of John 12:26:
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 benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.
Here, omonjite (重んじて) or “value” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
The Greek that is translated with the capitalized “Father” in English when referring to God is translated in Highland Totonac with the regular word for (biological) father to which a suffix is added to indicate respect. The same also is used for “Lord” when referring to Jesus. (Source: Hermann Aschmann in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 171ff. )
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. In the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017, God the Father is addressed with mi-chichi (御父). This form has the “divine” honorific prefix mi– preceding the archaic honorific form chichi for “father.”
If, however, Jesus addresses his Father, he is using chichi-o (父を) which is also highly respectful but does not have the “divine” honorific. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
See also Lord and my / our Father.
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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
See also pronoun for “God”.
Whoever wants to serve me is literally “if anyone serves me.” But the Greek “if” followed by an indefinite pronoun (“anyone” or “someone”) is equivalent to whoever in English.
In some languages it may be necessary to invert the concept of “serving” by saying “If any of you want me to be your master.” Otherwise “serving” might refer merely to “serving meals.”
So that my servant will be with me where I am is a restructuring of the Greek, which reads literally “and where I am, there also my servant will be.” Jesus is on his way to death, and this observation, taken in conjunction with verse 25, indicates that the route the servant must follow is also that of death.
It is necessary to make clear that my servant refers to the individual who wishes to serve his master. By changing the conditional relative clause introduced by whoever into a conditional sentence with “if” and using the second person plural to identify the persons involved, one may translate “If any of you want me to be your master (or “serve me”), you must follow me so that you, as my servants, will be with me wherever I am.”
In Greek my Father reads literally “the Father”; but see comments at 5.19. It should be noted that according to the Greek sentence structure the pronouns “him” (Good News Translation anyone) and “me” are emphatic. Nowhere else in this Gospel does John speak of the Father honoring someone, but we do read of the honor that people pay either to Jesus or to the Father (5.23; 8.49). Here the honor that the Father shows to the believer is a reward for his faithful service to Jesus. At the same time it suggests that a mutual relationship exists between the Father and the believer, in a way similar to that which exists between the Father and the Son.
In some instances it may be important to render serve in the sense of “help” or “assist.” The final part of verse 26 would then be rendered as “and hence my Father will honor anyone who helps me.”
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 .
12:26a
If anyone serves Me: The word anyone refers in general to anyone who wants to serve Jesus. In some languages it is more natural to use a different general pronoun. For example:
Whoever (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
All those (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
those (God’s Word)
serves: This word here means “obeys a Lord and master.” The person who serves Jesus does not act to benefit himself or to please himself. He listens to what Jesus his master wants him to do and does that. Here are other ways to translate this word:
wants to serve me (NET Bible Bible)
-or-
wants to be my disciple (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
wants me to be your master
he must follow Me: This phrase indicates that this person is required to go where Jesus goes. Jesus was going to the cross and death, and his servants must be willing to die also.
12:26b
and where I am, My servant will be as well: The phrase where I am refers to any place where Jesus is. His servant must follow him wherever he goes. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
because my servants must be where I am (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
so that my servant will be with me where I am (Good News Translation)
-or-
My servants will be with me wherever I am. (Contemporary English Version)
My servant: This phrase refers to the person mentioned in 12:26a. This person obeys Jesus and helps him in his work in this world. If you used a plural subject there, you will probably want to use a plural subject here also. For example:
my servants (New Living Translation (2004))
as well: This word indicates that the person who helps Jesus will be there in addition to him.
12:26c
If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him: God the Father will give honor to those who serve Jesus, to anyone and everyone who serves. Use the noun or pronoun that is natural here in your language. For example:
If you serve me, my Father will honor you. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
If people serve me, the Father will honor them. (God’s Word)
-or-
And the Father will honor anyone who serves me. (New Living Translation (2004))
the Father: This phrase refers to God the Father. In some languages it may be necessary to indicate whose Father he is. For example:
my Father (Good News Translation)
honor: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as honor is the same word that is used in 5:23 for honoring both God and Jesus. Here the word indicates that God will praise and reward those who serve Jesus.
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