judge vs. condemn

The Greek terms krino and katakrino/katadikazo that are translated as “judge” and “condemn” respectively in English are translated with only one term in Kutu (tagusa). (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

See also do not condemn.

save

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The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as a form of “save” in English is translated in Shipibo-Conibo with a phrase that means literally “make to live,” which combines the meaning of “to rescue” and “to deliver from danger,” but also the concept of “to heal” or “restore to health.”

In San Blas Kuna it is rendered as “help the heart,” in Laka, it is “take by the hand” in the meaning of “rescue” or “deliver,” in Huautla Mazatec the back-translation of the employed term is “lift out on behalf of,” in Anuak, it is “have life because of,” in Central Mazahua “be healed in the heart,” in Baoulé “save one’s head” (meaning to rescue a person in the fullest sense), in Guerrero Amuzgo “come out well,” in Northwestern Dinka “be helped as to his breath” (or “life”) (source: Bratcher / Nida), in Matumbi as “rescue (from danger)” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext), and in Noongar barrang-ngandabat or “hold life” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

In South Bolivian Quechua it is “make to escape” and in Highland Puebla Nahuatl, it is “cause people to come out with the aid of the hand.” (Source: Nida 1947, p. 222.)

See also salvation and save (Japanese honorifics).

complete verse (John 12:47)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 12:47:

  • Uma: “‘People who hear my words and do not follow them, it is not I who condemn them. Because it is not my intention to come to this world in order to condemn men. I came in order to free them from their condemnation/punishment.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “If there is a person who hears my teaching but does not follow/obey it, it is not I who will judge him. For I have not come to judge the people in the world, but I have come to save them.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And if there is a person who has heard my teachings and he does not obey them, I do not judge him worthy of punishment because I did not come here to the earth in order to punish mankind, but rather so that I might set mankind free from punishment.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘As for the one who hears my words but he doesn’t believe/obey, I am not the one who will judge him. Because I didn’t come to this world to judge people but rather to save them.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “And whoever has heard my word, but he will not indeed follow/obey it, he will be sentenced to judgment, but it is not I who judges him. Because it is not my purpose in coming here that I will judge this world, but on the contrary I will save people.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “But there are those who hear what I say and do not pay attention. I do not sentence them because I did not come to sentence the people here in this world. Rather I came to save them.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

1st person pronoun referring to God (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 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”.

Translation commentary on John 12:47

My message is literally “my words” (Greek rema), the same noun used in 8.47 (of God’s words). Most translations render “my words.” But my message may also be rendered in some instances “what I have said” or “what I say.”

Does not obey it may be rendered “does not do what I have said” or “does not obey what I have told him to do.”

In some places the Gospel of John indicates that Jesus does not judge (see 3.17; 8.15), while in other passages it indicates that Jesus is the judge (see 5.22 and 27; compare 8.16 and 26). The apparent contradiction may be resolved by the observation that Jesus’ purpose in coming into the world was to save it, not to judge it. However, the inevitable outcome of his coming into the world means judgment, because some refuse to accept him.

I will not judge him may perhaps be best understood in this context in terms of “condemn him,” since the emphasis here is upon a type of judgment which results in condemnation.

As noted elsewhere, certain receptor languages require the positive before the negative statement. Therefore, one may translate the last sentence of verse 47 “I came into the world in order to save people. I did not come in order to condemn them.”

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 .