Following are a number of back-translations of John 13:3:
Uma: “Yesus knew that his Father gave him all power/authority. He also knew that he was from God and that he would also return to God.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Isa really knew that he had been given all God’s authority/power. And he knew that he came from God and went back to God.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And as for Jesus, he knew that his Father had entrusted to him the control over everything. He also knew that he had come from God and that he was going to return to God.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “But Jesus knew that his Father had given him all power. He also knew that it was God from-whom-he-had-come and likewise also to-whom-he-would-return.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Jesus was really well aware that all authority had been given to him by the Father. And he was aware that as for himself, there was nowhere else he came from but there from God, and to God indeed was where he would return.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: (incl. verse 3) “The devil had now grabbed the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, in order to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that he had come from God and he would go to live again with God. And he knew that his Father had given him power to rule all things.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Following is a painting by Chen Yuandu 陳緣督 (1902–1967):
Image is housed in the Société des Auxiliaires des Missions Collection – Whitworth University and taken from Chinese Christian Posters . For more information on the “Ars Sacra Pekinensis” school of art, see this article , for other artworks of that school in TIPs, see here.
Following is a painting by Ketut Lasia (b. 1945):
Ketut Lasia is one of the last traditional Balinese painters in the Ubud style. As an adult, Lasia converted from Hinduism to Christianity, and he paints primarily biblical scenes. You can find artwork from Ketut Lasia in a variety of formats for sale at Fine Art America .
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. )
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
In Greek verses 2-4 are one sentence. Jesus knew is simply a participle (“knowing”), which Good News Translation makes into a finite verb with an explicit subject. A number of other translations handle the matter similarly.
Had given him complete power is literally “gave all things into his hand.” A related expression is found in 3.35 (has put everything in his power). New English Bible translates “entrusted everything to him” and New American Bible “had handed everything over to him.” This clause may be equivalent in some languages to “had given him strength to do anything” or “gave him the power to do everything.”
The verb rendered was going appears also in 7.33 (see there). It is frequently used in John’s Gospel in reference to Jesus’ departure from the world.
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 .
Jesus knew that the Father had delivered all things into His hands: This expression explains some background information about why Jesus acted the way he did in 13:4–5. See the General Comment on 13:3a–4a, following the notes on 13:4a.
It may be natural to translate this as an independent clause. For example:
Jesus knew that the Father had put everything into his hands. (New Jerusalem Bible) -or-
The Father had put everything in Jesus’ control. Jesus knew that…. So… (God’s Word)
knew: This word refers to something that Jesus always knew. He did not just come to realize it at that time. This word is a participle and can be understood as giving a reason for what Jesus did in 13:4–5. For example:
Because Jesus knew (NET Bible)
See the General Comment on 13:3a–4a for another example of how to express this reason connection.
the Father: This phrase refers to God the Father, Jesus’ Father. In some languages you may want to make that clearer. For example:
God (Contemporary English Version) -or-
his Father
had delivered all things into His hands: This phrase is an idiom meaning “had given him power over everything.” God had given Jesus authority, and Jesus knew it. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
had put all things under his power (New International Version) -or-
had given him authority over everything (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
had given him complete power (Contemporary English Version)
13:3b
and that He had come from God and was returning to God: This expression tells another thing that Jesus knew. He knew that God sent him to earth and that he would soon leave earth and return to God in heaven. Here are other ways to translate this expression:
He also knew that he had come from God and was going back to God. (God’s Word)
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