as I said to the Jews

The Greek in John 13:33 that is translated as “as I said to the Jews” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) as wie ich es schon den anderen Juden gesagt have or “as I already told the other Jews.”

the Jews (the authorities in Jerusalem)

In the English Good News Bible (2nd edition of 1992), this occurrence of the Greek hoi Ioudaioi, traditionally “the Jews” in English, is translated with “the authorities (in Jerusalem)” in contexts that imply that the referred groups are hostile to Jesus For an explanation of the differentiated translation in English as well as translation choices in a number of languages, see the Jews.

complete verse (John 13:33)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 13:33:

  • Uma: “My children, I will not be with you for long. You will look for me, but like what I said to the Yahudi rulers yesterday, so also I say to you: Where I am going you cannot go.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Isa said, ‘You are my disciples, I am not much longer here with you. You will look for me. But as I said to the Yahudi, I am saying now to you, ‘You cannot go where I am going.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “You my dear disciples, it will not now be long my being your companion. You will look for me, and just like I said to the Jews I say to you, that where I am going you cannot accompany.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘My children, my staying-with you will not be long. Later you will look-for-me, but I repeat to you what I told the leaders of the Jews that you will not be able-to-go where I am going.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Dear ones who are like my children, there’s just a little more time that I’m with you. You will keep on looking for me but, like I said to your fellow Judio I will say to you now, that you won’t be able to go there to where I will go.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Listen, my children. It isn’t a long time that I will be here with you. Just like what I told the Jews is also what I tell you now. You will hunt for me but you can’t follow me to where I go.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

formal pronoun: Jesus addressing his disciples and common people

Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.

As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator 2002, p. 210ff. ), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.

Here, Jesus is addressing his disciples, individuals and/or crowds with the formal pronoun, showing respect.

In most Dutch translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and common people with the informal pronoun, whereas they address him with the formal form.

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”.

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

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

Translation commentary on John 13:33

My children (so several other translations) is literally “children.” This word appears several times in (1 John 2.1,12,28; 3.7,18; 4.4; 5.21), as well as in Galatians 4.19. Technically the word is a diminutive form, meaning “little children” (so Anchor), but most translations render it simply “children,” since it is doubtful that the diminutive form has any special force here. A literal translation of my children may, in fact, suggest that the disciples were small boys rather than grown men. It may even indicate that Jesus was talking to his own sons. An equivalent in some languages is “my dear companions” or even “my dear ones” or “you whom I love.” The use of the term children is certainly an expression of endearment.

I shall not be with you very much longer is in Greek a positive statement, “I will be with you a little while longer.” A similar expression is used in 7.33, when Jesus addresses the Jewish leaders. No definite period of time can be specified for this “little while.” The first time we find Jesus using this phrase is approximately six months before his crucifixion, whereas in the present context his crucifixion is only a few hours away. In some languages it may be necessary to employ an expression of time which will indicate only a few hours, for example, “I shall be with you for only a few more hours.” The second sentence of this verse is somewhat restructured in Good News Translation, as well as in most other translations.

I tell you now what I told the Jewish authorities refers back to 7.33 and 8.21.

You cannot go where I am going refers to Jesus’ death and departure to the Father. For the present the disciples are not able to follow Jesus in this way, as indicated by his prediction of Peter’s denial in the following verses. The verb go is the same verb discussed in 7.33; it is used several times in John’s Gospel of Jesus’ departure from the world and to the Father. In this chapter it is used in verses 3 and 36, as well as in this verse.

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 .