“One group relates to the Greek verb that means ‘to show, make known or reveal God’s glory to people.’ The word ‘glory’ here retains the same sense described in the first group. (See glory (of God or Jesus))
“[Here] we used the expressions ‘show (the Father’s) greatness,’ ’cause the people to recognize that God is great,” “make his greatness obvious, apparent.’
“John 14:13, for example, ‘that the Father may be glorified,’ is rendered as ‘so that I can show the people the greatness of my Father.’ On one occasion (John 17:10 ‘I am glorified in them’), we used ‘because of them people saw my greatness.’
John 14:13 ‘Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified.’
John 17:1 ‘Father, … glorify thy Son that the Son may glorify thee.’
Some of the Hebrew and Greek phrases that are translated in English in association with “name,” including “in the name of,” “in my name,” “in your name,” “on the account of my name,” “on the account of your name” (according to a classification by Robert Bratcher in The Bible Translator 1963, p. 72ff. , phrases that belong to the categories of “Agency or instrumentality” and “Representation”) present a number of challenges in other languages.
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Eugene Nida (1947, p 178ff.) explains this way:
“The biblical attitudes toward human personality are of great theological importance. There is, however, only one word which produces any considerable difficulty in other languages. This is the word ‘name.’ The great difference attached to the significance of the name of a person in the Bible times in contrast with our own culture is very important. Note such phrases as ‘whatsoever ye shall ask in my name,’ John 14:13, ‘believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God,’ John 3:18, and ‘life through his name,’ John 20:31. These expressions are generally difficult for us to understand, for the word ‘name’ does not mean the same to us as it meant to those of Bible times. To them the name was the symbolization of the authority and personality of the individual who possessed the name. To us a name is far less important. It may be changed whenever one can convince a judge that another name might be more economically advantageous. The name is also a legal method of giving one’s written assent to certain business transactions, but to us it is not the symbol of the personality.”
The translation in Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl typically is “in someone’s authority” (for instance “I have come in my Father’s name” in John 5:43 becomes “I have come on my Father’s authority”) (source Nida 1947, p. 179), or in Highland Puebla Nahuatl with the more paraphrastic equivalent “as though on orders from you” or in Tzeltal as “by your authority, so he said” (both examples for Mark 9:38 and 39, see Bratcher / Nida).
In Guhu-Samane, Mark 11:9 (in English: “Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord”) is translated as “Blessed is the Lord’s namesake who comes.” “In the name of the Lord” caused “puzzlement [because] “has he just assumed the name of the Lord, valid or otherwise? [But] with ‘blessed is the Lord’s namesake who comes’ the strong bond between the namesake and the important ancestor for whom named entitles the namesake to the deference due the ancestor. Thought very proper in this context.” (Source: Ernest L. Richert in Notes on Translation December 1963: p. 4-7; reprinted in The Bible Translator 1965, p. 198ff. )
Barclay Newman (see The Bible Translator 1974, pp, 432ff. ) reports on different solutions for the translation of the Today’s Malay Version (Alkitab Berita Baik, 1987):
In Malay “the phrase ‘in my name’ is problematic (…) since it sounds like the use of magic. For this reason [the English] Today’s English Version (Good News Bible) was followed at such passages as John 5:43 and 10:25, where ‘in the name of my Father’ is translated as ‘with my Father’s authority’ and ‘by my Father’s authority’ [respectively]. In John 12:13 ‘in the name of the Lord’ has become ‘in his (the Lord’s) behalf,’ following the common language German translation Die Gute Nachricht. In John 14:13, ‘because you are my followers’ is used, in John in 15:16, 16:23 and 24 ‘as my followers,’ in John 17:11 ‘by your own power, the power you gave me,’ and in John 14:26 ‘in my place.'”
Other translations for “in the name of Jesus Christ” include “in the authority of Jesus Christ” (Isthmus Mixe), “calling on Jesus Christ” (Teutila Cuicatec), “calling the name of Jesus Christ over you” (Ayutla Mixtec), “because of Jesus” (Tepeuxila Cuicatec), “by the power of the name of Jesus Christ” (Chichimeca-Jonaz), “the word of Jesus Christ is strong” (Lalana Chinantec) (source for this and above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), and “mentioning the name of Jesus” (Elhomwe — source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext).
Following are a number of back-translations of John 14:13:
Uma: “So, whatever you ask with my name, I will give to you, so that what I do honors my Father.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Whatever you ask from my Father because of your trust in me, I will do for you so that my Father will be praised because of my deeds.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “If there is something you request of me because of your belief in me, I will do it so that my Father might be made famous because of me.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “and whatever you request on-account-of your being-united-with me, I will do it so that my Father will be honored on-account-of me.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “And whatever you will ask for on the strength of your being tied-together/united with me, I really will do it, so that the praiseworthiness/glory of the Father will be seen through what I will do who am his Son.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “When you pray to God, because you believe in me, be bold to ask what you want. And I will give you all that you ask so that it will be known that my Father is the greatest.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.
The concept of “receiving (glory / instruction” (also: “accept” or “suffer” is translated in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as o-uke (お受け), combining “receive” (uke) with the respectful prefix o-. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
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 Translator2002, 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.
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. )
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 show 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. )
This verse does not indicate to whom this prayer is to be addressed, whether to the Father or to the Son, though in 15.16 and 16.23 the prayer is directed to the Father. It is important to translate in my name in such a manner as to avoid the possibility of interpreting the phrase as a magical formula to be attached to the end of a prayer.
In my name is always difficult to translate, and so it will be helpful to discuss this phrase in more detail. As was indicated in 1.12, in biblical thought the “name” of a person represents in some sense the person himself, and that is the basic clue to understanding the phrase in my name. In this Gospel the phrase occurs in several connections:
(1) Ask for in my name (14.13,14; 15.16; 16.23,24,26) This phrase, always related to a prayer context, is generally translated literally, perhaps due to the influence of Christian prayer practice. Goodspeed, one of the few to attempt a dynamic equivalent, uses “as my followers,” which suits the context in each instance. It is based upon the argument that in my name is equivalent to “because of your relation to me” or “because you are mine.” The meaning “on my authority” would also be satisfactory in each of these contexts.
(2) Give you in my name (16.23). In the discussion of 16.23 it will be shown that the phrase in my name can be taken either with the verb “ask” or with the verb “give.” Goodspeed‘s “as my followers” is suitable for either interpretation, and that is why this verse is included under the previous heading.
(3) Keep them safe by the power of your name (17.11) is literally “Keep them (safe) by (Greek en) your name.” (See also 17.12.) Most translations are similar to Good News Translation (see comments at 17.11). A suggested translation may be “Keep them safe by your own power.”
(4) That through your faith in him you may have life (20.31, literally “that believing you may have life in his name”) is translated “and through believing you may have life as his followers” by Goodspeed. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is similar to Good News Translation: “If you believe in him, you have life through him.” See also the related passages at 1.12; 2.23; 3.18.
(5) With/by my Father’s authority (5.43; 10.25) is literally “in the name of my Father” (see also 12.13 in the name of the Lord). In each of these three passages the name of the Father/Lord represents his authority, and Good News Translation makes this meaning explicit in the two earlier passages. Most translations render 12.13 literally (but see Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “Praise God! Long live the one who comes in his behalf!” and Living Bible “Hail to God’s Ambassador!”). In 12.13 the meaning would also seem to be “the one who comes with the Lord’s authority” or “the one whom the Lord has sent.”
(6) Because you are mine is the meaning of the related phrase “because of my name” in 15.21. Goodspeed translates “on my account”; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “because you acknowledge me”; and Living Bible “because you belong to me.”
(7) Send in my name (14.26). Here the phrase may be taken in any of several ways, all of which suit the context: (a) “because you belong to me”; (b) “because I ask him”; (c) “with my authority”; or (d) “in my place” (Goodspeed, Barclay). It is almost impossible to decide which alternative is most preferable.
That Jesus is not referring to irresponsible prayer in the expression whatever you ask is indicated by the goal of the prayer: so that the Father’s glory will be shown through the Son. The glory of the father is the one purpose which Jesus has in responding to the requests of those who pray. Most translators render this purpose clause “so that the Father will be glorified in the Son.” However, here as elsewhere “to be glorified” refers to a visible manifestation of the divine presence, and Good News Translation makes this explicit in its rendering. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch renders “so shall the glory of the Father be revealed through the Son.”
In some languages the passive expression so that the Father’s glory will be shown through the Son must be made active. This means that the Son becomes the agent who shows the Father’s glory. It may be necessary in some languages to render the Father’s glory “how glorious the Father is,” or “how wonderful the Father is,” for example, “so that the Son may cause people to see how wonderful the Father is.” However, in some instances it may be necessary for Jesus to identify himself in the first person and to indicate clearly his relationship to the Father, for example, “so that I may cause people to see how wonderful my Father is.” Since the relationship of Jesus to the Father is clearly indicated by the possessive pronoun “my,” it is not necessary to introduce a literal equivalent of “Son.”
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 .
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