complete verse (John 14:19)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 14:19:

  • Uma: “In just a very little while, people who are in the world will no longer see me. But you [emphatic], you will see me. You will live, because I [emphatic], I live.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “In a little while I will no longer be seen by the people who do not follow God. But you, you will see me. And because I live forever, you also will live forever.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “It won’t be long and those people who are my enemies here in the world, they will no longer see me. But as for you, you will still see me again. My life will not be removed forever. That’s why you also have life which cannot be removed forever.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “It won’t be long and those who don’t believe in me in this world, they will not see-me. But as for you, in-the-future you will see me. Since I will live again, you will also live.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “It won’t be a long time now till I will no longer be seen by those people who don’t believe-in/obey me. But as for you, you will indeed see me. And because I am alive once more, it’s certain that you also, it will come that you too are alive with true life which is without ending.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “It will not be long now when the people will not any longer see me. But you will see me again. You will have the new life because again I will live.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

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. )

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)

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 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 14:19

Good News Translation‘s In a little while is also the rendering of New English Bible and Goodspeed. New American Bible translates “a little while now,” and Moffatt “a little while longer.” Will see (both occurrences) is actually in the present tense in Greek (“sees”), but the time reference is obviously future, and most translators render it so. The event referred to is, of course, Jesus’ death, which was destined to take place within a day’s time. Accordingly, in some translations the rendering of the first clause in verse 19 is essentially equivalent to “within a day the world will see me no more” or “… people in the world….” In some languages no more must be rendered “again,” for example, “within a day people of the world will not see me again.” This rendering provides an excellent basis for the contrast to be found in the following clause: “but you will see me again.” It is so important to render this second clause so as to indicate clearly that the disciples were not to continue to see Jesus during the entire time of his death, but rather that they would see him again at the time of his resurrection.

The pronouns you … I … and you are all emphatic.

Because I live, you also will live affirms that Jesus is the source of life for the believers, just as the Father is the source of life for him (see 6.57; because of him I live also). It is possible to punctuate this verse differently and so connect the clause because I live with what precedes (Jerusalem Bible “but you will see me, because I live and you will live”; see New American Bible) Both interpretations are thoroughly Johannine and well suited to the context. Jerusalem Bible sees the because clause as a continuation of the thoughts already presented, while Good News Translation takes it as introducing a new idea.

A literal translation of because I live, you also will live might be understood to mean simply “because I have lived, you also will live” or “because I am now alive, you also will live.” What seems clear in this context is that it is the continuing life of Jesus which forms a basis for the life of the disciples, that is, the fact that Jesus will himself rise from death. Therefore, one may translate “because I will continue to live, you also will live.” However, a literal translation of “continue to live” might be an actual denial of his death, and readers might assume that Jesus only “pretended to die” or “seemed to die.” It may, therefore, be necessary to indicate clearly “because I will live again, you also will live.”

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 .