Εἰρήνην ἀφίημι ὑμῖν, εἰρήνην τὴν ἐμὴν δίδωμι ὑμῖν· οὐ καθὼς ὁ κόσμος δίδωσιν ἐγὼ δίδωμι ὑμῖν. μὴ ταρασσέσθω ὑμῶν ἡ καρδία μηδὲ δειλιάτω.
27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
The Greek in the Gospel of John and 1 John that is translated as “world” in English is translated as “all the people who sleep in all the places of the earth” in Samo (source: Shaw / Van Engen 2003, p. 178), as “world people” in Lisu (source: Cooke 1947, p. 29), and as “people (of the world)” (shìrén / 世人) in Protestant Mandarin Chinese Bible translations.
For the Chinese translation of “world” outside these two books see world (Chinese).
The Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek that is usually translated into English as “peace,” when referring to one’s inner peace, is (back-) translated with a variety of idioms and phrases:
In American Sign Language it is signed with a compound sign consisting of “become” and “silent.” (Source: Yates 2011, p. 52)
“Peace” in American Sign Language (source )
See also peace (absence of strife) and this devotion on YouVersion and this one on Bible Gateway .
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 Nepali translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and other people with the medium honorific pronoun timīlē (तिमीले) or timīlēharū (तिमीलेहरू). His disciples respond with a high honorific pronoun. (Source: Chitra Chhetri in The Bible Translator 2009, p. 73ff. )
In most Dutch translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and common people with the informal pronoun, whereas they address him with the formal form.
Following are a number of back-translations of John 14:27:
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”.
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. )
The word peace is used also in 16.33 in a similar context; it appears as a greeting in 20.19,21,26. Although the word represents the conventional Jewish greeting (Hebrew shalom), in Old Testament thought it had already developed a broader meaning, which is no doubt intended in the present passage. For example, in Psalm 29.11 (The Lord … blesses them with peace) and in Isaiah 57.19 (I offer peace to all) it has the special meaning of a gift from the Lord. In John’s Gospel it is to be taken as equivalent to terms such as “light,” “life,” “joy,” and “truth,” all figurative terms descriptive of various aspects of salvation that God brings to men through Jesus Christ. It is not a negative term, referring to the absence of warfare or emotional tension, but rather a comprehensive term, including the benefits and blessings of the salvation that God brings to his people. In Romans 1.7; 5.1; 14.17 the term also has this broader meaning.
In some languages it is difficult to speak of “leaving peace with a person.” The closest equivalent may be “I cause you to have a quiet heart” or “… joy within” or “… joy in the heart.” One may then translate the first two clauses of verse 27 “I cause you to have joy within your hearts; the kind of joy that I have within my heart is what I am causing you to have.”
The second sentence of verse 27 is perhaps more difficult than the first, since it may be assumed that what is being compared here is the peace, rather than the manner in which the peace is given. The meaning here is “I do not cause you to have this peace in the same way that the world causes people to have peace.”
Do not be worried and upset translates the same expression used in 14.1. Here the exhortation do not be afraid is added. Literally the verb used here means “to be a coward,” and a noun made from this same stem (Good News Translation cowards) is used in Revelation 21.8. In a number of languages it is necessary to stipulate a grammatical goal of worried and upset. I must relate, as far as this context is concerned, to what the disciples are going to experience, namely, Jesus’ leaving them. Therefore one can say “Do not be worried and upset about what is going to happen; do not fear what is going to happen.”
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 .
Paragraph 14:27–31
Jesus told the disciples that he was giving them true peace. It was now time for him to go the Father. Satan was about to attack, but Jesus would continue to love and obey God his Father.
14:27a
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you: These two clauses are parallel. The meaning is the same, and the idea is repeated for emphasis. Here are other ways to translate these clauses:
I give you peace, the kind of peace that only I can give. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. (Good News Translation)
-or-
⌊When I leave⌋ I will make your minds peaceful; I will give you my own peace.
Peace: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible has translated as Peace has a broad meaning that includes more than just the absence of fighting. It also involves positive mental and emotional welfare, and good relationships with God and others. See how you translated this word in Luke 1:79, Romans 5:1, and Ephesians 1:2 and 6:15.
you: This pronoun is plural and refers to the disciples.
My peace: This phrase refers to peace that comes from Jesus, peace that he creates.
14:27b
I do not give to you as the world gives: There are two ways to interpret this sentence.
(1) It indicates that the way that Jesus gives peace is different from the way that the world gives peace. For example:
I do not give it to you as the world does. (New Century Version)
(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Revised Standard Version, NET Bible, Good News Translation, English Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, King James Version, New Century Version)
(2) It indicates that the peace that Jesus gives is different from the peace that the world gives. For example:
It isn’t like the peace that this world can give. (Contemporary English Version)
(New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) and most English translations. The Greek text does not mention peace in this sentence. It only mentions the act of giving.
Jesus did not say in what way he gave peace and in what way the world gave peace. It is best to let the reader think about this himself.
Here are other ways to translate this sentence:
Not as the world gives do I give to you (English Standard Version)
-or-
I do not give peace in the same way that the world does.
the world: Here this phrase probably refers to the people of the world who do not believe in God or Christ. That is what the phrase meant in 14:17, 19, and 22. But in this verse it could also include the principles or systems here on earth that do not honor God.
14:27c
Do not let your hearts be troubled: The chapter begins with these words. See the note and how you translated them in 14:1.
hearts: The word hearts here refers to the source of people’s thoughts and feelings. Use the term that is natural in your language, as you did in 14:1.
do not be afraid: This clause means “stop being afraid.” Here are other ways to translate this clause:
Do not let your hearts be…lacking in courage (NET Bible)
General Comment on 14:27c
In some languages it may be natural to combine the two clauses in 14:27c into one. For example:
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
So don’t be troubled or cowardly. (God’s Word)
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