The Greek that is translated in English as “the light” is translated in John 1:8 in Alekano as “the father of light,” in Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac as “the true light,” and in Tenango Otomi as “that one who opens the hearts of the people.”
Matt Taylor (in The PNG Experience ) describes the process of finding the correct term for the presently prepared Nukna translation of John:
“We’ve been working on the Nukna translation of the book of John, and recently came to Jesus’ famous statement in John 8:12, ‘I am the light of the world.’ As we discussed how to best translate this metaphor, we realized that there was a problem. There is a Nukna word for light — yam — but it’s not possible to say just yam by itself. Light always has a source, and grammatically that source must be included, either by mentioning the actual source or by using a possessive pronoun — ‘its light,’ ‘their light,’ etc. It would be ungrammatical to just say ‘light.’ ( This grammatical feature is known as ‘inalienable possession.’) To literally translate ‘I am the light of the world’ into Nukna would lead to an unacceptable Nukna sentence.
“One idea we’ve had is to use a common source of light that the Nukna people are familiar with: the bamboo torch. The Nukna people live in a remote area without electricity. To see at night, they often light up a species of bamboo named kup. Kup burns with a blazing brightness, and a long piece can be held as a torch, enabling a person to walk at night around the otherwise pitch black village. So in Nukna, Jesus’ words would read, ‘I am like a bamboo torch [kup] that shines its light to the world.’
“Our translation team needs to do further testing to see if this figure of speech is communicating accurately and powerfully. Please pray for us, that God would guide us as we seek to communicate this concept, as well as many others, into the Nukna language in a dynamic and life-changing way. ‘It’s like the light of a bamboo torch shining in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.’ (John 1:5).”
Likewise, Mungaka also uses “torch” (source: Nama 1990).
The Greek in John 1:5 that is translated as “has not overcome it” in English is translated in Lalana Chinantec as “was not able to extinguish the light, no matter how dark it was where the rays were shining.” (Source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
Following are a number of back-translations of John 1:5:
Huehuetla Tepehua: “That one who gives understanding to the minds of men, he was like a light that shines where it is dark. But the one who walks where it is dark (the devil) couldn’t overcome him.”
Ojitlán Chinantec: “For people are in the evil way, as if to say, they are in darkness. But he illuminates people. The evil one did not prevail over that one who illuminates people.”
Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac: “He is like a light which illuminates where it is dark. And the devil, he is of the darkness but he cannot conquer the light.”
Yatzachi Zapotec: “The person who is the word has light for the hearts of mankind. Even though there is very much evil in this world where he arrived, the evil did not shut off his light.” (Source for this and above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
Chol: “The light of the world shows itself in the midst of a very dark world. This very dark world was not able to put out the light.” Wilbur Aulie (in The Bible Translator 1957, p. 109ff. ) explains the use of “put out the light” (click here to display)
“The problem of multiple meanings is often involved in the rendering of figures. Some hold that Greek katelaben in John 1:5 means both ‘to grasp with the mind’ (i.e., ‘to comprehend’) and ‘to grasp with the hand’ (i.e., to overcome’). Many translators are obliged to make a choice here. In Chol there is no choice, since the darkness cannot comprehend, even metaphorically speaking. It was therefore rendered: ‘The darkness did not put out the light’.”
Uma: “That light shone/shines in the darkness, and the darkness was/is not able to kill it/him [NOTE: The verb ‘kill’ can be used of putting out a light or fire]” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “This light shines in darkness and the light can really not be put out by the darkness.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “That light has illumined the darkness here upon the earth, and the light was not defeated by this darkness.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “He has-been-steadily-illuminating the darkness, and the darkness, it is not able-to-defeat the light.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “He gives-light/makes-clear like a light/lamp in darkness, but those who are in darkness, they don’t want to be shined-on by this light.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “The light shines in darkness and it is not able to be put out.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “This light lightens the darkness, and its light was not overcome by darkness. ” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Mairasi: “That is the true Light which already arrived in this world to brighten people.” (Source: Enggavoter 2004)
Bariai: “The light shined in the dark place, yet it wasn’t possible for the darkness to surpass that light.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
Kupsabiny: “That light shines in the darkness and that darkness doesn’t swallow (the) light.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
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 Johannine thought darkness is everything that light is not. It is evil and sin and death. The present tense of the verb shines is in direct contrast to the aorist tense in verse 11 (he came). The present tense refers to an eternal quality of the light (that is, it always shines), while the aorist tense in verse 11 (see also in verse 3) refers to a specific moment in time.
Has never put it out is difficult, in regard both to the meaning of the verb itself and the tense. The original meaning is “to grasp,” and it may be used either in a hostile sense (“to overcome”) or in an intellectual sense (“to grasp with the mind,” that is, “to understand”). Good News Translation (has never put it out; so also Goodspeed and Phillips), together with Revised Standard Version (“has not overcome it”) and Jerusalem Bible (“could not overpower”; see also New American Bible), accepts the first of these two interpretations. Few translations, in fact, follow the second.
It is difficult to tell what Moffatt (“but the darkness did not master it”) and New English Bible (“and the darkness has never mastered it”) intend. Either they take the first of these possibilities, or they attempt to combine the two, trying to bring together both meanings in the one phrase “to master.” The Zürcher Bibel rendering (“the darkness did not receive it”) is possibly based on the assumption that the verb (katalambanō) is equivalent to the Greek paralambanō (Good News Translationreceive) in verse 11.
Not only is the meaning of the word difficult, but the significance of the tense is also disputed. A number of translators assume that the aorist tense here signifies a timeless truth (Good News Translationthe light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out; see also New English Bible, Goodspeed, Phillips, Revised Standard Version). Others see in the aorist as used here a reference to a specific event in the past (Moffatt “amid the darkness the light shone, but the darkness did not master it”; see also New American Bible, Jerusalem Bible).
In some languages the translation of verse 5 is particularly difficult because of clear distinctions in the use of words designating light. One term or set of terms refers to particular sources of light (fires, torches, lamps, and so forth), while another term or series of terms may refer to daylight, shining, brightness, and so forth, without indicating the particular instrument or the source of the light. Moreover, in some languages all terms for light are verbs rather than nouns. Therefore, “light shines” may be equivalent to “there is shining” or “it lights.” The abstract term the darkness may be rendered in some languages only as a general term for space, plus a characterization of that space as being “dark,” for example, “in places where it is dark.” Accordingly, the first clause of verse 5 may be rendered “There is shining in places where it is dark.” The second clause is even more difficult than the first, since in some languages one cannot take such an abstract term as the darkness and make it an instrument of “putting out the light.” The relation, however, may often be expressed as a kind of negation of cause and effect, for example, “Just because it is dark does not mean that the light has been put out” or “… that the light has been caused to go out.” Rather than being the direct agent of some activity, darkness only identifies a condition which has not succeeded in causing the light to go out.
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 .
The Light shines in the darkness: The verb shines is in the present tense. Use a verb form that indicates that the light continues to shine. Here the author’s words are literal and a metaphor. Literally, at creation and ever since, light has shined into darkness.
But the words are also a metaphor. John is beginning to speak about Jesus, the One who is like the light. Jesus is like the light because he enables people to see something. Here, Jesus shows or tells people about God. In your translation, you should continue to use the metaphor and not yet explain that it refers to Jesus. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
The light keeps shining in the dark. (Contemporary English Version) -or-
The light still shines in the darkness. (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
in the darkness: The word darkness is a metaphor that refers to evil. Just as darkness is the absence of light, so evil is the absence of good. It is the absence of the knowledge of God and trust in him. If your language does not use darkness as a figure of speech for evil, you may need to say something like this:
in the ⌊evil⌋ darkness -or-
in the dark ⌊place where evil lives⌋
1:5b
and: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and can be translated in two ways:
(1) It continues the previous thought and means and.
(Berean Standard Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, New Revised Standard Version, English Standard Version, Revised English Bible, God’s Word, Good News Translation, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, New International Version (2011))
(2) It contrasts with the previous thought and means “but.”
(Revised Standard Version, New International Version (1984), NET Bible)
Although one could read 1:5b as a contrast to 1:5a, it is more likely that the thought continues. Darkness does not normally overcome a light; rather, light drives away darkness. Using “but” could imply that people expect darkness to overcome light. So it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).
the darkness has not overcome it: There are two ways to interpret the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as overcome :
(1) It means overcome or “gain control of.” For example:
the darkness has not overpowered it (New Century Version)
(Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, English Standard Version, God’s Word, NIV2011)
(2) It means “understood.” For example:
the darkness has not understood it (New International Version (1984))
(New International Version (1984), New American Standard Bible, King James Version)
Some English translations (Revised English Bible, NET Bible) say “mastered,” which can be understood in either sense. It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) and most Bible scholars. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
the darkness has not conquered it -or-
the darkness can never extinguish it (New Living Translation (2004))
Here again darkness is a metaphor referring to evil and deliberately not knowing God. It is personified, meaning that it is spoken about like it was a person and could act. In some languages it is more natural to explain some of this figure of speech. For example:
The ⌊evil powers/forces of⌋ darkness tried to destroy ⌊the one who is⌋ the light, but they could not.
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