Father (address for God)

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. )

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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. 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. )

See also Lord and my / our Father.

Translation commentary on John 15:9

To achieve naturalness in English style, Good News Translation inverts the order of the first two Greek clauses, introducing the clause of comparison just as the Father loves me after the main clause I love you.

Although the tense of the verb remain is aorist, and could have the force of “begin to remain” or “start remaining,” the context clearly indicates that the disciples are already “in Jesus’ love.” The aorist imperative was perhaps chosen to make the command more emphatic.

My love is best taken in the sense of “my love for you,” rather than “your love for me.” What it means to remain in Christ’s love is shown in the following verse.

In some languages it may not be easy to say “remain in my love for you.” Perhaps for this reason some translators take the easy way out by rendering “continue to love me.” This, however, certainly does not seem to be the meaning, especially as indicated by verse 10. However, if one is to express the meaning of “my love for you,” it may be necessary to say “remain joined to me so that I may love you.” It may even be possible to anticipate the implications of verse 10 by translating “continue obeying me so that I may love you.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on John 15:9

Paragraph 15:9–17

Jesus told his disciples that he loved them very much. He encouraged them to love one another as much as the Father loved him and he loved them.

15:9a–b

As…so…: 15:9a–b compares two actions. These words indicate that the way God loved Christ and the way Christ loves his people are the same. Jesus did not say in what ways they are the same. However, it is implied that God’s love is like the love of Christ for his people. They are both great, complete and perfect. Consider how it is natural to compare two actions. For example:

Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. (NET Bible)
-or-
How the Father has loved me, that is how I have also loved you.

In some languages it may be necessary to say explicitly in what way God loved Christ. For example:

Just as the Father has loved me ⌊completely⌋ , so I have loved you in the same way.

In other languages it may be natural to translate “love” as a noun. You may also want to include the way God’s love for Christ is like Christ’s love for his people. For example:

God’s love for me is ⌊great/wonderful⌋ , and my love for you is ⌊great/wonderful⌋ also.

15:9a

As the Father has loved Me: God loves his Son intensely and completely. In some languages it may be natural to make this explicit. For example:

As the Father has loved me ⌊intensely⌋

In some languages it may be natural to express the idea of love as a noun rather than a verb. God’s love for his Son is intense, complete and perfect. For example:

Like the Father’s love for me
-or-
Just as the Father’s love for me is ⌊perfect⌋

As: This word here refers to the quality of something being the same as the quality of something else.

the Father: This phrase refers to God the Father. In some languages it is more natural to tell whose father it is. For example:

my Father

Me: This pronoun refers to Jesus Christ.

15:9b

so have I loved you: Jesus loved his disciples with the same real and perfect love with which God loved him. Translate this in a way that matches your translation of the previous clause, translating loved as either a verb or a noun. For example:

in the same way I have loved you
-or-
my love for you is like that, ⌊perfect⌋ , too

you: In the Greek the word you is plural and refers to Jesus’ disciples. The Greek text emphasizes this word.

General Comment on 15:9a,b

In some languages it is more natural to translate 15:9b before 15:9a. For example:

9b I love you 9a just as the Father loves me; (Good News Translation)
-or-

9b I have loved you 9a the same way the Father has loved me. (God’s Word)
-or-

9b I have loved you, 9a just as my Father has loved me. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-

9b My love for you, 9a is like my Father’s love for me. (Yakan Back Translation)

15:9c

Remain in My love: This is a plural command. Jesus commanded his followers to always live or remain in his love. He wanted them to always remember his love for them and to live in the power of that love. For example:

continue living in my love
-or-
Always be aware of my love ⌊for you⌋ .
-or-
Continue to enjoy my love for you.

In some languages it may be necessary to translate love as a verb. For example:

Always know/remember that I love ⌊you⌋ .

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