Translation commentary on John 16:30

Now is the emphatic position in the Greek sentence structure.

You know everything must be taken as a reference to verse 19, where Jesus answered the disciples’ question before they asked it, indicating that he knew what was in peoples’ minds (see 2.24-25). It is in this light also that their statement you do not need someone to ask you questions must be understood. The verb rendered ask … questions (so also New American Bible) is erōtaō (see verses 23 and 26), and relates to requests for information. On the basis of the observation that Jesus knows what is in their minds, and is able to answer their questions even before they ask him, the disciples respond by saying This makes us believe that you came from God. This makes us believe (so also Moffatt, Goodspeed) is literally “by this we believe” (Revised Standard Version), and is rendered “because of this we believe” in Jerusalem Bible and New English Bible.

In some languages it may be necessary to distinguish between two meanings of the verb know. In one meaning We know may be equivalent to “we are certain” or “we are sure.” The other meaning of know indicates complete comprehension. Hence, the first clause in verse 30 may be translated “we are certain that you comprehend everything.”

You do not need to have someone ask you questions is a semantically condensed expression. It really means that “in order to know what questions people have in their minds, it is not necessary for you to ask them what they are thinking.” It may be necessary to employ such a rendering to express the meaning of the second clause of verse 30.

This makes us believe involves a complex causative relation in some languages. This relation may be expressed as “because of this we believe” or “because you know what people are thinking, we believe.”

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 16:30

16:30a

Now: The Greek text again emphasizes the word Now. Here again it implies that the situation was different earlier. Previously the disciples had not realized that Jesus knew all things.

we understand that You know all things: This clause here implies that the disciples now knew that they could trust the things that Jesus said. They realized that he had full knowledge of everything that he talked about. The context indicates that they were particularly thinking about the way that Jesus showed that he knew their thoughts. See 16:19. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

We are certain now that you know everything. (Revised English Bible)
-or-
We can see now that you know all things. (New Century Version)

we: This pronoun is exclusive here because it refers to the disciples but not to Jesus.

16:30b

and that You have no need for anyone to question You: This clause probably indicates that people did not need to question Jesus before he knew what they were thinking. Jesus already knew their inner thoughts and questions, as he showed in 16:19. For example:

You can answer a person’s question even before it is asked. (New Century Version)
-or-
Even the questions that are in a person’s mind, they don’t need to be told to you, because you already know. (Kankanaey Back Translation)

16:30c

Because of this, we believe: This expression means “this is the reason that we believe.” The pronoun this refers to Jesus knowing their thoughts. In some languages it is more natural to begin a new sentence here. For example:

this is why we believe (English Standard Version)
-or-
by this we believe (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Therefore we believe
-or-
This makes us believe (Good News Translation)

that You came from God: This clause tells what the disciples believed. The disciples now were sure that Jesus was God’s messenger to them. This implies that he spoke with God’s authority and they could trust him.

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