Translation commentary on John 17:25

In verse 11 Jesus addressed God as Holy Father, while in this verse he addresses him as Righteous Father. Both the Old Testament (Jer 12.1; Psa 119.137) and the New Testament (Rom 3.26) speak of God as “righteous.” He is righteous because he does what is right; and this is seen primarily in the punishment of evil men and the saving of the innocent. The term righteous is probably chosen for the present context because the idea of judgement is implicit in the statement that the world does not know the Father. However, Jesus knows the Father and Jesus’ disciples know that the Father sent Jesus. In Greek, the verbs does not know … know … know are in the aorist indicative tense, and so they are rendered in the past tense in several translation (New American Bible, for example, “has known … have known … have known”). But the verbs may be used to summarize the total outcome of Jesus’ ministry, and so the present, indicating timelessness, is a valid rendering. However, one may choose to render “The world has never known you, but I have always known you, and these have come to know that you sent me.”

The phrase Righteous Father involves the same problems encountered in the expression Holy Father (verse 11). It may be necessary to use for Father an expression which cannot have such an attributive as righteous. Thus one may need to say “my Father, you who are righteous” or “… who are just.” In some languages it is difficult to employ an adjective with the meaning “righteous.” It is usually possible, however, to qualify an action, for example, “you who always do what is right” or “you who act fairly.” It may even be necessary in some languages to say “you who judge fairly,” since to judge fairly is an important aspect of God’s relationship to people and is linked closely with an expression of God’s righteousness.

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 17:25

Paragraph 17:25–26

Jesus again prayed for his 11 closest disciples, that they would have God’s love and Jesus himself in them.

17:25a

Righteous Father: Jesus is speaking to his Father and showing respect by calling him Righteous. This is a description of God the Father. In some languages for Christ to say Righteous Father might imply that Jesus had an unrighteous father as well. In order to avoid this wrong meaning, it may be more natural to put Righteous Father in a separate sentence. For example:

Father, you are the One who is good. (New Century Version)

Righteous: The word translated Righteous means “good,” “right,” and “just.” God always does the right thing and judges with true justice. For example:

Good Father (Contemporary English Version)

In some languages it may be necessary to use a verb in your translation of the adjective Righteous. For example:

My Father, you who act justly
-or-
Father, who judges fairly
-or-
My Father, you do only good (Otomi Back Translation)

Father: This word is one that a child would use when speaking to his father. It indicates affection and respect. See the note and how you translated the word in 17:1.

the world has not known You: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the world refers to the people in the world who do not believe in Jesus. They do not really know God. This was true then and continues to be true. Try to use a verb that refers to time in general: past, present, and future. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

The world has never known you (TH)
-or-
the people of this world don’t know you (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
those who don’t believe in me, they don’t know you (Kankanaey Back Translation)

17:25b

I know You: This clause contrasts Jesus and the world. Jesus really knows God the Father, but unbelievers do not know him. The Berean Standard Bible indicated this by using “although” in 17:25a. This is a clause that is not limited to a certain time. For example:

but I have always known you (TH)

General Comment on 17:25a–b

In some languages it may be natural to indicate the contrast between these clauses in 17:25a rather than 17:25b. For example:

Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you (New International Version)

17:25c

and they know that You sent Me: This clause states something that has not always been true but began to be true at a specific time. Jesus’ disciples began to believe that God had sent him to earth. For example:

and these have come to know that you sent me (TH)

they: This pronoun refers to Jesus’ 11 disciples who were there with him. In some languages it may be natural to make this explicit:

these my disciples/followers

know that You sent Me: See how you translated this clause in 17:23c.

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