to testify to the light

The Greek in John 1:8 that is translated as “to testify to the light” or similar in English is translated in Lalana Chinantec as “in order to tell people that the light of God had become visible.” (Source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)

the light

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).

See also torch and the light (John 3:19).

complete verse (John 1:8)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 1:8:

  • Uma: “Yohanes, it was not he who was that light. The reason he came was to spread that light to all people.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Yahiya was not this light. But his mission/purpose for coming here was to tell about the light.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “As for this John, he is not the one who is that light, but rather he is the one who explains who the light is.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Juan was not the light itself, but rather the one who came to confirm/verify concerning the light.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “It isn’t that he was the one who was the light. He was caused-to-be-a-person because he would be testifying about this light.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “John is not that one who opens the hearts of the people.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
  • Ojitlán Chinantec: “John was not the one who illuminates people. He came to point out that one.”
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “It wasn’t John who brought light, but rather he came speaking about the person who brings light for mankind.” (Source for this and above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
  • Hiligaynon: “Juan was not the light, but-rather he came/arrived to tell who is the light.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Mairasi: “He himself was not that Light. But for the purpose of testifying about that Light he came.” (Source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Bariai: “He wasn’t that light, but he came to expound talk about that light.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Kupsabiny: “John came and told the people concerning/about that light, but that light was not him.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)

See also this devotion on YouVersion .

Translation commentary on John 1:8

This verse expresses in a negative form the thought of the previous verse; the negative statement following the positive statement is a form of emphasis. This same technique was followed in verse 3.

He himself (so also New English Bible, New American Bible; “he” of Revised Standard Version, Moffatt, Goodspeed, Jerusalem Bible; “that man” of Phillips) is literally “that one.” The second clause of this verse contains no verb, but most translations supply the verb came (Phillips “was sent”). The Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch restructures completely: “his task was only to point to the Light”

In some languages it may not make sense to say He himself was not the light, since this could be interpreted as saying “John was not a torch”—an obvious truth. Therefore, it may be necessary to render this clause “He himself was not the one who brought light to mankind.”

Because of the contrast between the negative and positive statements, it may be important to emphasize this distinction by translating the second clause of verse 8 “he came just to tell about that light.”

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 1:8

1:8a

He himself: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as He himself refers back to John the Baptist. The Revised Standard Version translates it simply as “he.” In some languages it is more natural to use the name John here. For example:

John was not the Light (New Century Version, God’s Word)

was not the Light: John the Baptist was not the one who gave light to all people, who directly revealed God. This does not imply that he did not speak honestly, or that he was not a good man. He was a great and good man.

1:8b

but he came to testify about the Light: This clause indicates that although John was not as important as the Light itself, he did have an important mission. His mission and purpose was to tell others about the Light. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

he came only as a witness to the light (New International Version)
-or-
he was ⌊just⌋ a witness to tell about the light

but: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as but here connects a negative statement (1:8a) to a positive statement (1:8b). This kind of sentence emphasizes the positive statement. Languages have different ways to indicate this type of emphasis:

• Use the conjunction but as in the Berean Standard Bible.

John was not the Light, but he came to tell people the truth about the Light. (New Century Version)

• Use a conjunction other than but. This is a common way in English to show this type of emphasis. For example:

John was not the light itself, rather/instead he came to confirm the truth about the light.

• Do not use a conjunction. For example:

He himself was not the light; he came to tell about the light. (Good News Translation)

• Change the order of the clauses. For example:

John came to declare the truth about the light; he was not the light himself.

You should translate this emphasis in the way that is most natural in your language.

to testify about the Light: This phrase indicates that John the Baptist came to tell people who the Light was. See how you translated testify in 1:7a. Here is another way to translate this phrase:

to tell what he witnessed about the light

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