The Angry Christ

Painting by Lino Pontebon, “an artist from the Negros island of the Philippines. The area in which he lives has been the scene of considerable military action and this has added to the already hard life of the peasants. His painting of the angry Christ captures a mood in the Philippines and reflects the prevailing anger of the people at being manipulated by forces beyond their control.

The painting became popular in many parts of the world, especially among the young. It counteracts the image of ‘gentle Jesus meek and mild’ with the reminder that Jesus also became angry at injustice.”

(Source for this and the image: The Bible Through Asian Eyes by Masao Takenaka and Ron O’Grady 1991)

the Jews (Jewish people)

In the English Good News Bible (2nd edition of 1992), this occurrence of the Greek hoi Ioudaioi, traditionally “the Jews” in English, is translated with a term that refers to the Jewish people or is not translated at all if it implicitly refers to the Jewish people (for example “Passover” instead of “Passover of the Jews”). For an explanation of the differentiated translation in English as well as translation choices in a number of languages, see the Jews.

John as a first-person evangelist (John 2:13)

In the Yatzachi Zapotec translation of the Gospel of John, any reference to the evangelist and presumed narrator is done in the first person.

The translator Inez Butler explains (in: Notes on Translation, September 1967, pp. 10ff.):

“In revising the Gospel of John in Yatzachi Zapotec we realized from the start that the third person references of Jesus to himself as Son of Man had to be converted into first person references, but only more recently have we decided that similar change is necessary in John’s references to himself as ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved.’ As I worked on those changes and questioned the informant about his understanding of other passages in the Gospel, I discovered that the reader misses the whole focus of the book as an eyewitness account unless every reference to the disciples indicates the writer’s membership in the group. In view of that we went back through the entire book looking for ways to cue in the reader to the fact that John was an eyewitness and a participant in a many of the events, as well as the historian.

“When the disciples were participants in events along with Jesus, it was necessary to make explicit the fact that they accompanied him, although in the source language that is left implicit, since otherwise our rendering would imply that they were not present.”

In this verse, the Yatzachi Zapotec says: “It was about time for the Passover of us Israelites when we went with Jesus to Jerusalem.”

John as a first-person evangelist (John 2:13)

In the Yatzachi Zapotec translation of the Gospel of John, any reference to the evangelist and presumed narrator is done in the first person.

The translator Inez Butler explains (in: Notes on Translation, September 1967, pp. 10ff.):

“In revising the Gospel of John in Yatzachi Zapotec we realized from the start that the third person references of Jesus to himself as Son of Man had to be converted into first person references, but only more recently have we decided that similar change is necessary in John’s references to himself as ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved.’ As I worked on those changes and questioned the informant about his understanding of other passages in the Gospel, I discovered that the reader misses the whole focus of the book as an eyewitness account unless every reference to the disciples indicates the writer’s membership in the group. In view of that we went back through the entire book looking for ways to cue in the reader to the fact that John was an eyewitness and a participant in a many of the events, as well as the historian.

“When the disciples were participants in events along with Jesus, it was necessary to make explicit the fact that they accompanied him, although in the source language that is left implicit, since otherwise our rendering would imply that they were not present.”

In this verse, the Yatzachi Zapotec says: “Simon Peter said to us . . . And we said to him, ‘We also will go along.’ Then we went along to the shore and we got into a boat. But that night we did not catch anything.”

complete verse (John 2:13)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 2:13:

  • Uma: “The time had almost arrived for the big day in the Yahudi religion called Paskah Day. So, Yesus went to Yerusalem to attend that big day.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “The festival of the Isra’il tribe was close which they call For-Remembering. Therefore Isa and his disciples went up to Awrusalam, the place of the festival.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Soon at that time the Jews would carry out in Jerusalem the feast where they celebrated the passing by long ago of the angel of God. Therefore Jesus and company went to Jerusalem,” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When the fiesta of the Jews called Passed-By was near-in-time, plural Jesus went to Jerusalem.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When the time was close when the Judio celebrate their fiesta called Passed-by, Jesus went to Jerusalem.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “It was near to the time the Jews had a celebration called the Passover. Jesus went to Jerusalem.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on John 2:13

It was almost time for the Passover Festival is literally “and the Passover of the Jews was near.” Good News Translation qualifies the Passover as a Festival in order to make this information immediately explicit for its readers, who otherwise might not have a background for understanding the term. It was customary for Jews to go to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. John mentions this festival in two other places in his Gospel (6.4; 11.55; and possibly it is intended in 5.1). It is interesting to note that in 6.4 John himself qualifies the Passover as “the feast of the Jews.” The Passover Festival took place on Nisan 14 (around April 1). It celebrated the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt (see especially Exo 12.1-27; Deut 16 1-8).

It is difficult to find an appropriate term to translate Passover or Passover Festival. A literal translation of Passover may be misleading, since it may appear to mean that some of the people passed over a river or some kind of barrier. It may be important, especially at the first mention of the Passover Festival, to indicate that it was “a festival to celebrate the passing over of the angel in ancient times.” In any translation of a Gospel or New Testament, a glossary should be provided, giving a description of major factors in the event of the ancient Passover in Egypt, just preceding the exodus of the Jews from that land.

Traditionally the Passover has been spoken of as the “feast of Passover,” but the term “feast” hardly seems appropriate in a present-day English version. For that reason the term “festival” is used, since it implies more than eating. The Passover was a joyous occasion which took a considerable period of time (especially in view of the need for people to go to and from Jerusalem), and a number of events were connected with it in addition to the ceremonial meal. Since festivals are common in most societies, an appropriate equivalent term can usually be found. The difficulty is that the terms associated with such festivals are often highly specific. If the fact that a term is specific prevents it from being used, it may be necessary to employ such a phrase as “a time of celebrating” or “days when the Jews celebrated the passing over of the angel,” or “… their deliverance from Egypt.”

It was almost time for may be rendered in some languages “a few days later would be the time for” or “soon it would be time for” or “in only a few days it would be the day for.”

Jesus went to Jerusalem is literally “Jesus went up to Jerusalem.” The verb “to go up” is the usual verb for describing a journey to Jerusalem, which was situated in the Judean hill country (compare 5.1; 7.8; 11.55; 12.20). Note the similar use of the verb “to go down to” in verse 12.

Both clauses in 2.13 begin with “and,” a common connective in Jewish Greek. Most translators into English use more natural transitional formulas.

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 2:13

Section 2:13–25

Jesus sent the sellers away from the temple

In this section Jesus drove out (threw out) people who were selling animals and exchanging money in the temple courtyard. He was angry that they were using the temple to make money for themselves. The Jewish religious leaders were very upset at this. They did not think that Jesus had the authority to drive out these traders and money changers.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Here are some other possible titles for this section:

Jesus drove/threw out traders/sellers from the temple
-or-
Jesus cleansed the temple
-or-
Jesus stopped people from selling animals in the temple

There are similar passages to this section in Matthew 21:12–13, Mark 11:15–17, and Luke 19:45–46.

Paragraph 2:13–17

This paragraph tells how Jesus demonstrated his authority over what happened in the temple. He sent away from the temple people who were buying and selling animals and exchanging money. He knew God had given him this authority to cleanse the temple.

2:13a

When the Jewish Passover was near: This clause indicates the time this incident took place. It was a few days before the Jews celebrated the feast called the Passover in Jerusalem. Jesus and his disciples would have spent a few days traveling from Capernaum to Jerusalem.

Here are other ways to translate this clause:

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover (New International Version)
-or-
It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Not long before the Jewish festival of Passover (Contemporary English Version)

the Jewish Passover: Passover is the name of a Jewish festival. It reminds the Jews of the time when they were slaves in Egypt. God went to kill the first-born sons of the Egyptians so that they would allow the Jews to leave Egypt. The term Passover refers to the fact that God passed over (did not enter) the houses of the Jews. That means that he did not harm their sons (see Exodus 12:1–27 and the suggested footnote below for more details).

Here are some of the ways to translate the Jewish Passover :

the Jewish Passover Feast (New Century Version)
-or-
the Jewish celebration called the Passover
-or-
the festival called Death-Passed-Over-Us that the Jews celebrate

You may want to include a footnote or glossary entry in your translation to help your readers understand more about this feast. For example:

The Feast of Passover was a festival that the Jewish people celebrated each year in Jerusalem. It reminded them of the time when God freed their ancestors from slavery in Egypt. God commanded the Israelites to kill lambs and put some of the blood on their doorposts. [Doorposts are what are next to the door when it is closed.] Then God went to kill the firstborn sons of the Egyptians. But when he saw blood on the houses of the Israelites, he passed over their houses and did not kill their firstborn sons (see Exodus 12:1–27).

2:13b

Jesus went up to Jerusalem: Jerusalem was built on a hill. So anyone traveling to the city had to walk up a hill to get there. In some languages it is important to say whether people go up or down when they travel. In other languages, this will be unusual or confusing. If it is confusing in your language, you can just say:

Jesus went/traveled to Jerusalem

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