Translation commentary on John 20:30

Miracles is literally “signs” (see comments at 2.11).

Some Greek manuscripts do not have his before disciples’, but the meaning is clearly implicit, and his may be included on translational grounds. One Latin translation reads after in his disciples’ presence, “after his resurrection from the dead,” but it is obviously a later scribal addition. In his disciples’ presence may be rendered “when his disciples were with him” or even “while his disciples were watching.” The clause which are not written down in this book suggests a contrast. The first sentence of this verse may therefore be translated: “Jesus performed many other miracles when his disciples were with him; these are not written down in this book.”

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 20:30

Section 20:30–31

John wrote this book so that people would believe and have life

The author explained that he wrote about Jesus’ signs so that people would believe that he was God’s promised Savior. That way they would have life from him. This is the first conclusion of the gospel.

Here are other possible section headings:

Why John wrote his book
-or-
John wrote this book so that people would believe
-or-
The purpose of this book

20:30a

The Greek begins this verse with a conjunction that some versions translate as “Now.” Here it introduces the first conclusion to the book of John. The author told his purpose in writing this gospel. Introduce this purpose of the gospel in a way that is natural in your language.

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples: This clause indicates that Jesus’ disciples saw him do many other signs. See the General Comment on 20:30a for ways to rearrange the information in this clause. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

Jesus did many other miracles in the presence of his followers. (New Century Version)
-or-
Many are the amazing signs that Jesus showed to his disciples (Kankanaey Back Translation)

many other signs: In this context the word other means “besides the ones described in this book.” The author only wrote about a few of Jesus’ miraculous’ signs.

signs: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as signs refers to the healings and other miracles that Jesus did. These signs proved that he was the Messiah from God. See how you translated this word in 2:11, 23. For example:

miraculous signs (New International Version)
-or-
miracles (Contemporary English Version)

in the presence of His disciples: This phrase indicates that Jesus’ disciples saw him do many miracles. They were there with him. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

when his disciples were present
-or-
while his followers were ⌊watching⌋

His disciples: There is a textual issue here. Some Greek manuscripts have His disciples, and some Greek manuscripts have “the disciples.” The original text is uncertain. Both expressions refer to the same group of people. So it is recommended that you use whichever is more natural in your language. See how you translated disciples in 20:10, 19.

General Comment on 20:30a

In some languages it may be natural to rearrange the information in 20:30a. You may want to mention the disciples at the beginning of the sentence. For example:

In his disciples’ presence Jesus performed many other miracles. (Good News Translation)
-or-
The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs. (New Living Translation (2004))

20:30b

which are not written in this book: Many of the miracles Jesus did were not written in this book, which refers to the Gospel of John. The verb phrase are not written is passive. Here are some ways to translate this clause:

• Use a passive verb. For example:

which are not recorded in this book (New International Version)
-or-
in addition to the ones recorded in this book (New Living Translation (2004))

• Use an active verb. For example:

besides the ones I wrote about in this book
-or-
signs/miracles that this book does not record/report

this book: This phrase refers to the Gospel of John. It does not refer to the whole Bible or New Testament. Some of the other miracles that Jesus did are in fact recorded in the other gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). It may help to make this clearer. For example:

this gospel

General Comment on 20:30a–b

The author divided Jesus’ sign miracles into two groups:

1) those that he recorded in this gospel

2) other signs, those that he did not record

All the “other signs” (not just “many” of them) “are not written in this book.” After translating 20:30, check that the meaning is correct and will be understood by your readers. For example:

Jesus’ followers also saw him doing many signs that are not recorded in this book.
-or-
The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Jesus did many other miracles when his disciples were present. They are not included in this book.

© 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.