Translation commentary on John 2:23

Although the Greek of this sentence merely has “he,” Good News Translation introduces the name Jesus, since a new section begins here

In him is literally “in his name”; see comments at 14.13.

As in most contexts in the Gospel of John, believed in him must be understood in the sense of “trusted him” or “put their faith in him.” It means more than merely believing what he said or giving assent to his message. There is always the implication of confidence, loyalty, and trust.

Miracles is the same word discussed in 2.11. In speaking of “performing miracles” one must use an expression which is natural in the receptor language. This may differ from language to language, for example, “the miracles which he caused to happen,” “the wonderful deeds which he did” or “the revealing great things which he made.”

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 2:23

Paragraph 2:23–25

Jesus did many miracles in Jerusalem at the Passover feast. This caused many people to believe in him.

2:23a

While He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast: John mentioned in 2:13 that Jesus went to Jerusalem. At the beginning of this new paragraph, it may be natural to make it explicit that the pronoun he refers to Jesus. For example:

While Jesus was in Jerusalem during the Passover Festival (Good News Translation)

Passover Feast: Passover is the name of a Jewish festival. The term Passover refers to the fact that God passed over the houses of the Jews without harming them. See how you translated this word in 2:13a.

2:23b

many people saw the signs He was doing and believed in His name: These people believed in Jesus because they saw him do miracles. In some languages it may be natural to reverse the order of these two clauses and put them in chronological order. For example:

Many people saw the signs that he was doing and believed in his name.

the signs: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as signs here refers to miracles or deeds that showed Jesus’ greatness and power. See the note on signs at 2:11a. Here is another way to translate this word:

miraculous signs (New International Version)

believed in: This phrase includes the idea of believing the facts about who Jesus was and what he did. But it also includes the idea of trusting Jesus instead of trusting oneself or someone else. Both ideas are very closely related. If someone believes the facts about Jesus, it should result in trusting him. See how you translated this idea in 1:7b, 1:12b, and 2:11c. Here are other ways to translate this idea here:

many put their trust in him (Revised English Bible)
-or-
many people put their faith in Jesus (Contemporary English Version)

His name: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as His name is an idiom that means “him.” It refers to Jesus himself. See the above examples for other ways to translate this phrase.

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