The wedding at Cana (image)

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Image taken from He Qi Art . For purchasing prints of this and other artworks by He Qi go to heqiart.com . For other images of He Qi art works in TIPs, see here.

Following is a hand-colored stencil print on momigami by Sadao Watanabe (1968):

Image taken with permission from the SadaoHanga Catalogue where you can find many more images and information about Sadao Watanabe. For other images of Sadao Watanabe art works in TIPs, see here.

complete verse (John 2:8)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 2:8:

  • Uma: “After that, he also said to them: ‘Dip out a little bit, take it to the feast leader.’ They did dip out, and took it to the leader.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Then Isa told them, he said, ‘Draw now from those jars and bring it to the one-in-charge of this festival.’ They took it to the one-in-charge of the festival” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “and then Jesus said to them again, ‘Dip some out and take it to the one who is running this feast.’ And they took it.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Then he said to them, ‘Dip-out-some in order to take-it-to the leader who is in-charge-of the food and drink.’ And they took-him-some.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When all were filled, Jesus said next, ‘Go on, draw out from those jars and take it to the one-in-charge of this celebration.’ They obeyed that which was said.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Again Jesus spoke, ‘Now carry a little to the steward for him to try.’ They carried it to him then.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Honorary "are" construct denoting God (“say”)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on John 2:8

There is much controversy regarding the exact meaning of the verb rendered draw some water out, since technically this word means “to draw water from a well,” and the question is whether John uses it here with its technical meaning or in a more general sense. If it has the sense of “to draw water from a well,” then there is no indication that the water in the jars was changed into wine. That is, those who adopt this view say that Jesus left the six water jars filled with water (symbolic of the imperfection of Judaism), while he had the servants draw fresh water from a well, and that this latter water was changed into wine. Most modern commentators, however, believe the verb “to draw out” is used loosely in this instance; they understand that Jesus told the servants to draw water from the jars. The same verb is used in 4.7 of drawing water from a well, but that meaning does not determine its usage here, Accordingly, if the translator must be explicit, it is best to say that the water was drawn from the jars. Draw some water out may probably be best translated as “Dip some water out” or “Put in a small jar and take some water out of the stone jars” or “Put in a pitcher and….”

The Greek word rendered the man in charge of the feast (New American Bible “the waiter in charge”) is rendered “steward” by most translators. The Greek word probably refers to a slave appointed to be in charge of a banquet, though some commentators understand it to refer to one of the guests who was appointed “toastmaster” in charge of the banquet, chosen for this function because of his close relation with the bridegroom.

If one wishes to translate the man in charge of the feast as “the waiter in charge,” then one can say “the servant who directed the other servants at the feast” or “the servant who told the other servants what they should do in serving the guests.” If, however, one chooses to follow the interpretation of “toastmaster” or “master of ceremonies,” then one can employ the phrase “the guest who directed the feast” or “the guest who said what should happen at the feast” or “… what the guests should do during the feast.”

They took him the water is simply “and they took” in Greek. Very few translators render this clause literally; most seek to bring out the information implicit in the Greek (for example, New American Bible “they did as he instructed them”; New English Bible “and they did so”; Jerusalem Bible “they did this”).

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 .