9When the person in charge tasted the water that had become wine and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), that person called the bridegroom
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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.
The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that are translated as “wine” in English is translated into Pass Valley Yali as “grape juice pressed long ago (= fermented)” or “strong water” (source: Daud Soesilo). In Guhu-Samane it is also translated as “strong water” (source: Ernest L. Richert in The Bible Translator 1965, p. 198ff. ), in Noongar as “liquor” (verbatim: “strong water”) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang), in Hausa as ruwan inabi or “water of grapes” (with no indication whether it’s alcoholic or not — source: Mark A. Gaddis), in sar as kasə nduú or “grape drink” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin), or in Papantla Totonac and Coyutla Totonac as “a drink like Pulque” (for “Pulque,” see here ) (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1971, p. 169ff. ).
In Swahili, Bible translations try to avoid local words for alcoholic drinks, because “drinking of any alcohol at all was one of the sins most denounced by early missionaries. Hence translators are uncomfortable by the occurrences of wine in the Bible. Some of the established churches which use wine prefer to see church wine as holy, and would not refer to it by the local names used for alcoholic drinks. Instead church wine is often referred to by terms borrowed from other languages, divai (from German, der Wein) or vini/mvinyo (from ltalian/Latin vino/vinum). Several translations done by Protestants have adapted the Swahili divai for ‘wine,’ while those done by Catholics use vini or mvinyo.” (Source: Rachel Konyoro in The Bible Translator 1985, p. 221ff. )
The Swahili divai was in turn borrowed by Sabaot and was turned into tifaayiik and is used as such in the Bible. Kupsabiny, on the other hand, borrowed mvinyo from Swahili and turned it into Finyonik. (Source: Iver Larsen)
In Nyamwezi, two terms are used. Malwa ga muzabibu is a kind of alcohol that people specifically use to get drunk (such as in Genesis 9:21) and ki’neneko is used for a wine made from grapes (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext).
In some Hindi translations (such as the Common Language version, publ. 2015 ), one term (dākharasa दाखरस — grape juice) is used when that particular drink is in the focus (such as in John 2) and another term (madirā मदिरा — “alcohol” or “liquor”) when drunkenness is in the focus (such as in Eph. 5:18).
In Mandarin Chinese, the generic term jiǔ (酒) or “alcohol(ic drink)” is typically used. Exceptions are Leviticus 10:9, Numbers 6:3, Deuteronomy 29:6, Judges 13:4 et al., 1 Samuel 1:15, and Luke 1:15 where a differentiation between weak and strong alcohol is needed. The Mandarin Chinese Union Version (2010) translates that as qīngjiǔ lièjiǔ (清酒烈酒) and dànjiǔ lièjiǔ (淡酒烈酒), both in the form of a Chinese proverb and meaning “light alcohol and strong drink.” (Source: Zetzsche)
Click or tap here to see a short video clip about wine in biblical times (source: Bible Lands 2012)
Following are a number of back-translations of John 2:9:
Uma: “That leader tasted the water that they brought to him. It was no longer plain water, it had changed into wine. But he did not know where it was from, only the workers knew that. After he tasted that wine, he called the groom,” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “and he tasted the water which had become wine. He did not know where that wine had come from but the servants who had drawn the water, they knew. Then immediately he called the bridegroom.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And the one running the feast, he tasted the water which had been turned into wine. He did not know where the wine had come from. But the servants who had dipped it out, they knew where.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “But that-aforementioned leader, he didn’t know where the liquor had come-from, because only the ones who had dipped it from the rice-wine-jar knew. That being so, when he had tasted the water that became liquor, he called the man-getting-married” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “That one-in-charge tasted/tried it, what he tasted being a wonderful drink, no longer water. He didn’t know where it had come from, however as for those servants, they knew because they were the ones who had drawn the water which had been transferred to those jars. That one-in-charge called for the man who had married.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “The steward tried the water which had become wine. He didn’t know where it came from. It was those who brought the water who knew about it. The steward called for the bridegroom.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
Most translations have a full stop at the end of verse 8, in keeping with the structure of the Greek. However, it is important that a translation should indicate the meaning of the original in whatever form is most natural for the receptor language. Good News Translation continues the first part of this verse as the last part of the sentence begun in the previous verse. It translates the Greek noun “steward” (verse 9) by the pronoun “he,” since it is more natural in English to have a pronoun, and not a noun, referring back to a pronoun. In this way, the repetition of a long descriptive phrase (the man in charge of the feast) is avoided. The same thing is true of the clause he called the bridegroom, where the pronoun he again translates the Greek noun “steward.”
John does not indicate the amount of the water which now had turned into wine. He may mean either the one jar from which the water was drawn or all six jars. Those who believe that the water was drawn from the well assume that only the water taken to the man in charge of the feast was turned to wine. It is best not to be explicit unless the receptor language demands it, in which case it is suggested that the meaning be “the water from the jar containing the water that had turned into wine.”
The parenthetical explanation in this verse seems almost overly obvious, and hence it may be useful, in fact even necessary, to qualify it by such an introductory expression as “naturally,” for example, “but naturally the servants knew.”
The water which now had turned into wine may require some modification in certain languages, since it may be necessary to specify the agent, for example, “the water which Jesus had caused to become wine.” If the agent is not specified, it might be suggested that the water had become wine in some yet unexplained manner.
It is not possible in some languages to translate literally where this wine had come from, since one cannot speak of “wine coming.” It is necessary in such instances to say “where the servants had gotten this wine” or “from where they had dipped out this wine.”
Because the sentence beginning in the middle of verse 9 continues until almost the end of verse 10, it may be useful to break the sentence after the parenthesis (but, of course, the servants who had drawn out the water knew). Therefore, one may begin the next sentence as “Because of this, he called the bridegroom….”
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 .
and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine: The most important information in this clause is that the water had become wine. This is also the most important part of the story. In some languages it may be natural to translate it as an independent clause. For example:
The master of the banquet tasted the water—and it had been changed into wine!
that had been turned into wine: There are several ways to translate this clause. For example:
• Use a passive verb. For example:
that had been changed into wine -or-
that had been turned into wine (New International Version)
• Use an active verb. For example:
that Jesus had changed into wine -or-
the water that was now wine (New Living Translation (2004))
Translate this clause in a way that is natural in your language for describing an important action.
The text does not say exactly when the water turned into wine. You should not supply this information.
2:9b
He did not know where it was from: The steward did not know that this wine was originally water that Jesus had transformed. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
He did not know where the wine came from (New Century Version) -or-
not knowing its source (Revised English Bible) -or-
He did not realize where it had come from (New International Version)
2:9c
but the servants who had drawn the water knew: This is parenthetical information. Although the Berean Standard Bible does not indicate this, the New Revised Standard Version shows this by using parentheses. You should indicate that this is a parenthetical comment in a way that is natural in your language. For example, you might want to use dashes instead of parentheses:
—though the servants who had drawn the water knew— (New Jerusalem Bible)
General Comment on 2:9b–c
2:9c is in contrast to 2:9b. The man in charge of the feast did not know where the wine had come from. The servants did know. Indicate this contrast in a way that is natural in your language. For example:
but the servants who had brought the water knew (New Century Version)
2:9d
Then he called the bridegroom aside: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as called here means “sent for” or “asked to come.” The man in charge of the feast asked the bridegroom to come and talk to him.
Here is another way to translate this clause:
he called the bridegroom over (New Living Translation (2004))
bridegroom: The term bridegroom refers to the man who marries the bride in a wedding ceremony.
General Comment on 2:9a–d
In some languages it may be natural to change the order of the clauses of verse 9. For example:
9c And the servants who had taken/dipped the water ⌊out of the pots/jars⌋ knew where the wine had come from, 9b but the man in charge did not know. 9a Therefore when he tasted the water that Jesus had changed into wine, 9d he called the bridegroom…
General Comment on 2:9a–d
In the Greek, as in the Berean Standard Bible, this is one long sentence. In some languages it may be more natural to break this into two or more sentences. For example:
The person in charge tasted the water that had become wine. He didn’t know where it had come from, although the servers who had poured the water knew. The person in charge called the groom…. (God’s Word)
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