The Greek in John 3:29 that is translated as “rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) as freut sich, wenn er den Freudenruf des Bräutigams hört or “rejoices when he hears the bridegroom’s shout of joy.”
happiness / joy
The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated in English as “joy” or “happiness” is translated in the Hausa Common Language Bible idiomatically as farin ciki or “white stomach.” In some cases, such as in Genesis 29:11, it is also added for emphatic purposes.
Other languages that use the same expression include Southern Birifor (pʋpɛl), Dera (popolok awo), Reshe (ɾipo ɾipuhã). (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
See also Seat of the Mind / Seat of Emotions, rejoiced greatly / celebrated, the Mossi translation of “righteous”, and joy.
complete verse (John 3:29)
Following are a number of back-translations of John 3:29:
- Uma: “‘ For example at a marriage feast, it is the groom who is important, because he is the owner/lord of the bride. As for the friend of the groom, he just stands beside him and listens to his commands. And he is glad to hear the voice of the groom. So also with me, I am like the friend of the groom. I am glad, and my joy is complete, because more and more people are following Yesus.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “For example if there is a wedding, it is the bridegroom who has/owns the wife. But his friend stands there and listens. He is happy when he hears the bridegroom speak. I and Isa are like them also,’ said Yahiya. ‘I am very glad now.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “,” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “My status/situation, it is like the companion of a man-getting-married who is in-charge-of preparations for the wedding. Even though he isn’t the one who will be the woman’s spouse (lit. spouse owner of the woman), great nevertheless is his happiness to join the wedding, because he hears what his companion is saying. Therefore I also who prepared people for the coming of the Messiah, great is my happiness now.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “For like about marriage, the woman who is being married belongs only to the bridegroom. And as for the man who causes-to-be-prepared the marriage-feast, who is the friend of the bridegroom, he is really happy when he hears the speech/words of this friend of his whose marriage they are celebrating. Now/today as for me, that’s how it is. I am really very happy now, for Jesus has now arrived, for whom I am as-it-were preparing.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
- Tenango Otomi: “Take a man who is going to get married, the girl goes to where her husband is. The friend of the man stands there and hears what he says. And he is glad that the girls is going to be with the husband. It is like that with me. I am glad that the people are going to where Jesus is.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
joy
The Greek, Latin, Ge’ez, and Hebrew that is translated with “joy” or “gladness” in English is translated with various strategies:
- Baoulé: “a song in the stomach” (see also peace (inner peace))
- Bambara: “the spirit is made sweet”
- Kpelle: “sweet heart”
- Tzeltal: “the good taste of one’s heart”
- Uduk: “good to the stomach”
- Mískito: “the liver is wide open” (“happily letting the pleasures flooding in upon it”) (source for this and above: Nida 1952)
- Mairasi: “good liver” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
- Noongar: koort-kwabba-djil or “heart very good” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
- Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “refreshed heart” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.).
See also Seat of the Mind for traditional views of “ways of knowing, thinking, and feeling,” happiness / joy, and exceeding joy.
Sung version of John 3
Translation commentary on John 3:29
The bridegroom’s friend is the nearest equivalent to the “best man” (New American Bible) of our day. This expression is not a technical term in Greek, but represents the “shoshben” of Jewish life. The “shoshben” was the groom’s closest friend and he took care of arranging the particulars of the wedding. In the context the primary focus is on John the Baptist, rather than on the bridegroom in the parable-like saying.
The bridegroom is the one to whom the bride belongs may be inverted (“the bride belongs to the bridegroom”). This clause may then form a contrast to the following clause, and one may translate “but the bridegroom’s friend stands by and listens, and he is glad….”
The exact picture portrayed by the words stands by and listens is not known. It is possible that the best man is standing guard at the bride’s house, waiting for the groom’s procession to arrive. On the other hand, it is possible that this expression describes the experience of the best man after the bride has been brought to the groom’s home. That is, he is happy to hear the bride and groom speaking joyfully with each other. In any case, the translator must be careful not to suggest any deed of impropriety on the part of bridegroom’s friend when translating stands by and listens.
Is glad when he hears the bridegroom’s voice translates a Semitism, “with joy he rejoices because of the voice of the bridegroom.” This sentence may be rendered “He is happy when he hears what the bridegroom says” or “… hears the bridegroom speak.”
This is how my own happiness is made complete is literally “This, therefore, my happiness has been made full.” Most modern English translations render “full” by complete. Elsewhere in the Gospel this same verb is used to describe happiness (15.11; 16.24; 17.13). This is how refers back to the previous statement, not to the following one. In some languages it is impossible to speak about “happiness made complete.” One can, however, say “Because of this I am extremely happy” or “… completely happy” or “Because of this there is nothing lacking in my happiness.”
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 3:29
3:29a–c
These two sentences contain a metaphor. There is a bridegroom, a bride, and a friend of the bridegroom. These represent Jesus, God’s people, and John the Baptist. See the General Comment at the end of 3:29c for ways to help make the meaning clear. As you translate this metaphor, consider the customs of your own culture. The main point of this metaphor is that the bridegroom (Jesus) is more important than his friend (John the Baptist).
3:29a
The bride belongs to the bridegroom: This illustration or metaphor is about a wedding. It does not refer to a specific wedding, but to weddings in general. The point is that the bridegroom is the important man at any wedding. He is the one who marries the bride. Refer to Mark 2:19–20 to see how you translated bridegroom there.
Here are other ways to translate this metaphor:
The bridegroom is the one to whom the bride belongs. (Good News Translation)
-or-
He who has the bride is the bridegroom. (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
At a wedding the groom is the one who gets married. (Contemporary English Version)
3:29b
The friend of the bridegroom: The friend of the bridegroom is like the best man in Western culture. He helped the bridegroom prepare for his wedding. This is a picture of John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
The bridegroom’s friend (Revised English Bible)
-or-
The friend who helps the bridegroom (New Century Version)
-or-
The friend who serves the bridegroom
stands and listens for him: The exact meaning of this expression is not clear. The friend waits and listens for the bridegroom, but it does not say where or why he waits. He may be at the bride’s house or at the bridegroom’s house.
Nor is it clear what the bridegroom says. The important point is that the best man is less important than the bridegroom. He acts in a humble way, just standing and listening. Probably he is listening for the bridegroom to arrive. Here are other ways to translate this expression:
stands by and listens to/for him
-or-
waits and listens ⌊for his coming⌋
3:29c
is overjoyed to hear the bridegroom’s voice: The bridegroom’s friend is very happy just to hear the bridegroom speak. This shows that the bridegroom is much more important than his friend. His friend is content to be less important. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
He is very glad/happy that he gets to hear the bridegroom’s voice.
-or-
rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice (New Revised Standard Version)
General Comment on 3:29b–c
In some languages it may be natural to combine the information in this sentence. For example:
29b–c The best man is glad just to be there and to hear the groom’s voice. (Contemporary English Version)
3:29d
The Greek begins this sentence with a word that refers back to the previous statement. The New Revised Standard Version translates it as “For this reason.” John indicated that he was like the bridegroom’s friend, and that he was happy just as the friend was. He was happy that the one whom he had waited for had come. He was also happy that he had heard his voice. He was even happy that now people were going to Jesus to be baptized, rather than to him. Here are other ways to translate this sentence:
This is how my own happiness is made complete. (Good News Translation)
-or-
That’s why I am so glad. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
In the same way I am really happy. (New Century Version)
General Comment on 3:29a–d
In 3:29d, John explains part of the metaphor—he is happy like the bridegroom’s friend is happy. However, it may still be necessary to explain more of the metaphor in your translation. Your readers need to understand that the bridegroom is a metaphor/illustration of the Messiah. Also, they should understand that he has come to his people just as the bridegroom comes to his bride. You may need to make some of this explicit. For example:
29a It is the bridegroom who marries the bride ⌊and that is who the Messiah is like⌋ . 29b ⌊⌊I am just like a friend⌋ who helps the bridegroom. This friend listens to know that the bridegroom ⌊has come⌋ 29c and then he is glad. 29d I too am now full of joy ⌊that the Messiah has come⌋ .
© 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.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.