Translation commentary on John 4:42

We believe now, not because of what you said is literally “no longer because of what you said do we believe,” in which the focus is obviously on not because of what you said.

Two problems are involved in translating this statement of the Samaritans. In such construction some languages require that the positive clause precede the negative clause. If so, one may translate “We believe now because we ourselves have heard him, and it is not because of what you said.” A second problem is that some languages may require a shift of the negative from the clause of cause to the verb “to believe,” for example, “We do not believe because of what you said, but we do believe because we ourselves have heard him speak” or “… have heard what he has said.”

It should be noted that John focuses attention upon the Samaritans throughout verses 28-42. Although only implicitly referred to in verse 28 (they hear the woman’s testimony about Jesus), they are mentioned in verse 30 (they left and went), verse 39 (many of the Samaritans … believed), verse 40 (the Samaritans came to him … begged him), verse 41 (many more believed), and verse 42 (they told … we believe … we have heard … we know).

Except for Luke 2.11 this verse is the only mention in the Gospels of the title Savior as applied to Jesus during the course of his earthly life, though it is used in that sense twice in Acts and several times in Paul’s writings. In the Old Testament, God is the one who saves his people, and sometimes he is referred to as their Savior; in Luke 1.47 Mary says, “My soul is glad because of God my Savior,” a statement based on an Old Testament passage (1 Sam 2.1-10). However, in the light of the fact that Samaria was largely under the influence of Greek culture, it may be better to look for the background of this term in the Greek world, where it was applied to gods, emperors, and various heroes.

Terms for Savior generally reflect two kinds of contexts. One refers to “the one who rescues” or “the one who delivers” (implying “from danger” or “from bondage”). The other involves the concept of restoration, and may be rendered “the one who restores” or “the one who makes us able again.” For the phrase the Savior of the world it may be necessary to use a clause, for example, “the one who rescues the people of the world” or “the one who restores again all people.”

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 4:42

4:42a

They said to the woman: The pronoun They refers to the people of Sychar. In some languages it is more natural to put in this information. For example:

The people ⌊of the town of Sychar⌋ said to the woman

We now believe not only because of your words: This clause indicates that there was a change in the people’s reason for believing. Before they met Jesus, they believed because of what the woman said. After they met Jesus, they believed because they heard Jesus themselves. In some languages it may be necessary to make it more explicit that their reason for believing had changed. For example:

First we believed in Jesus because of your speech, but now we believe because…. (New Century Version)
-or-
Now we believe, not just because of what you told us…. (New Living Translation (2004))

We now believe: The pronoun We is exclusive here, as the people were contrasting themselves with the woman. However, your translation should not imply that the woman did not believe. She believed, but for a different reason. You may need to make it clear that the woman also believed. For example:

we (excl.) ⌊also⌋ believe

believe: This word includes the idea of believing the facts about who Jesus was, accepting him as the Messiah, 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 4:39 and 4:41. Here are other ways of translating this word:

have faith in Jesus (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
trust in him

4:42b

The Greek text begins this clause with a conjunction that is usually translated as “for,” but the Berean Standard Bible leaves it implied. Here, the Greek conjunction indicates the reason why the Samaritans’ belief changed. Here is another way to translate this word:

because (Good News Translation)

we have heard for ourselves: This clause gives the reason why the Samaritans started to believe for a different reason. Earlier, they had believed because of what the woman said. But when they heard Jesus themselves, they had a stronger reason to believe and that made their faith stronger. In some languages it may be necessary to make the object of the verb heard explicit. For example:

We have heard him ourselves (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
We (excl.) ourselves have heard what he has said

we: This pronoun is exclusive and in this context refers to the people of the town, but not the woman. The woman had always believed because she heard Jesus herself, so her reason to believe did not need to change.

4:42c

we know that this man truly is the Savior of the world: This is the most important idea in what the town’s people say. It also forms the climax (most important point) of this section. Try to translate this with emphasis. For example:

we are convinced that he is the Saviour of the world (Revised English Bible)

we know: The pronoun we continues to be exclusive here. However, the town’s people did not disagree with the woman but agreed strongly with her. They also believed that Jesus was the Messiah (4:29b). So it may be natural to say:

we (excl.) ⌊now also⌋ know

the Savior of the world: This is the only time the title Savior is used of Jesus in the Gospel of John. 1 John 4:14 uses the phrase the Savior of the world, and Luke 1:67 and 2:11 use the title Savior for Jesus. Old Testament verses (for example, 2 Samuel 22:3 and Psalm 106:21) and Luke 1:47 use the title for God.

The title indicates here that Jesus is the one who saves or rescues/delivers people from evil or danger. In the New Testament the emphasis is on saving people from spiritual and eternal danger. That means rescuing people from the spiritual dangers of sin and the punishment from God that results from sinning. See Key Biblical Terms Save, Salvation Savior, C. In some languages it may be natural to translate Savior using a verb form. For example:

the one who will save the people of the world
-or-
the one who delivers people everywhere ⌊from evil⌋

of the world: The Samaritans used this phrase to say that Jesus is the savior of all groups of people in the world. He was not just the savior of the Jews. They did not mean that Jesus saves every person in the world. See the examples above for other ways to translate this phrase.

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