judge vs. condemn

The Greek terms krino and katakrino/katadikazo that are translated as “judge” and “condemn” respectively in English are translated with only one term in Kutu (tagusa). (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

See also do not condemn.

complete verse (John 5:22)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 5:22:

  • Uma: “My Father himself does not judge the affairs of man. All power to judge he has offered/given to me his Child.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “And it is not my Father God who judges mankind. But he has given to me the authority to judge all mankind,” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “As for my father, he is not the one who will investigate in the future the things that all mankind has done. Because I, his child, he has given to me the right to investigate what humanity has done.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “My Father moreover, he will not judge anyone, but rather he has handed-over to me his Child the authority to judge,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “The Father really will not judge anyone at all. He has given to his Son the authority that he will be the one to judge/sentence,” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “The Father doesn’t sentence any person. He has given the authority to his Son to decide the sentence.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Father (address for God)

The Greek that is translated with the capitalized “Father” in English when referring to God is translated in Highland Totonac with the regular word for (biological) father to which a suffix is added to indicate respect. The same also is used for “Lord” when referring to Jesus. (Source: Hermann Aschmann in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 171ff. )

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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. In the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017, God the Father is addressed with mi-chichi (御父). This form has the “divine” honorific prefix mi– preceding the archaic honorific form chichi for “father.”

If, however, Jesus addresses his Father, he is using chichi-o (父を) which is also highly respectful but does not have the “divine” honorific. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also Lord and my / our Father.

Honorary "rare" construct denoting God ("entrust")

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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 rare (られ) 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, yudane-rare-ru (委ねられる) or “entrust” is used.

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

Translation commentary on John 5:22

Nor does the Father himself judge anyone may be rendered “my Father does not judge anyone.” There are, however, some difficulties in the selection of a term for judge. The tendency is to select a term which means “to condemn,” but this specific function of God’s Son is ruled out in the present passage. What is needed is a term for judge which will imply neutrality or unbiased judgement, resulting in spiritual life or death.

He has given his Son the full right to judge is literally “he has given all judgement to the Son.” As in verse 19 (see there), so here Good News Translation renders the definite article “the” as his.

It may be helpful to note the way in which He has given his Son the full right to judge is treated in various translations. New English Bible is essentially the same as Good News Translation, but the level of language is different: “but has given full jurisdiction to the Son.” Jerusalem Bible “he has entrusted all judgement to the Son” and New American Bible “but has assigned all judgement to the Son” are rather close. Phillips renders by “he has put judgement entirely into the Son’s hands.” Moffatt has “he has committed the judgement which determines life or death entirely to the Son,” thus making explicit the meaning of the phrase “all judgement.” Moffatt probably does not go too far, inasmuch as the judgement referred to in this verse includes both the power to give life and the power to condemn those who do evil. See further the comments on verse 23.

He has given his Son the full right to judge may be rendered idiomatically in some languages: “He has put in my hand the power to judge” or “He has said to me, ‘You are the one to judge’ ” or “He has put me on the stool of judgement saying ‘Now you must be the judge.’ ”

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 5:22

5:22a

Furthermore: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Furthermore is often translated as “for” or “because.” Some English translations (New Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, Revised Standard Version, TLV, God’s Word) do not translate this conjunction. In translations that do translate this conjunction, there are two ways to interpret it.

(1) It gives a reason or explanation for why the Son gives life to whomever (anyone) he wants. For example:

For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son (English Standard Version)

(English Standard Version, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, New Jerusalem Bible)

(2) It introduces another area where God is going to do new things through Jesus. For example:

Moreover (New International Version)
-or-
Again (Revised English Bible)
-or-
In addition (New Living Translation (2004))

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Revised English Bible, New Living Translation (2004), NET Bible)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because that is the most common meaning of the conjunction. Also, it makes sense in this context. The English Standard Version has been used as the Source Line in the Display.

the Father judges no one: The word judges means “decides and declares whether someone is good or bad.” It can be either positive or negative, either “approves” or “condemns.”

5:22b

but: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as but here connects the negative statement in 5:22a (“For the Father judges no one”) with the positive statement in 5:22b (“has given all judgment to the Son”). Verse 5:22a tells what God does not do, while 5:22b tells what he has done instead. This kind of sentence emphasizes the positive statement. Languages have different ways to indicate this type of emphasis. For example:

• Use the conjunction but as in the Berean Standard Bible.

The Father doesn’t judge anyone, but he has made his Son the judge of everyone. (Contemporary English Version)

• Use a conjunction other than but. This is a common way in English to show this type of emphasis. For example:

In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge (New Living Translation (2004))

• Do not use a conjunction. For example:

Nor does the Father himself judge anyone. He has given his Son the full right to judge (Good News Translation)

• Change the order of the clauses. For example:

God has given ⌊me,⌋ the Son, the entire job of judging people. He will not judge people himself.

You should translate this emphasis in the way that is most natural in your language.

has assigned all judgment to the Son: The phrase assigned all judgment means “appointed the whole task of judging.” God had given to Jesus the responsibility of judging all people. And Jesus again referred to himself in the third person as the Son.

Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

he has given the Son absolute authority to judge (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
he has appointed me as his Son to be the judge of everyone

the Son: See the note in 5:19b and how you translated this term there.

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