lame

The Greek that is translated as “lame” in English is translated in various ways:

complete verse (John 5:3)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 5:3:

  • Uma: “There were many sick people there. There were blind people, crippled people, lame people, continually lying in the patios, [[waiting for the stirring-up of the pool water.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Here in these huts were many sick people lying. There were blind ones and lame ones and half paralyzed ones. (They were waiting for the water in the pool to be caused-to-bubble.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “There were many sick people who stayed there in the sheltering places. There were blind, there were lame, and there were paralyzed. They were waiting there for the stirring of the water.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “where-sick-people -took-shelter. There were blind, there were lame, and there were also cripples. There were many who were lying there [waiting for the moving/rippling of the water.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Gathered there was a crowd of sick-folk, blind ones, lame ones, and those with paralysis (lit. with a dead part of their body). They were waiting for the water to ripple.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “At the porches were many sick people. There were blind people, those who were lame and those who were paralyzed. They were waiting for the water to be disturbed.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on John 5:3 - 4

In Greek this verse begins with the pronominal phrase “in these,” which Good News Translation makes explicit as on the porches and New English Bible as “in these colonnades.”

Good News Translation takes sick people as a generic term, qualified by the specific terms the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed. The same exegesis is apparently followed by New English Bible, Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, and Phillips. It is possible to follow Revised Standard Version and others and take sick people as a specific category (“a multitude of invalids, blind, lame, paralyzed”). However, in Greek this term is very general (literally “those who were weak”), and it is better taken as a generic term followed by the specific types of illness.

A large crowd of sick people may be rendered “many, many sick people.”

Some languages may require an indication of the precise relation between the generic expression sick people and a more specific description of them as blind, lame, and paralyzed. One may say, for example, “These sick people included those who were blind, lame, and paralyzed.” Terms for these conditions may be rendered as negatives, for example, “they could not see, they could not walk, and they could not move.”

In Good News Translation the last half of verse 3 and all of verse 4 are included in a footnote, indicating that these verses do not appear in the earliest and best Greek manuscripts. It seems likely that this part of the text was added by some ancient scribe as a kind of marginal note, explaining why the sick people gathered about the pool and how they reacted when the water was stirred up (perhaps by an underground stream that flowed in from time to time). This explanation probably represents a popular belief held by the people of that day, that is, that the stirring up of the water was caused by an angel of the Lord, and that whoever should be the first sick person to go down into the pool after the water was stirred up was healed from whatever disease he had.

In addition to the fact that they are omitted from the best Greek manuscripts, verses 3b-4 offer serious textual problems.

In selecting a term for “moved” it is important to avoid the impression that the entire body of water moved. One may say, “part of the water moved.” In some languages the term employed suggests “some water flowed in.” In others the meaning is essentially equivalent to “some water.”

The temporal expression every now and then is indefinite in meaning, and in the receptor language an expression should be selected which is also indefinite. To do so is difficult in some languages, which demand a choice among expressions meaning “every few hours,” “every few days,” or “every few months.” If a choice is necessary, a translation suggesting “every few days” would probably be the most appropriate.

It may be difficult to say in some languages was healed from whatever disease he had. An equivalent may be “would get well, no matter what disease he had” or “got well, even if he had any kind of disease.”

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 5:3

5:3a

On these walkways lay a great number of the sick: The phrase On these means inside the porticoes. The people lay there by the pool day after day. It was their custom or habit. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

A large crowd of sick people were lying on the porches (Good News Translation)
-or-
Many disabled people lay in the huts

the sick: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the sick is a general term. Literally it says “weak ones,” referring to sick or disabled people, including the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed. Try to use a word that includes all these physical problems. For example:

disabled people

General Comment on 5:3a

In some languages it is more natural to reorder this clause. For example:

A great number of invalids used to lie on these porches.

5:3b

the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed: This phrase gives three examples of the invalids who were lying by the pool. In some languages it may be helpful to make this clear. For example:

Some were blind, others were lame, and others were paralyzed.

the lame: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as lame refers to people who could not walk, or walked with difficulty. Here is another way to translate this word:

People who could not walk well.

the paralyzed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as paralyzed refers to a person who could not move part of his body. It means “dry” or “withered.” Its meaning has some of the same meaning of the previous word, “lame.” Here is another way to translate this word:

withered (New American Standard Bible)

General Comment on 5:3a–b

In some languages it may be natural to combine 5:3a–b. For example:

Here a great number of disabled people, blind, lame, and paralyzed, used to lie.
-or-
Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. (New Living Translation (2004))

[[5:3c–4c]]

[[awaiting the moving of the waters. For from time to time an angel descended into the pool and stirred the water. As soon as it was stirred, the first to enter the pool would be healed of his disease.]]: These words are not in the earliest Greek manuscripts. They were probably added later to explain verse 7. The King James Version puts them in the text, the New American Standard Bible puts them inside square brackets [ ], and the Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English puts them in parentheses ( ). The other English translations do not include them. Some English translations like the Berean Standard Bible have a footnote indicating that some later Greek manuscripts include this section.

It is recommended that you do not include this section in the text. If you use footnotes, you may want to include them in a footnote. Brief notes are included here to help you translate them for the footnote. The translation is that of the Berean Standard Bible footnote.

5:3c

awaiting the moving of the waters: The invalids (sick and disabled people) watched the water to see if it would move in an unusual way. Here is another way to translate this phrase:

they were waiting for the water to move

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