Translation commentary on John 6:40

What my Father wants is that is literally “this is the will of my Father, that” which represents a Greek clause structure similar to the one in the preceding verse. Good News Translation not only restructures the clause; it also transforms the noun phrase “the will of my Father” into a verb phrase, what my Father wants. Again, the reason for this restructuring is to achieve a more natural expression in English.

Both verses 39 and 40 stipulate the will of God; verse 40 simply amplifies what is already in verse 39.

To see the Son and to believe in him are parallel in meaning, as are the phrases comes to me and believes in me of verse 35. In 12.45 Jesus says “Whoever sees me, also sees him who sent me.”

The Greek verb which is translated see in this verse includes an element of concentration. Here it is clear that understanding, and not mere vision, is meant, since eternal life is promised to all who see the Son. Earlier in the chapter, however, the same Greek verb was used of a seeing which did not lead to understanding: The disciples … saw Jesus walking on the water…, and they were terrified (6.19).

The switch from the third person reference to the Son to the first person I should be noted; in the final sentence the I is emphatic. Though in some languages it is possible to preserve the shift from third person to first person, in others it cannot be done without considerable confusion. In fact, it may be necessary to use the first person reference throughout this passage. Therefore, what my Father wants may be restructured as “he wants everyone who recognizes me as God’s Son and believes in me to have eternal life.”

In Greek them is singular (“him”). Good News Translation translates as plural, in keeping with the first part of the verse, where the Greek “everyone who” becomes all who.

The concept of eternal life has been discussed (see 1.4; 3.15).

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 6:40

6:40a–b

For it is My Father’s will: As in 6:38 and 6:39, it may be natural to translate the noun will as a verb. For example:

For what my Father wants is (Good News Translation)
-or-
This is what my Father wants. (Contemporary English Version)

For: This Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible and most English translations translate literally as For means “because.” Verse 40 can be understood as a reason for verse 39. You should introduce this clause in a way that is natural in your language.

that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life: The phrase the Son refers to Jesus himself, the speaker. You may want to make that clearer in your translation. For example:

that all who see me, the Son, and believe in me may have eternal life
-or-
that all who believe when they see me, the Son, may have eternal life

looks to the Son and believes in Him: In this context the phrase looks to the Son means to turn to or come to the Son in faith. See 6:35b, where “comes” is used in a similar way. So looks to and believes in Him are here parallel, which means that they have similar meanings.

The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as looks to here is a different word from what was in 6:36. The word used here means “to look at or examine something.” It can imply that one then understands or knows what one looks at. Here is another way to translate this word:

that all who know/understand who I am and who believe in me

the Son: This phrase is a short form of “the Son of God,” which is a title for Jesus. This title indicates that Jesus has the same nature and character as God. It also indicates that the relationship between God the Father and Jesus, his Son, is similar in some way to the relationship between human fathers and sons. God the Father does not have a physical body. He did not have a sexual relationship that resulted in Mary becoming pregnant and giving birth to Jesus.

See how you translated this phrase at 5:19. For further information, see the note on the phrase “the Son of God” at 1:34.

believes in Him: This phrase includes the idea of believing the facts about who Jesus was 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 phrase in 1:12, 6:29, and 6:35c.

Here are other ways to translate this idea:

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

shall have eternal life: The word eternal refers to something that does not end. The phrase eternal life refers to the new spiritual life that God gives us when we believe in Jesus. This life will never end. See the note at 3:15 and how you translated this phrase there and in 6:27b.

Here are some other ways to translate this whole phrase:

may have forever life ⌊from God⌋
-or-
may have ⌊spiritual⌋ life that never ends
-or-
may live forever ⌊with God⌋

6:40c

and I will raise him up at the last day: As in 6:39c, this refers to Jesus raising to life those who have died physically (see also 5:28–29). In some languages it may be natural to translate this as a separate sentence. For example:

I will raise them up at the last day. (New Living Translation (2004))

I: Jesus changed from talking about himself using the third person (“the Son”) to using first person here. The Greek text emphasizes the word I. You may want to emphasize the word if it is natural in your language. For example:

I Myself will raise him up on the last day (New American Standard Bible)

raise…up: This is the same verb as in 6:39c, and you should probably translate it the same way in both verses.

the last day: As in 6:39c, this refers to the end of the world when Jesus will judge everyone. However, it is also the day when Jesus will raise his people, which is what Jesus was talking about here.

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