Translation commentary on John 6:42

New American Bible attempts to reproduce the force of the Greek imperfect (Good News Translation said) by translating “kept saying.”

In translating the Greek rhetorical question, Good News Translation attempts to structure it so that the reader will understand the expected answer to be “Yes.”

The adverb now (Greek nun) appears in some Greek manuscripts, while in others the particle oun appears. The adverb now does seem clumsy in the Greek sentence structure. Perhaps for this reason some ancient scribes omitted it and others changed it to oun. The UBS Committee on the Greek text concludes that nun (now) is an original part of the Greek text, though evaluating its decision as a “C” choice. Most modern translations include now; New American Bible omits it.

In Greek the last part of this sentence appears as direct discourse, “I have come down from heaven”; Good News Translation renders it as indirect discourse, he came down from heaven, thus avoiding a quotation within a quotation and simplifying the English sentence structure.

How, then introduces an objection. Compare the objection of Nicodemus: How can this be? (3.9). In some languages a similar expression should be used here also, for example, “How then is he able now to say?” or “How is it possible that he can now say?”

The Greek word order is changed in translation. In Greek the phrase from heaven actually precedes the verb came down, placing the adverbial phrase in the emphatic position.

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 6:42

6:42a

They were asking: The tense of the Greek verb used here indicates one of two things. Either the people said this more than once, or more than one person said it.

Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?: This is a rhetorical question. They used it to make a statement. The people were saying that they knew who Jesus was and who Jesus’ parents were. So they implied that he could not have come from heaven.

Here are some ways to translate this rhetorical question:

• Use a rhetorical question. For example:

Isn’t he Jesus, the son of Joseph? Don’t we know his father and mother? (Contemporary English Version)

• Use a statement or statements. For example:

This is Jesus, the son of Joseph. We know his father and mother. (New Century Version)

• Use a statement and a rhetorical question. For example:

Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother. (New Living Translation (2004))

Translate this rhetorical question in a way that is natural in your language.

whose father and mother we know: The word whose here refers to Jesus. The people knew Joseph and Mary, who were Jesus’ parents. In your translation, make sure that this is clear. A literal translation may suggest that the people knew Joseph’s mother and father. To avoid this wrong meaning, it may be necessary to start a new sentence, as in the Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, and New Living Translation (2004) examples above.

6:42b

How then can He say, ‘I have come down from heaven?’: This is a rhetorical question. The Jews used it to disagree with what Jesus said. They were saying that Jesus should not say that he came from heaven. They thought that his statement was false. There are two ways to translate this rhetorical question:

• Use a rhetorical question. For example:

How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven?’ (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
How can it be true that he has come down from heaven?

• Use a statement. For example:

So he cannot say, ‘I have come down from heaven.’
-or-
We (incl.) cannot believe him when he says that he came down from heaven.

then: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as then here introduces a logical conclusion to 6:42a. The speakers know Jesus’ parents, and therefore he should not claim to come from heaven. Many English translations do not translate this word explicitly. Introduce this conclusion in a way that is natural in your language. For example:

So how can he say…?

from heaven: The Jewish people sometimes said heaven as a way to show reverence when speaking about God. Heaven is where God lives. The Greek text emphasizes this phrase. See Key Biblical Terms Heaven, Sky 2A and the note on 6:31b.

General Comment on 6:42b

This sentence contains a quote inside a quote. In some languages it may be natural to use indirect speech for the quotation of Jesus’ words. For example:

How can he say that he has come down from heaven? (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
He should not say that he came down from God/heaven.

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