The Greek in John 6:60 that is translated as “difficult teaching” or “hard saying” or alike in English is translated as “speaking that which is unclean” in Aguaruna, “words that hurt” in Umiray Dumaget Agta, “difficult words” in Yatzachi Zapotec, or “perplexing talk” in Alekano. (Source: John Beekman in Notes on Translation 12, November 1964, p. 1ff.)
The English translation by Pakaluk (2021) has offensive language. He4 explains (p. 78f.): Sometimes translated as ‘This is a hard saying,’ but the word rendered ‘hard’ means dry, tough, and rough — thus, by implication, repulsive — and it is not any ‘saying’ that repels them, but the teaching itself.”
The Greek that is often translated as “disciple” in English typically follows three types of translation: (1) those which employ a verb ‘to learn’ or ‘to be taught’, (2) those which involve an additional factor of following, or accompaniment, often in the sense of apprenticeship, and (3) those which imply imitation of the teacher.
Following are some examples (click or tap for details):
Toraja-Sa’dan: “child (i.e., follower) of the master”
Indonesian: “pupil” (also used in many Slavic languages, including Russian [ученик], Bulgarian [учени́к], Ukrainian [учень], or Polish [uczeń] — source: Paul Amara)
Waorani: “one who lives following Jesus” (source: Wallis 1973, p. 39)
Ojitlán Chinantec: “learner” (Source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
Javanese: “pupil” or “companion” (“a borrowing from Arabic that is a technical term for Mohammed’s close associates”)
Cherokee: “those by whom one is followed” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 23)
German: Jünger or “younger one” (source for this and one above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999): Jüngerinnen und Jünger or “female and male disciples.” Note that Berger/Nord only use that translation in many cases in the gospel of Luke, “because especially according to Luke (see 8:1–3), women were part of the extended circle of disciples” (see p. 452 and looked up at his disciples).
Noongar: ngooldjara-kambarna or “friend-follow” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
French 1985 translation by Chouraqui: adept or “adept” (as in a person who is skilled or proficient at something). Watson (2023, p. 48ff.) explains (click or tap here to see more):
[Chouraqui] uses the noun “adept,” which is as uncommon in French as it is in English. It’s an evocative choice on several levels. First, linguistically, it derives — via the term adeptus — from the Latin verb adipiscor, “to arrive at; to reach; to attain something by effort or striving.” It suggests those who have successfully reached the goal of their searching, and implies a certain struggle or process of learning that has been gradually overcome. But it’s also a term with a very particular history: in the Middle Ages, “adept” was used in the world of alchemy, to describe those who, after years of labor and intensive study, claimed to have discovered the Great Secret (how to turn base metals like lead into gold); it thus had the somewhat softened meaning of “someone who is completely skilled in all the secrets of their field.”
Historians of religion often use the term adept with reference to the ancient mystery religions that were so prevalent in the Mediterranean in the centuries around the time of Jesus. An adept was someone who, through a series of initiatory stages, had penetrated into the inner, hidden mysteries of the religion, who understood its rituals, symbols, and their meaning. To be an adept implied a lengthy and intensive master-disciple relationship, gradually being led further and further into the secrets of the god or goddess (Isis-Osiris, Mithras, Serapis, Hermes, etc.) — secrets that were never to be revealed to an outsider.
Is “adept” a suitable category in which to consider discipleship as we see it described in the Gospels? On some levels, the link is an attractive one, drawing both upon the social-religious framework of the ancient Mediterranean, and upon certain aspects of intimacy and obscurity/secrecy that we see in the relationship of Jesus and those who followed him. The idea that disciples are “learners” — people who are “on the way” — and that Jesus is portrayed as (and addressed as) their Master/Teacher is accurate. But the comparison is unsatisfactory on several other levels.
First, the Gospels portray Jesus’s ministry as a largely public matter — there is relatively little of the secrecy and exclusiveness that is normally associated with both the mystery cults and medieval alchemy. Jesus’s primary message is not destined for a small, elite circle of “initiates” — although the Twelve are privy to explanations, experiences and teachings that are not provided to “the crowds.” For example, in Matthew 13:10-13:
Then the disciples came and asked him, “Why do you speak to [the crowds] in parables?” He answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.’”
Etymologically, adeptus suggests someone who “has arrived,” who has attained a superior level of understanding reserved for very few. However, what we see in the Gospels, repeatedly, is a general lack of comprehension of many of Jesus’s key teachings by many of those who hear him. Many of his more cryptic sayings would have been virtually incomprehensible in their original context, and would only make sense in retrospect, in the wake of the events of Jesus’s passion, death, and resurrection. The intense master-student relationship is also lacking: the Gospels largely portray “the disciples” as a loose (and probably fluctuating) body of individuals, with minimal structure or cohesion. Finally, there seems to be little scholarly consensus about the degree to which the mystery cults had made inroads in Roman-ruled Palestine during the decades of Jesus’s life. According to Everett Ferguson in his Backgrounds of Early Christianity.
Although Christianity had points of contact with Stoicism, the mysteries, the Qumran community, and so on, the total worldview was often quite different….So far as we can tell, Christianity represented a new combination for its time…. At the beginning of the Christian era a number of local mysteries, some of great antiquity, flourished in Greece and Asia Minor. In the first century A.D. the vonly mysteries whose extension may be called universal were the mysteries of Dionysus and those of the eastern gods, especially Isis.
And Norman Perrin and Dennis C. Duling note, in their book The New Testament:
Examples of such mystery religions could be found in Greece… Asia Minor… Syria-Palestine… Persia… and Egypt. Though the mysteries had sacred shrines in these regions, many of them spread to other parts of the empire, including Rome. There is no clearly direct influence of the mysteries on early Christianity, but they shared a common environment and many non-Christians would have perceived Christians as members of an oriental Jewish mystery cult.56
Given the sparse archaeological and literary evidence from this period regarding mystery cults in Roman Palestine, and the apparent resistance of many Palestinian Jews to religious syncretism, Chouraqui’s use of the noun adept implies a comparison between the historical Jesus and mystery cults that is doubtful, on both the levels of chronology and religious culture. Personally, I believe this choice suggests a vision of Jesus that distances him from the religious world of ancient Judaism, thus creating a distorted view of what spiritually inspired him. But the idea of the disciples as “learners” on a journey (as the Greek term suggests) is a striking one to consider; certainly, the Gospels show us the Twelve as people who are growing, learning, and developing…but who have not yet “arrived” at the fullness of their vocation.
Scot McKnight (in The Second Testament, publ. 2023) translates it into English as apprentice.
In Luang several terms with different shades of meaning are being used.
For Mark 2:23 and 3:7: maka nwatutu-nwaye’a re — “those that are taught” (“This is the term used for ‘disciples’ before the resurrection, while Jesus was still on earth teaching them.”)
For Acts 9:1 and 9:10: makpesiay — “those who believe.” (“This is the term used for believers and occasionally for the church, but also for referring to the disciples when tracking participants with a view to keeping them clear for the Luang readers. Although Greek has different terms for ‘believers’, ‘brothers’, and ‘church’, only one Luang word can be used in a given episode to avoid confusion. Using three different terms would imply three different sets of participants.”)
For Acts 6:1: mak lernohora Yesus wniatutunu-wniaye’eni — “those who follow Jesus’ teaching.” (“This is the term used for ‘disciples’ after Jesus returned to heaven.”)
Source: Kathy Taber in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 9-16.
In American Sign Language it is translated with a combination of the signs for “following” plus the sign for “group.” (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“disciples” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
In British Sign Language a sign is used that depicts a group of people following one person (the finger in the middle, signifying Jesus). Note that this sign is only used while Jesus is still physically present with his disciples. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Disciple in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
Following are a number of back-translations of John 6:60:
Uma: “When they heard those words of Yesus many of his followers said: ‘Ah! That teaching is very hard. Who will be able to follow it!'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Many of Isa’s disciples heard this teaching of his and they said, ‘Really this teaching of his goes too far. Nobody can endure to listen-to/obey that.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when his disciples heard this teaching of his, many of them said, ‘This teaching of his is hard to accept. Who in the world can obey this?'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “When those who had been going-with him heard what he was saying, many of them said, ‘This that he teaches is overly difficult! Probably no one will believe that.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “When those being taught by Jesus heard, many of them said, ‘These sayings are heavy ones. Who could consent to them?'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “When they heard the word Jesus taught, many of the people who were following Jesus said, ‘This word that he speaks is hard to understand. How ever can someone understand what he says?'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
God transcends gender, but most languages are limited to grammatical gender expressed in pronouns. In the case of English, this is traditionally confined to “he” (or in the forms “his,” “him,” and “himself”), “she” (and “her,” “hers,” and “herself”), and “it” (and “its” and “itself”).
Modern Mandarin Chinese, however, offers another possibility. Here, the third-person singular pronoun is always pronounced the same (tā), but it is written differently according to its gender (他 is “he,” 她 is “she,” and 它/牠 is “it” and their respective derivative forms). In each of these characters, the first (or upper) part defines the gender (man, woman, or thing/animal), while the second element gives the clue to its pronunciation.
In 1930, after a full century with dozens of Chinese translations, Bible translator Wang Yuande (王元德) coined a new “godly” pronoun: 祂. Chinese readers immediately knew how to pronounce it: tā. But they also recognized that the first part of that character, signifying something spiritual, clarified that each person of the Trinity has no gender aside from being God.
While the most important Protestant and Catholic Chinese versions respectively have opted not to use 祂, some Bible translations do and it is widely used in hymnals and other Christian materials. Among the translations that use 祂 to refer to “God” were early versions of Lü Zhenzhong’s (呂振中) version (New Testament: 1946, complete Bible: 1970). R.P. Kramers (in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 152ff. ) explains why later versions of Lü’s translation did not continue with this practice: “This new way of writing ‘He,’ however, has created a minor problem of its own: must this polite form be used whenever Jesus is referred to? Lü follows the rule that, wherever Jesus is referred to as a human being, the normal tā (他) is written; where he is referred to as divine, especially after the ascension, the reverential tā (祂) is used.”
In that system, one kind of pronoun is used for humans (male and female alike) and others for natural elements, non-liquid masses, and some spiritual entities (one other is used for large animals and another one for miscellaneous items). While in these languages the pronoun for spiritual entities used to be employed when referring to God, this has changed into the use of the human pronoun.
Lynell Zogbo (in The Bible Translator 1989, p. 401ff. ) explains: “From informal discussions with young Christians especially, it would appear that, at least for some people, the experience and/or concepts of Christianity are affecting the choice of pronoun for God. Some people explain that God is no longer ‘far away,’ but is somehow tangible and personal. For these speakers God has shifted over into the human category.”
In Kouya, God (the Father) and Jesus are referred to with the human pronoun ɔ, whereas the Holy Spirit is referred to with a non-human pronoun. (Northern Grebo and Western Krahn make a similar distinction.)
Eddie Arthur, a former Kouya Bible translation consultant, says the following: “We tried to insist that this shouldn’t happen, but the Kouya team members were insistent that the human pronoun for the Spirit would not work.”
In Burmese, the pronoun ko taw (ကိုယ်တော်) is used either as 2nd person (you) or 3rd person (he, him, his) reference. “This term clearly has its root in the religious language in Burmese. No ordinary persons are addressed or known by this pronoun because it is reserved for Buddhist monks, famous religious teachers, and in the case of Christianity, the Trinity.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 202ff. )
In Thai, the pronoun phra`ong (พระองค์) is used, a gender-neutral pronoun which must refer to a previously introduced royal or divine being. Similarly, in Northern Khmer, which is spoken in Thailand, “an honorific divine pronoun” is used for the pronoun referring to the persons of the Trinity (source: David Thomas in The Bible Translator 1993, p. 445 ). In Urak Lawoi’, another language spoken in Thailand, the translation often uses tuhat (ตูฮัด) — “God” — ”as a divine pronoun where Thai has phra’ong even though it’s actually a noun.” (Source for Thai and Urak Lawoi’: Stephen Pattemore)
The English “Contemporary Torah” addresses the question of God and gendered pronouns by mostly avoiding pronouns in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (unless God is referred to as “lord,” “father,” “king,” or “warrior”). It does that by either using passive constructs (“He gave us” vs. “we were given”), by using the adjective “divine” or by using “God” rather than a pronoun.
Some Protestant and Orthodox English Bibles use a referential capitalized spelling when referring to the persons of the Trinity with “He,” “His,” “Him,” or “Himself.” This includes for instance the New American Standard Bible or The Orthodox New Testament, but most translations do not. Two other languages where this is also done (in most Bible translations) are Twents as well as Indonesian and Malay. In the latter two languages this follows the language usage according to the Qur’an, which in turn predicts that usage (see Soesilo in The Bible Translator 1991, p. 442ff. and The Bible Translator 1997, p. 433ff. ).
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
The same Greek verb appears twice in this verse; the first time it is translated heard (so also most other translations), and the second time listen to (so also Revised Standard Version and New English Bible). Moffatt translates “hard to take in,” New American Bible “hard to endure,” and Jerusalem Bible and Phillips “accept.” In the Greek text heard is actually an aorist participle (Revised Standard Version “when they heard”; New English Bible “on hearing”), which Good News Translation makes into a finite verb parallel with the verb said.
Verse 24 implies that Jesus’ discourse was delivered to the crowd, while verse 41 reveals that “the Jews” (Good News Translationthe people) were also present. Evidently John intends his readers to understand that Jesus’ disciples were also present. Verse 66-67 indicate that his followers include a much larger group than the twelve disciples. (See, for example, Luke 10.1.)
The antecedent of this (in the construction heard this) is not clearly marked, but it is perhaps best understood either as a reference to the entire discourse concerning the bread of life (beginning with verse 25) or to the closing words of the discourse (53-58).
This teaching is too hard is more literally rendered in Revised Standard Version “This is a hard saying.” Moffatt (“This is hard to take in!”) and New American Bible (“This sort of talk is hard to endure!”) are similar. Jerusalem Bible, in a rather high level of language, has “This is intolerable language,” while New English Bible sounds colloquial, “This is more than we can stomach!” The adjective too hard was originally used of physical objects and meant “hard” or “rough.” In the present context it has the meaning “difficult to accept” rather than “difficult to understand.”
It (in the construction listen to it) may be either neuter (as in Good News Translation and most other translations) or masculine, “him.” Most translators have “it,” while New English Bible has “such talk.”
Who can listen to it does not mean that Jesus’ words cannot be heard but that it is impossible to comprehend what he is saying. One may therefore translate this final question “Who is able to agree with what he is trying to say?” Jesus’ teaching is unacceptable (This teaching is too hard) precisely because it is not in accord with the people’s expectations.
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 .
This section describes Jesus’ followers dividing into groups. Many of them rejected Jesus’ teaching that he was the bread of life, and they stopped following him. But the twelve (12) apostles, with Simon Peter speaking for them, understood that Jesus brought them true words from God that give life.
Here are other possible titles for this section:
Simon Peter recognized that Jesus had the words of eternal life -or-
Many of Jesus’ followers stopped following him
Paragraph 6:60–65
13:1–20
Jesus washed his disciples’ feet
13:21–30
Jesus predicted that someone would betray him
13:31–35
Jesus gave a new commandment
13:36–38
Jesus predicted that Peter would deny him
14:1–14
Jesus is the way to the Father
14:15–31
Jesus promised the Holy Spirit
15:1–17
Jesus is the true vine
15:18–16:4b
The world would hate the disciples
16:4c–15
Jesus would send the Holy Spirit
16:16–24
The disciples’ sadness would become joy
16:25–33
Jesus had defeated the world
17:1–26
Jesus prayed to his Father
18:1–11
The authorities arrested Jesus
18:12–14
The soldiers and police took Jesus to the high priest
18:15–18
Peter denied Jesus
18:19–24
The high priest questioned Jesus
18:25–27
Peter denied Jesus again
18:28–19:16a
Pilate investigated Jesus and decided that he should die
19:16b–27
Soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross
19:28–30
Jesus died on the cross
19:31–37
A soldier put a spear in Jesus’ side
19:38–42
Jesus’ body was put in a tomb
20:1–10
Jesus’ body was not in the tomb
20:11–18
Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene
20:19–23
Jesus appeared to the disciples
20:24–29
Jesus appeared to Thomas
20:30–31
John wrote this book so that people would believe and have life
21:1–14
Jesus appeared to his disciples in Galilee
21:15–19
Jesus restored
21:20–25
Peter asked about the disciple that Jesus loved
Section 13:1–20
Jesus washed his disciples’ feet
Beginning in this section, Jesus ate supper with the disciples for the last time. First he washed their feet as an example of loving service.
Here are some other possible section headings:
Jesus washed his disciples’ feet at the last supper -or-
Jesus set an example by washing feet -or-
Jesus served his disciples by washing their feet
Paragraph 13:1
This paragraph gives background information for the next event in the story. It tells the time of the event and describes Jesus’ thoughts.
13:1a
It was now just before the Passover Feast: This phrase introduces the next event in the story by indicating that it happened immediately before the Passover Feast.
Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
It was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast (New Century Version) -or-
The Jewish people would soon celebrate Passover. -or-
The Passover feast/celebration would begin very soon.
It was now: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible has translated as now often introduces a new event. Introduce this next event in a way that is natural in your language. For example:
Then
just before the Passover Feast: This phrase indicates that Jesus knew that his hour had come before Passover began. The Passover would begin at sunset and the meal that is mentioned beginning in 13:2 is a Passover meal. So this verse begins just before the Passover began. For example:
It was just before the Passover Festival. (New International Version) -or-
It was almost time for the Passover Feast. (New Century Version)
the Passover Feast: This phrase refers to a feast that the Jewish people celebrated each year. They remembered how God rescued their ancestors from being slaves in Egypt. God went to kill the first-born sons of the Egyptians so that they would allow the Jews to leave Egypt. The term Passover refers to the fact that God passed over (did not enter) the houses of the Jews. That means that he did not harm their sons.
See the story in Exodus 12. Translate this phrase as you did in 2:13 and 12:1. For example:
the Passover celebration (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
the Death did not Harm Us Festival -or-
the Rescue Feast
13:1b
and Jesus knew that His hour had come: Jesus knew that it was now the time he had been waiting for. It was the time for him to die for his people, as he had come into the world to do. See the notes on 2:4b. It may not be natural to translate the verb come literally. For example:
Jesus knew that it was time for him (New Century Version) -or-
Jesus understood that this was the time for him
knew: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as knew is more literally “having known,” meaning that Jesus already knew. He did not just realize that his hour had come (see 12:23, 27). If your readers wrongly understand that Jesus just realized this, you may need to make it clear that he knew before. For example:
already knew
His hour had come: This clause here indicates that the time for Jesus to die had come. The next day, Jesus would be killed. He would not die in the next 60 minutes, as the word hour might imply. So in some languages it may be natural to use a more general word. For example:
his time had come (NET Bible)
13:1c
to leave this world: This phrase indicates that Jesus would no longer live on earth with his disciples. Jesus would soon die and return to his Father. The Berean Standard Bible translates the Greek word literally as leave. Here is another way to translate this phrase:
to depart from this world (New Revised Standard Version)
and return to the Father: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and return to the Father is more literally “to the Father.” The Berean Standard Bible has supplied the verb return. In some languages it may not be natural or necessary to supply a verb here. For example:
to depart from this world to the Father (NET Bible)
This is where Jesus had been before. So in some languages it may be natural to say:
return to his Father -or-
go back to the Father (God’s Word)
the Father: This phrase refers to God, Jesus’ Father. See the notes on “The Father loves the Son” in 3:35a. In some languages it may be natural to make it clearer whom this phrase refers to. For example:
his Father (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
his Father ⌊God⌋
General Comment on 13:1b–c
The “hour” mentioned in 13:1b refers to the time when Jesus was to leave the world (13:1c). Make this connection clear in a way that is natural in your language. For example:
Jesus knew that his hour had come and that he must leave this world and go the Father (Revised English Bible) -or-
Jesus knew that his time had come to depart from this world to the Father (NET Bible) -or-
Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go back to the Father. (God’s Word)
13:1d
Having loved His own who were in the world: Jesus had loved his disciples during his ministry and he still loved them. The phrase Having loved implies that Jesus had always loved his own and that he continued to do so. For example:
He had always loved his own who were in the world… (Revised English Bible)
loved: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as loved here refers both to having a strong affection and to showing love in action. Jesus cared deeply for his disciples and he continued to act for their welfare and blessing.
His own who were in the world: This phrase refers to Jesus’ disciples, those who followed him on earth. They were His own in the sense that God had given them to him, and they loved and obeyed and followed him. Avoid translating this in a way that suggests they belonged to Jesus as his slaves. For example:
his followers in this world (Contemporary English Version)
13:1e
He loved them to the very end: There are two ways to interpret the phrase to the very end here:
(1) It means to the end of his life.
(Berean Standard Bible, Good News Translation, English Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, NET Bible, God’s Word, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, New Jerusalem Bible, NET Bible, NIV2011, NLT2004)
(2) It means “completely,” to the full extent. For example:
he now showed them the full extent of his love (New International Version (1984)) (New International Version (1984), New Living Translation (1996))
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This is the interpretation followed by the great majority of English translations, and it suits the context well. Jesus understood that he had come to the end of his life on earth. Knowing this, he continued to love and show love to his followers. His death for them showed that.
General Comment on 13:1
In the Greek text John 13:1 forms one long sentence. Here is one translation that does the same:
Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. (English Standard Version)
In many languages it will be natural to break this sentence into two or three shorter sentences. For example:
Just before the Passover feast, Jesus knew that his time had come to depart from the world to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now loved them to the very end. (NET Bible) -or-
It was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast. Jesus knew that it was time for him to leave this world and go back to the Father. He had always loved those who were his own in the world, and he loved them all the way to the end. (New Century Version)
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