complete verse (John 7:10)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 7:10:

  • Uma: “The relatives of Yesus did go to Yerusalem to attend the Feast of Huts there. In fact, Yesus also followed silently [i.e., without telling], but by himself so that the people did not know.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “When his brothers had left for that festival, not long after that, Isa also followed them going there. But he did not go with the crowds that’s why nobody knew about his going there.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “After his siblings had left going up to the feast, Jesus followed although he did not join himself to many people because he did not wish that it be known.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When his siblings/cousins had left to go attend-the-fiesta, Jesus then followed by-himself so that it would not become-known.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “After his siblings had left, before long Jesus then set out to go to the fiesta. But it’s like what he was doing was keeping-out-of-sight/avoiding-confrontation.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “After his brothers had gone to the celebration, also Jesus went to celebrate. He acted so that the people wouldn’t know he was there, going about unnoticed.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

oneself (go-jishin) (Japanese honorifics)

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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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God or a person or persons to be honored, the honorific prefix go- (御 or ご) can be used, as in go-jishin (ご自身), a combination of “onseself” (jishin) and the honorific prefix go-. This can also be used for other reflexive pronouns (myself, himself, yourself etc.)

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

Honorary "are" construct denoting God ("go")

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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 are (され) 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, ik-are-ru (行かれる) or “go” is used.

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

Translation commentary on John 7:10

Jesus also went is literally “he also went up.” The pronoun “he” of the Greek text obviously refers to Jesus.

But secretly follows the same Greek text that Revised Standard Version translates “but in private.” It is possible to follow other Greek manuscripts which read “but went—as it were in secret.” For example, New American Bible reads “as if in secret,” and Moffatt “as it were privately.” Phillips has “as though he did not want to be seen,” and New English Bible “almost in secret.” Actually, the best Greek manuscripts support the reading “as it were in secret.” However, it seems likely that some ancient scribe changed the text to read in this way to soften the force of secretly. The UBS Committee on the Greek text rates their choice as “D” indicating that there is a high degree of doubt concerning the reading selected for the text.

He did not go openly, but secretly may be rendered “he did not go in such a way that people would recognize him, but he went in such a way that people wouldn’t know who he was.”

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 7:10

Section 7:10–24

Jesus went to the Feast in Jerusalem

After Jesus stayed in Galilee a while, he went up quietly by himself. The crowds there disagreed about whether Jesus was a good man. He began to teach the people gathered at the temple and the Jewish leaders were amazed at his teaching. Jesus explained that his teaching came from God. Then he made them angry by saying that none of them kept the law.

Here are some other possible section headings:

Jesus began to teach at the festival of Booths
-or-
Jesus’ teaching came from God

Paragraph 7:10–13

Jesus went secretly to the festival. The Jewish leaders were watching for him so that they could accuse him and arrest him. Some of the people there thought that Jesus was good and others opposed him.

7:10a

But: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But marks a contrast with the previous verse. Jesus did in fact go to the festival, but not at that time. He went in private and after his brothers had left. Here is another way to translate this word:

However (New International Version)

after His brothers had gone up to the feast: Jesus’ brothers left Galilee without him and traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate the festival. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

when his brothers had gone up to the feast (NET Bible Bible)
-or-
after his brothers left for the festival (New Living Translation (2004))

the feast: The phrase the feast refers to the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles. See how you translated this term in 7:2.

7:10b

He also went: The pronoun He refers to Jesus. Jesus went to the festival, as well as his brothers, but he went later. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

then Jesus also went to the feast
-or-
then Jesus himself also went up (NET Bible Bible)

not publicly: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as not publicly means “without letting people see him.” Jesus did not tell people he was going or take a large group of followers with him. He went quietly and secretly. Here is another way to translate this phrase:

without telling anyone (Contemporary English Version)

but in secret: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as but in secret indicates that Jesus traveled without telling people who he was. He did not want to attract attention by having many people follow him.

There is a textual issue here.

(1) Most Greek manuscripts have words that New Revised Standard Version translates as “as it were.” However, only a few English translations follow these manuscripts. For example:

but as if, in secret (New American Standard Bible)

(New American Standard Bible, New Revised Standard Version, King James Version)

(2) Some Greek manuscripts do not have the words that the New Revised Standard Version translates as “as it were.” Most English translations follow these manuscripts. For example:

but secretly (New Jerusalem Bible)

(Berean Standard Bible, NET Bible Bible, English Standard Version, New International Version, Contemporary English Version, Good News Translation, New Century Version, New Living Translation (2004), Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised Standard Version, God’s Word)

It is recommended that you follow option (1). It has the support of most Greek manuscripts, even though most English translations do not follow it. Scholars have decided that the words were probably part of the original Greek text, although they are not very sure. So if major language translations in your area follow option (2), you may follow that option instead.

General Comment on 7:10b

The phrases “not publicly” and “in secret” are parallel. They mean the same thing, and in some languages it is more natural to combine them. For example:

Jesus went also. But he did not let people see him. (New Century Version)

General Comment on 7:10a–b

In some languages it is more natural to reverse the order of 7:10a and 7:10b. For example:

10b However, Jesus went up to the feast quietly and in private 10a after his brothers left.

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