Good News Translation takes the verb “cried out” in conjunction with the participle “saying” to have the combined force of he said in a loud voice. Some commentators point out that the verb “to cry out” is used in John’s Gospel to introduce solemn proclamations (1.15; 7.28,37; 12.44): Revised Standard Version therefore translates the Greek “cried out saying” as “Jesus proclaimed.” Jerusalem Bible (“He cried out”) carries essentially the same impact as Good News Translation, but New English Bible (“Jesus cried aloud as he taught in the temple”) and Moffatt (“so Jesus cried aloud, as he was teaching in the temple”) might imply to some readers that Jesus was actually crying while he taught in the Temple.
Do you really know me and know where I am from? is literally “And you know me and you know where I come from,” which may be either a statement or a question (there is no punctuation in the early Greek manuscripts). Most translations that render these words as a statement imply that Jesus agreed that the people did in fact know where he came from. Since Jesus suggests in the following verse that the people do not really know where he comes from, it seems best to translate these words as a question with a hint of sarcasm.
There may be some complication involved in the translation of the rhetorical question Do you really know me and know where I am from? In some languages such a question demands an immediate answer, which in this case would probably be “No, indeed.” If one transforms this question into a statement, it may be best introduced by such a phrase as “you think,” for example, “You think you really know me and know where I am from.”
On my own authority is the same expression used in 5.19,30; 7.17. I have not come on my own authority may be rendered in some languages “I did not send myself” or “I did not cause myself to come.”
He who sent me is a frequent Johannine formula, and it always refers to God the Father. In 7.16 Good News Translation makes explicit reference to God in this formula.
Truthful translates the same adjective rendered real in 1.9. In this verse it is probably equivalent to the adjective translated honest (Greek alēthēs) in verse 18, and so has the force of “faithful,” “reliable,” or “true.” Some take this adjective to have the force here that it normally has (see 1.9) and so translate “the One who truly is” (New English Bible) or “Him who is real” (Moffatt). Anchor (“there is truly One who sent me”) and Jerusalem Bible (“there is one who sent me and I really come from him”) take this adjective with an adverbial force. New American Bible translates “One who has the right to send.” As can be seen by the variety of translation, there are several options, and there is no unanimous agreement among commentators or translators as to the interpretation to be followed. It should be noted, however, that “reliable” or “truthful” (which also seems to be the basis for New American Bible rendering) at least makes some meaning in the context, whereas “real” is fairly meaningless. It is difficult to see why John would have used the adjective here with an adverbial force when he could easily have used an adverb. On the whole, the meaning suggested by Good News Translation appears to be best in keeping with the thought of this passage. This same Greek adjective is used in 3.33 and 8.26 with the meaning “true.”
In rendering He who sent me … is truthful, one may say “The one who sent me speaks the truth”; however, it is perhaps more satisfactory to emphasize the concept of faithfulness and reliability. Therefore, the statement may be rendered “You can fully trust the one who sent me” or “The one who sent me is one who can be trusted.”
In the statement You do not know him, both pronouns are emphatic. The inclusion of the separate form of the pronoun you, which is expressed in Greek by the verb suffix, makes it emphatic; and him is emphatic by reason of its position as the initial word in the clause. The force of know in this context is not merely “know about,” but “have some experience of,” for example, “You are not really acquainted with him” or even “You have no relation to him.” In a similar way, the first part of verse 29 may be rendered “but I am well acquainted with him.”
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 .
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