complete verse (John 7:49)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 7:49:

  • Uma: “Only the common people believe him, because they do not know the Law of Musa. May they be cursed!'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Those are the ones who believe in him, those crowds because they are ignorant as to what it says in the law of Musa. Therefore God’s wrath is on them.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “These many people who follow him, they don’t understand our law. They will be thrown into Hell,’ they said.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “As for those many-people who have believed, they know nothing about our law. In-the-future indeed (prophetic formula) God will punish them,’ they said.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “The only ones who believe-in/obey him are the mass of those common-folk who have no knowledge at all of our (incl.) laws. Isn’t it indeed so that as for those people, God has sworn to punish them?'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “But those people who believe in him do not know the law and they are the people who will be punished.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

law

The Greek, Hebrew, and Ge’ez that is translated in English as “Law” or “law” is translated in Mairasi as oro nasinggiei or “prohibited things” (source: Enggavoter 2004) and in Noongar with a capitalized form of the term for “words” (Warrinya) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

In Yucateco the phrase that is used for “law” is “ordered-word” (for “commandment,” it is “spoken-word”) (source: Nida 1947, p. 198) and in Central Tarahumara it is “writing-command.” (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)

In a 1922 translation into Chagatai, a precursor language of both Uzbek and Uighur, it is translated with the Arabic loan word shari’at (شريعت), originally meaning “(Islamic) law (Shari’a).” (Source: F. Erbay and F.N. Küçükballı in Acta Theologica 2025 45/2, p. 133ff. )

See also teaching / law (of God) (Japanese honorifics).

Translation commentary on John 7:49

This crowd is no doubt equivalent to the rabbinical phrase “the people of the land,” used to describe the masses of the people, as opposed to the “students of the law.” As a rule this expression had derogatory connotations.

The Law of Moses is literally “the Law.” It is extremely important that the reader be made to see that the religious law, not the law of the state, is referred to. Some translators try to make this information explicit by translating “law” with a capital “L,” but this device is of no help to those who only hear the Scripture read.

So they are under God’s curse is literally “they are under a curse,” but obviously God’s curse is referred to, and Good News Translation makes this information explicit. Other translations attempt to do this in other ways. Note, for example, New American Bible “they are lost anyway!”; Phillips “is damned anyway!”; Jerusalem Bible “they are damned.” It is important that the reader recognize that this curse is not imposed by the authorities or by the Pharisees, and that it is not such a curse as one experiences in voodoo, for example.

In order to render the term curse it is necessary in some languages to say “to cause people to be destroyed by God,” for when a person curses another, he calls upon God to destroy such an individual. It is, of course, impossible for God to curse in the sense of putting a person under God’s curse. The closest equivalent may simply be “God will destroy them anyway” or “God will cause them to perish.”

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 7:49

7:49a–b

But this crowd that does not know the law, they are under a curse: The Pharisees thought that they were much better than ordinary Jews and talked about them with scorn. They thought that the ordinary people only believed in Jesus because they were foolish and had little education. They said two things about ordinary people: (1) they were not educated about the law and (2) therefore God would punish them. Make sure that it is clear that the phrase this crowd and the plural pronoun they refer to the same people. It is good to imply that the curse is the result of not knowing the law. For example:

But these people, who know nothing about the law, are under God’s curse. (New Century Version)
-or-
But those people who believe in him do not know the law and they will be punished.

7:49a

But this crowd that does not know the law: The conjunction But introduces a contrast. None of the leaders believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but many of the common people did. In some languages it may be natural to make this point of contrast explicit. For example:

Those many people who believe, they know nothing about our law.
-or-
But those people who believe in him do not know the law

this crowd: The phrase this crowd refers to the people there in Jerusalem in general. The religious leaders did not respect the ordinary people because they were not educated. You may be able to show this by using a term here that shows a lack of respect. For example:

this mob (New International Version)
-or-
these common/ordinary/unimportant people

that does not know the law: This clause indicates that the Pharisees thought that the common people did not understand the law nearly as well as the leaders. The leaders exaggerated here, because all the Jewish people knew much of the law. But the leaders implied that because of their lack of knowledge, Jesus could deceive them.

Here are other ways to translate this clause:

who know nothing about the law (New Century Version)
-or-
they do not understand the law

the law: This phrase refers to the law of Moses. For example:

Moses’ Teachings (God’s Word)
-or-
the law of Moses (Good News Translation)

7:49b

they are under a curse: The clause they are under a curse indicates that the leaders believed that God was very angry with the ordinary Jewish people. God was so angry with them that he planned to destroy them. They were thinking of Deuteronomy 27:26, “Anyone will be cursed who does not agree with the words of these teachings and does not obey them.” (New Century Version)

This is a passive clause. There are at least three ways to translate it:

• Use a passive verb. For example:

they are damned (New Jerusalem Bible)

• Use an active verb. For example:

the law has cursed them
-or-
God has cursed them

• Use a noun. For example:

there is a curse on them (New International Version)
-or-
are under God’s curse (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
God’s curse is on them! (New Living Translation (2004))

under a curse: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as under a curse means the opposite of “blessed.” When God cursed someone, it meant that he judged him and decided that he would punish him. That person was then under a curse. In many places people will curse someone using magic. In your translation, avoid any reference to practices of magic or actions of witches. The idea in this verse is that God was angry with the people and would punish them.

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