judge vs. condemn

The Greek terms krino and katakrino/katadikazo that are translated as “judge” and “condemn” respectively in English are translated with only one term in Kutu (tagusa). (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

See also do not condemn.

complete verse (John 8:15)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 8:15:

  • Uma: “You sit-in-judgment of cases according to the thoughts of men. Me, I do not sit-in-judgment of the cases of anyone.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “You, if you judge people, that is what you follow, the thinking of mankind only. I,’ said Isa, ‘I do not judge people.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “If you investigate a person, your judgment is not reliable, because your judgment is just earthly thinking, as for me, I do not judge anyone.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The way moreover that you judge me, it is mistaken because it is based on what you are able-to-see. As for me by-contrast, I judge no one.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “You judge in harmony with man’s judgment, but as for me, there’s no-one at all whom I am judging.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “You make judgments just like the people of the world do. I don’t make judgment on anyone.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

formal pronoun: Jesus addressing religious leaders

Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.

As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator 2002, p. 210ff. ), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.

Here, Jesus is addressing religious leaders with the formal pronoun, showing respect. Compare that with the typical address with the informal pronoun of the religious leaders.

The only two exceptions to this are Luke 7:40/43 and 10:26 where Jesus uses the informal pronoun as a response to the sycophantic use of the formal pronoun by the religious leaders (see formal pronoun: religious leaders addressing Jesus).

In most Dutch translations, the same distinctions are made, with the exception of Luke 10:26 where Jesus is using the formal pronoun. In Afrikaans and Western Frisian the informal pronoun is used throughout.

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

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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 Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

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

See also pronoun for “God”.

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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 choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

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

Translation commentary on John 8:15

The pronoun you is emphatic.

In a purely human way is literally “according to the flesh.” Phillips and Jerusalem Bible translate “by human standards”; New English Bible “by worldly standards”; and New American Bible “according to appearances.” “According to the flesh” is a term found frequently in Paul’s writings. It is used only here by John; no other New Testament writer uses it. In 7.24 Jesus had warned the crowd not to judge by external standards. It may be that in a purely human way and by external standards are very close. The first throws emphasis on what something seems to be, while the second phrase stresses the subjective aspect of the person making the judgment. That is, he judges as he does because he is “flesh” and not God, and his judgments are therefore neither adequate nor valid. In a purely human way may be rendered “following people’s customs” or “in the way in which people generally judge” or “in the way in which people usually condemn others.”

Many believe that Jesus’ words I pass judgment on no one prompted the addition of the story of the woman caught in adultery. Elsewhere Jesus says he does judge (9.39), and the very heart of the Gospel of John is to proclaim to the world that it is judged in the light of who Jesus is. However, there is no essential contradiction in the truth stated here. Jesus is merely stating in another way his perfect unity with the Father. Thus any judgment that Jesus makes is not made on his own, as though in a purely human way; rather, it is a judgment made on the basis of his absolute relationship with God. So then, any judgment that Jesus makes actually originates from God.

Usually in translating I pass judgment on no one, it is useful to employ a neutral word of “judging.” However, in this particular context it is possible to employ a term which may suggest primarily “condemning,” that is, “I am not condemning anyone.”

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 8:15

General Comment on 8:14a–c

In some languages it may be necessary to reorder the clauses in this verse. For example:

I know where I came from and where I will go. Therefore my testimony is valid even though I testify about myself. You, however, do not know where I came from nor where I will go.

8:15a

You judge according to the flesh: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as according to the flesh refers to judging in a worldly way or by the way things look, without God’s help. For example:

You judge by worldly standards. (Revised English Bible)
-or-
You make judgments in a purely human way. (Good News Translation)
-or-
You people judge by outward appearances. (NET Bible Bible)

You: The Greek text emphasizes the pronoun You. The word is plural and refers to the religious leaders. In some languages it is more natural to make this explicit. For example:

You religious leaders

judge: The verb judge means “decide if someone is right or wrong.” Jesus criticized the religious leaders by saying that they did not judge correctly.

8:15b

I judge no one: The Greek text that the Berean Standard Bible translates as I judge no one is more literally “I do not judge anyone.” Jesus contrasted himself with the Pharisees who judged according to the flesh. The Greek text emphasizes the words “I” and “anyone” as a way to emphasize the contrast.

The word judge is in the present tense. Jesus did not say that he would never judge, but that he did not judge at that time. Be careful to translate this clause in a way that would not imply that Jesus would never judge. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

I do not judge anyone (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
I am not judging anyone (New Century Version)

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