complete verse (John 8:36)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 8:36:

  • Ojitlán Chinantec: “Therefore if the Son of God liberates you, you will be truly liberated.”
  • Huehuetla Tepehua: “I am the Son of my Father. If I free you from your servanthood, you truly won’t be servants.”
  • Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac: “You are like bought ones and the Son of God is able to free you and thus you will be able to rule yourselves.”
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “And if the Son of God cause you to get out from under the foot of evil so you are no longer like slaves, then truly you will get out from under its foot.”
  • Lalana Chinantec: “So if the Son will save you, you will really be saved.”
  • Central Tarahumara: “. . . If I shall help you so that you no longer have to do wrong, then you truly shall no longer be ruled as if you were a servant of the devil.” (Source for this and above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
  • Uma: “So, if I free you from your sins, you are really free, because I am the Child of God.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Therefore if the Son of God is the one who frees you, you are really free for sure.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Therefore if you are set free by the Son of God, it is really true that you can no longer be ruled over by your former slave owner.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Therefore if I who am God’s Child set-you -free from sin, you will indeed by freed.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “As long as I, who am the one meant by this Son, will be the one to release you from your slavery, it’s certain you will be truly released.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Therefore if the Son of God saves you, you truly are saved.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

formal pronoun: Jesus addressing his disciples and common people

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 his disciples, individuals and/or crowds with the formal pronoun, showing respect.

In most Dutch translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and common people with the informal pronoun, whereas they address him with the formal form.

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (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 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 8:36

The If clause in this verse relates back to verse 34. New English Bible translates the Greek particle introducing this verse “If then” and New American Bible “That is why, if.”

The Jews considered themselves free, but they were not really free; real freedom comes only as the Son makes one free. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates the Son as the Son of God, making explicit for its readers what Good News Translation and other translations try to achieve by capitalizing the word Son. To do so is translationally legitimate, and it may be an especially helpful device to German readers, since all nouns, without distinction, are capitalized in German. In some languages it is necessary to employ the phrase “God’s Son,” since the kinship term “Son” must be possessed.

The adverb really of this verse (ontōs), though not the same as the one used in verse 31 (alēthōs), is synonymous in meaning.

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 .