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 Nepali translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and other people with the medium honorific pronoun timīlē (तिमीले) or timīlēharū (तिमीलेहरू). This disciples respond with a high honorific pronoun. (Source: Chitra Chhetri in The Bible Translator 2009, p. 73ff. )

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on John 8:36

8:36a

So: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as So here introduces a conclusion Jesus makes from what he just said. The son of a family always has rights as a member of that family. Therefore, because Jesus is the Son of God, he has the right to free people from slavery (being slaves).

if the Son sets you free: This conditional clause refers to the Son of God releasing people from slavery. They will then be free in the sense that they will not be forced to serve a master against their will. They will be free not to sin. This clause implies that the people to whom Jesus spoke were slaves. They needed someone to set them free. Here are some other ways that this clause may be translated:

if the Son makes you free (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
If the Son gives you freedom (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
if the Son frees/releases you

the Son: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible has translated as the Son is the same phrase as “the son” in 8:35b. However, here Christ begins to speak directly of himself as the Son of God instead of using a metaphor. The Berean Standard Bible has indicated this by using a capital S in Son. You may do the same if it is natural in your language. It is also possible to continue to say “the son” and allow the context to indicate the change in meaning. Or here is another way to make the meaning clear:

God’s Son

This phrase is a short form of “the Son of God,” which is a title for Jesus. This title indicates that Jesus has the same nature and character as God. It also indicates that the relationship between God the Father and Jesus, his Son, is similar in some way to the relationship between human fathers and sons. God the Father does not have a physical body. He did not have a sexual relationship that resulted in Mary becoming pregnant and giving birth to Jesus.

See how you translated this phrase at 5:19. For further information, see the note on the phrase “the Son of God” at 1:34.

8:36b

you will be free indeed: This phrase emphasizes that this person will no longer be a slave. He or she will have true freedom. The word indeed means “actually” or “truly” and is used for emphasis. Emphasize this in the way that is natural in your language. For example:

you will be really free (NET Bible Bible)
-or-
you will be absolutely free (God’s Word)
-or-
you are truly free (New Living Translation (2004))

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