Jesus’ answer to his opponents indicates that he is not trying to honor himself; if he were, that honor would be worth nothing. The verb translated to honor and the noun rendered honor are literally “to glorify” and “glory.” Both are used in a variety of ways in John’s Gospel. In the present context the idea of “to bring honor to” and “honor” are perhaps the nearest English equivalents. The closest equivalent of honor in some languages may be “praise” or “causing praise.” The response of Jesus may then be translated “If I were merely praising myself, such praise would be worth nothing.”

Worth nothing is literally “nothing”; New English Bible translates “worthless.” This expression may be rendered in some instances “would have no value at all” or “would not equal the smallest coin.”

Some ancient Greek manuscripts read your God, using indirect discourse, while others read “our God,” using direct discourse. Good News Translation uses indirect discourse (the very one you say is your God); New English Bible uses direct discourse (“he of whom you say, ‘He is our God’ ”). Although the Greek manuscripts vary between indirect and direct discourse, there is no difference in meaning. The translator should use the structure that is natural for the language into which he is translating.

The very one you say is your God is equivalent in some languages to “he is the same one that you say is your God” or “he is the same one you claim as your God” or “… you address as God.”

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 .