Since it was the day before the Sabbath is literally “because of the (day of) preparation of the Jews.” The noun translated day before the Sabbath is the same word used in verse 31 (see also verse 14).

In Greek the adverb there appears first in the sentence, but in restructuring Good News Translation places it last.

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 .