Because the verse draws the conclusion from what precedes, some versions use a connective such as ‘therefore,’ ‘so.’

Do not wonder: in some cases one has to make explicit that the reference is to an unhappy experience; for example, ‘do not be startled (or disturbed).’ Verbs meaning “to wonder” or “to be amazed/surprised” are sometimes rendered by figurative expressions describing the subject’s mental state; for example, ‘to have one’s mind leaving one’s heart,’ ‘to shut one’s mouth thinking,’ ‘to have one’s eyes fastened,’ ‘to have something weighing heavily upon oneself.’ Some languages shift to direct discourse; for example, ‘don’t say (in your mind), “Ah, why do they hate me?”.’

Brethren, or “brothers”: this form of address may have to be placed at the head of the sentence or to be rendered as a possessed form; compare, for example, ‘(my) brothers, don’t be amazed.’ In some languages it is even preferable to render it as a coordinated sentence, as in ‘Brothers, you who belong to us, listen. Don’t wonder….’

That renders the Greek conditional particle ei followed by the indicative of the present tense. Several versions have “if” (Good News Translation, similarly Bible de Jérusalem and others), or ‘when’ (Nieuwe Vertaling, Luther 1984, for example). This makes the subsequent clause an indication of the circumstances under which the wondering will take place, namely, ‘when/if the world hates you.’ The context and the indicative form of the verb show, however, that this hating is known to be a fact. Therefore the rendering that is preferable here, as it is also, for example, in Mark 15.44, “Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead” (Good News Translation, similarly in Nieuwe Vertaling, Luther 1984). Rendered thus the conjunction serves to introduce the event wondered at and has virtually the same meaning as Greek hoti “that,” which is used with the same Greek verb in John 3.7, “Do not marvel that I said to you.”

The translator should express the connection between the wondering and its object in accordance with receptor language usage. Renderings will vary greatly because this connection may be treated in a variety of ways. Some languages, for example, view it as causal. Then one will have to change the clause structure and say something like ‘don’t let the fact that the world hates you cause you to be amazed.’

The world hates you: the same thought is expressed in passages like John 15.18-19 or, in a different wording, Matt 5.11. The use of the strong verb “to hate” serves to bring out that the opposition which exists between the world and the believers is a fundamental one. For the world see comments on 2.15, meaning (5).

The verb hates expresses here an emotion of aversion coupled with enmity or malice. Some languages render it by an idiomatic phrase such as ‘does not see a person in the eye’ (meaning that one cannot tolerate that person under any circumstances).

Quoted with permission from Haas, C., de Jonge, M. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on The First Letter of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .