complete verse (John 13:3)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 13:3:

  • Uma: “Yesus knew that his Father gave him all power/authority. He also knew that he was from God and that he would also return to God.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Isa really knew that he had been given all God’s authority/power. And he knew that he came from God and went back to God.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And as for Jesus, he knew that his Father had entrusted to him the control over everything. He also knew that he had come from God and that he was going to return to God.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But Jesus knew that his Father had given him all power. He also knew that it was God from-whom-he-had-come and likewise also to-whom-he-would-return.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Jesus was really well aware that all authority had been given to him by the Father. And he was aware that as for himself, there was nowhere else he came from but there from God, and to God indeed was where he would return.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: (incl. verse 3) “The devil had now grabbed the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, in order to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that he had come from God and he would go to live again with God. And he knew that his Father had given him power to rule all things.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Father (address for God)

The Greek that is translated with the capitalized “Father” in English when referring to God is translated in Highland Totonac with the regular word for (biological) father to which a suffix is added to indicate respect. The same also is used for “Lord” when referring to Jesus. (Source: Hermann Aschmann in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 171ff. )

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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. In the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017, God the Father is addressed with mi-chichi (御父). This form has the “divine” honorific prefix mi– preceding the archaic honorific form chichi for “father.”

If, however, Jesus addresses his Father, he is using chichi-o (父を) which is also highly respectful but does not have the “divine” honorific. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also Lord and my / our Father.

Translation commentary on John 13:3

In Greek verses 2-4 are one sentence. Jesus knew is simply a participle (“knowing”), which Good News Translation makes into a finite verb with an explicit subject. A number of other translations handle the matter similarly.

Had given him complete power is literally “gave all things into his hand.” A related expression is found in 3.35 (has put everything in his power). New English Bible translates “entrusted everything to him” and New American Bible “had handed everything over to him.” This clause may be equivalent in some languages to “had given him strength to do anything” or “gave him the power to do everything.”

The verb rendered was going appears also in 7.33 (see there). It is frequently used in John’s Gospel in reference to Jesus’ departure from the world.

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 .