From 52a6607d97fd8a234c352a2d57c6fea3b8449982 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: pjoakes Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2024 18:05:37 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] Merge pjoakes-tc-create-1 into master by pjoakes (#3663) Co-authored-by: pjoakes Co-committed-by: pjoakes --- tn_1JN.tsv | 53 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++-------------------------- tn_JHN.tsv | 4 ++-- 2 files changed, 29 insertions(+), 28 deletions(-) diff --git a/tn_1JN.tsv b/tn_1JN.tsv index 39d2e57d43..49661bc386 100644 --- a/tn_1JN.tsv +++ b/tn_1JN.tsv @@ -1,39 +1,40 @@ Reference ID Tags SupportReference Quote Occurrence Note -front:intro nl27 0 # Introduction to 1 John\n\n## Part 1: General Introduction\n\n### Outline of the book of 1 John\n\nThis is a letter that the apostle John wrote to challenge and correct false teachings that were leading followers of Jesus to believe wrong things and live in wrong ways. At that time, the letter form had distinct opening and closing sections with the main body of the letter in between them.\n1. Opening of Letter (1:1–4)\n1. Main Body of Letter (1:5–5:12)\n * Genuine believers obey God and love one another (1:5–2:17)\n * It is false teaching to deny that Jesus is the Messiah (2:18–2:27)\n * Genuine children of God do not sin (2:28–3:10)\n * Genuine believers help one another sacrificially (3:11–18)\n * Genuine believers have confidence in prayer (3:19–24)\n * It is false teaching to deny that Jesus became human (4:1–6)\n * Genuine believers love one another as God has loved them (4:7–21)\n * It is false teaching to deny that Jesus is the Son of God (5:1–12)\n1. Closing of Letter (5:13–21)\n\n### Who wrote the book of 1 John?\n\nThe author of this letter does not give his name. However, since early Christian times, the church has widely considered the apostle John to be the author. He wrote the Gospel of John, and there are many similarities between the content of that book and this letter. If John did write this letter, he probably did so near the end of his life.\n\n### To whom was the book of 1 John written?\n\nThe author wrote this letter to people whom he addresses as “beloved” and as “my little children.” This probably refers to believers in various churches located in the area where John was then living.\n\n### What is the book of 1 John about?\n\nFalse teachers were encouraging followers of Jesus to believe wrong things and to live in wrong ways. John wanted to challenge and correct those false teachings so that the people who received his letter would continue to believe the truth that they had been taught and live in right ways. The false teachers were saying that these people were not saved; John wanted to assure them that they were saved.\n\n### How should the title of this book be translated?\n\nTranslators may choose to call this book by its traditional title, “1 John” or “First John.” They may also choose a different title, such as “The First Letter from John” or “The First Letter John Wrote.” (See: [[rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-names]])\n\n## Part 2: Important Religious and Cultural Concepts\n\n### Who were the people against whom John spoke?\n\nThe false teachers whom John was challenging seem to have held beliefs similar to what would later become known as Gnosticism. Those false teachers believed that the physical world was evil. They thought that God would not become human, since they considered the physical body to be evil, so they denied that in the person of Jesus, God had come to earth in human form. (See: [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/evil]])\n\n## Part 3: Important Translation Issues\n\n### “sin”\n\nIn chapter 1, John says that we should not deny that we have sinned. Rather, if we confess our sin, God will forgive us. In chapter 2, John says that he is writing this letter so that the recipients will not sin, but he adds that if they do sin, Jesus will advocate on their behalf. But in chapter 3, John says that everyone who has been begotten from God and who remains in God does not commit sin and is not able to sin. And in chapter 5, John says that we should not pray for people who are sinning in certain ways, although we should pray for people who are sinning in other ways. This may seem confusing and contradictory.\n\nHowever, the explanation is that the people whose teachings John challenged and corrected in this letter were saying that it did not matter what people did in their bodies. This was because they thought that physical matter was evil, and so they thought that God did not care about it. In effect, they were saying that there was no such thing as sin. So John needed to say, in chapter 1, that sin is real and that everyone has sinned. Some of the believers may have been deceived by the false teaching and committed sins, so John also needed to reassure them that if they repented and confessed their sins, God would forgive them. John says similar things in chapter 2. Then in chapter 3 he explains that the new nature that believers have as children of God is one that does not want to sin and that does not enjoy sinning. So they should recognize that those who excuse or condone sin are not truly children of God, and that as children of God themselves, they can become more and more obedient and free from sin. Finally, in chapter 5, John warns that if a person sins wantonly and continually, this likely means that they have rejected Jesus and are not influenced by the Holy Spirit. He says that, in that case, it may not be effective to pray for them. But he then encourages his readers that if a person sins occasionally but feels remorse, he is influenced by the Spirit, and so the prayers of other believers will help him repent and live in a right way again. (See: [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/sin]] and [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/faith]] and [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/forgive]])\n\n### “remain”\n\nIn this letter, John often uses the word “remain” (which could also be translated as “reside” or “abide”) as a spatial metaphor. John speaks of a believer becoming more faithful to Jesus and knowing Jesus better as if the teaching of Jesus “remained” in the believer. He speaks of a person being spiritually joined to someone else as if that person “remained” in the other person: He writes that Christians “remain” in Christ and in God, and he says that the Father “remains” in the Son, the Son “remains” in the Father, the Son “remains” in believers, and the Holy Spirit “remains” in believers.\n\nTranslators may find it difficult to represent these ideas in their own languages if they try to use exactly the same words and expressions each time. For example, in [2:6](../02/06.md), when John speaks of a believer “remaining” in God, he intends to express the idea of that believer being spiritually unified with God. Accordingly, UST speaks of how the believer “shares life with God.” To give another example, for the statement in [2:14](../02/14.md) that “the word of God remains in you,” UST says, “you continue to obey what God commands.” This shows how other expressions can be found that accurately communicate the various ideas that John is expressing through the term “remain.”\n\n### “appear”\n\nIn several places in this letter, John uses a term that ULT usually translates as “appear.” This is actually a passive verbal form in Greek, but as is often the case with such forms in that language, it can have an active meaning. When it has an active meaning, it is important to recognize that it does not simply mean “seemed to be there,” as the word “appeared” might suggest. Rather, it means “came to be there.” This is illustrated well by the use of the term in another New Testament book, 2 Corinthians, in which Paul writes in [5:10](../2co/05/10.md) that “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” Clearly this does not mean that we must only seem to be present there. Rather, we must actually arrive there.\n\nThroughout the epistle, it is a subtle matter of interpretation to decide whether John is using the term “appear” in an active sense or in a passive sense. For example, in [1:2](../01/02.md), John applies the term twice to the “Word of life,” that is, to Jesus. But it is not clear whether he is saying that Jesus himself “appeared,” that is, he came to earth, or that he “was made apparent” (made visible), with the emphasis on the idea that God revealed Jesus to the world and in the process revealed himself to the world through Jesus. At each place where John uses this term, notes will call attention to it and discuss what it likely means in that context.\n\n### “the world”\n\nJohn also uses the term “world” in a variety of senses in this letter. It can mean the earth, something material, the people who live in the world, the people who do not honor God, or the values of the people who do not honor God. Notes will address the meaning of the term “world” in each instance where John uses it.\n\n### “to know”\n\nThe verb “to know” is used in two different ways in this letter. Sometimes it is used about knowing a fact, as in 3:2, 3:5, and 3:19. Sometimes it means to experience and understand someone or something, as in 3:1, 3:6, 3:16, and 3:20. Sometimes John uses it in two different senses in the same sentence, as in 2:3, “in this we know that we have known him.” Your language may have different words for these different meanings. If so, you must be careful to use the appropriate word in the right place in your translation.\n\n### “We”\n\nIn most cases in this letter, the first-person plural pronouns (“we, our,” etc.) are inclusive, and so if your language marks that distinction, use the inclusive form in your translation. In those cases, John is speaking of what both he and the recipients know, or of things that are true of both him and the recipients. However, in a few cases, the first-person pronouns are exclusive, since John is telling the recipients what he and his fellow apostles saw and heard from Jesus. The notes will identify all such places, and in them you should use the exclusive forms if your language marks that distinction. (See: [[rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-exclusive]])\n\n### “You, your”\n\nThe words “you” and “your” in this letter are plural.\n\n### Light and darkness\n\nIn 1:5–7 and 2:8–11 John uses an extended metaphor in which light represents what is good or holy and darkness represents what is evil. If this is not easily understood in your language, you may need to say explicitly that light represents goodness or that light is like goodness, or you may choose to talk about goodness without using the symbol of light. There will be a note explaining the metaphor in each place. (See: [[rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-exmetaphor]])\n\n### Major textual issues in the book of 1 John\n\nWhen ancient manuscripts of the Bible differ, ULT puts the reading that scholars consider to be the most accurate in its text, but it puts other possibly accurate readings in footnotes. The introductions to each chapter will discuss places where the ancient manuscripts differ in significant ways, and notes will address those places again where they occur in the book. If a translation of the Bible already exists in your region, consider using the readings found in that version. If not, we recommend that you follow the readings in the ULT text. (See: [[rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-textvariants]]) -1:intro ab9v 0 # 1 John 1 General Notes\n\n## Structure and formatting\n\n1. Opening of the letter (1:1–4)\n2. Genuine believers obey God and love one another (1:5–10, continues through 2:17)\n\n## Important Translation Issues in this Chapter\n\nLike many Greek compositions of this time, for stylistic purposes, this letter begins with a very long sentence. It goes from the beginning of [1:1](../01/01.md) to the middle of [1:3](../01/03.md). The parts of this sentence are not in the order that is customary in many languages. The direct object comes first, and it is very long, made up of many different clauses. The subject and verb do not come until near the end. And in the middle, there is a long digression. It will be a challenge to translate.\n\nOne approach that might work well in your language would be to create a verse bridge that includes all of 1:1–3. You could break up this long sentence into several smaller sentences, repeating the subject and verb for clarity. This would allow you to present the parts of the sentence in an order that might be more customary in your language and that your readers might understand better. Here is an example of 1 John 1:1–3 rearranged into an order that might be clearer in your language:\n\n“So that you will have fellowship with us, we are declaring to you what we have seen and heard. We are declaring to you what was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched. It has to do with the Word of life. Indeed, the life appeared, and we have seen it, and we are testifying to it. Yes, we are announcing to you the eternal life that was with the Father and that then came to us.”\n\nIf you take this approach, another way to translate the second sentence would be, “We are declaring to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and what our hands have touched.”\n\nAnother approach that could also work well and which would not require a verse bridge would be to leave the phrases in their present order, but to divide the sentence into three parts at the verse divisions. If you do that, you could also put your translation of the phrase “regarding the Word of life” at the beginning rather than the end of [1:1](../01/01.md) and present it as a topical introduction to the letter. Otherwise, your readers might not get the sense that this is a letter until they reached [1:4](../01/04.md), where John formally states his purpose for writing.\n\nThe notes to [1:1–4](../01/01.md) provide further specific suggestions for how to translate this long opening sentence. (See: [[rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-versebridge]])\n\n## Important Textual Issues in this Chapter\n\nIn [1:4](../01/04.md), the most accurate ancient manuscripts read “so that our joy may be fulfilled.” ULT follows that reading. However, some other ancient manuscripts read, “your joy” instead of “our joy.” If a translation of the Bible already exists in your region, consider using whichever reading is found in that version. If a translation does not already exist, we recommend that you follow the reading in the ULT text. (See: [[rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-textvariants]]) +front:intro nl27 0 # Introduction to 1 John\n\n## Part 1: General Introduction\n\n### Outline of the book of 1 John\n\nThis is a letter that the apostle John wrote to challenge and correct false teachings that were leading followers of Jesus to believe wrong things and live in wrong ways. John used the normal letter form of that time, which had distinct opening and closing sections with the main body of the letter in between them.\n1. Opening of Letter (1:1–4)\n1. Main Body of Letter (1:5–5:12)\n * Genuine believers obey God and love one another (1:5–2:17)\n * It is false teaching to deny that Jesus is the Messiah (2:18–2:27)\n * Genuine children of God do not sin (2:28–3:10)\n * Genuine believers help one another sacrificially (3:11–18)\n * Genuine believers have confidence in prayer (3:19–24)\n * It is false teaching to deny that Jesus became human (4:1–6)\n * Genuine believers love one another as God has loved them (4:7–21)\n * It is false teaching to deny that Jesus is the Son of God (5:1–12)\n1. Closing of Letter (5:13–21)\n\n### Who wrote the book of 1 John?\n\nThe author of this letter does not give his name. However, since early Christian times, the church has widely considered the apostle John to be the author. He wrote the Gospel of John, and there are many similarities between the content of that book and this letter. If John did write this letter, he probably did so near the end of his life.\n\n### To whom was the book of 1 John written?\n\nThe author wrote this letter to people whom he addresses as “beloved” and as “my little children.” This probably refers to believers in various churches located in the area where John was then living.\n\n### What is the book of 1 John about?\n\nFalse teachers were encouraging followers of Jesus to believe wrong things and to live in wrong ways. John wanted to challenge and correct those false teachings so that the people who received his letter would continue to believe the truth that they had been taught and live in right ways. The false teachers were saying that these people were not saved; John wanted to assure them that they were saved.\n\n### How should the title of this book be translated?\n\nTranslators may choose to call this book by its traditional title, “1 John” or “First John.” They may also choose a different title, such as “The First Letter from John” or “The First Letter John Wrote.” (See: [[rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-names]])\n\n## Part 2: Important Religious and Cultural Concepts\n\n### Who were the people against whom John spoke?\n\nThe false teachers whom John was challenging seem to have held beliefs similar to what would later become known as Gnosticism. Those false teachers believed that the physical world was evil. They thought that God would not become human, since they considered the physical body to be evil, so they denied that in the person of Jesus, God had come to earth in human form. (See: [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/evil]])\n\n## Part 3: Important Translation Issues\n\n### “sin”\n\nIn chapter 1, John says that we should not deny that we sin. Rather, if we confess our sin, God will forgive us. In chapter 2, John says that he is writing this letter so that the recipients will not sin, but he adds that if they do sin, Jesus will advocate on their behalf. But in chapter 3, John says that everyone who has been begotten from God and who remains in God does not commit sin and is not able to sin. And in chapter 5, John says that we should not pray for people who are sinning in certain ways, although we should pray for people who are sinning in other ways. These ideas may seem confusing and contradictory.\n\nHowever, the explanation is that the people whose teachings John challenged and corrected in this letter were saying that it did not matter what people did in their bodies. This was because they thought that physical matter was evil, and so they thought that God did not care about it. In effect, they were saying that there was no such thing as sin. So John needed to say, in chapter 1, that sin is real and that everyone sins and that God does care about that. So when believers sin they need to confess it and for God to forgive them. Some of the believers may have been deceived by the false teaching and may have begun living sinfully again, so John also needed to reassure them that if they repented and confessed their sins, God would forgive them. John says similar things in chapter 2. Then in chapter 3 he explains that the new nature that believers have as children of God is one that does not want to sin and that does not enjoy sinning. So they should recognize that those who excuse or condone sin are not truly children of God, and that as children of God themselves, they can become more and more obedient and free from sin. Finally, in chapter 5, John warns that if a person sins wantonly and continually, this likely means that they have rejected Jesus and are not influenced by the Holy Spirit. He says that, in that case, it may not be effective to pray for them. But he then encourages his readers that if a person sins occasionally but feels remorse, he is influenced by the Spirit, and so the prayers of other believers will help him repent and live in a right way again. (See: [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/sin]] and [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/faith]] and [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/forgive]])\n\n### “remain”\n\nIn this letter, John often uses the word “remain” (which could also be translated as “reside” or “abide”) as a spatial metaphor. John speaks of a believer becoming more faithful to Jesus and knowing Jesus better as if the teaching of Jesus “remained” in the believer. He speaks of a person being spiritually joined to someone else as if that person “remained” in the other person: He writes that Christians “remain” in Christ and in God, and he says that the Father “remains” in the Son, the Son “remains” in the Father, the Son “remains” in believers, and the Holy Spirit “remains” in believers.\n\nTranslators may find it difficult to represent these ideas in their own languages if they try to use exactly the same words and expressions each time. For example, in [2:6](../02/06.md), when John speaks of a believer “remaining” in God, he intends to express the idea of that believer being spiritually unified with God. Accordingly, the UST speaks of how the believer “shares life with God.” To give another example, for the statement in [2:14](../02/14.md) that “the word of God remains in you,” the UST says, “you continue to obey what God commands.” This shows how other expressions can be found that accurately communicate the various ideas that John is expressing through the term “remain.”\n\n### “appear”\n\nIn several places in this letter, John uses a term that the ULT usually translates as “appear.” This is actually a passive verbal form in Greek, but as is often the case with such forms in that language, it can have an active meaning. When it has an active meaning, it is important to recognize that it does not simply mean “seemed to be there,” as the word “appeared” might suggest. Rather, it means “came to be there.” This is illustrated well by the use of the term in another New Testament book, 2 Corinthians, in which Paul writes in [5:10](../2co/05/10.md) that “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” Clearly this does not mean that we must only seem to be present there. Rather, we must actually arrive there.\n\nThroughout the letter, it is a subtle matter of interpretation to decide whether John is using the term “appear” in an active sense or in a passive sense. For example, in [1:2](../01/02.md), John applies the term twice to the “Word of life,” that is, to Jesus. But it is not clear whether he is saying that Jesus himself “appeared,” that is, he came to earth, or that he “was made apparent” (made visible), with the emphasis on the idea that God revealed Jesus to the world and in the process revealed himself to the world through Jesus. At each place where John uses this term, notes will call attention to it and discuss what it likely means in that context.\n\n### “the world”\n\nJohn also uses the term “world” in a variety of senses in this letter. It can mean the earth, something material, the people who live in the world, the people who do not honor God, or the values of the people who do not honor God. Notes will address the meaning of the term “world” in each instance where John uses it.\n\n### “to know”\n\nThe verb “to know” is used in two different ways in this letter. Sometimes it is used about knowing a fact, as in 3:2, 3:5, and 3:19. Sometimes it means to experience and understand someone or something, as in 3:1, 3:6, 3:16, and 3:20. Sometimes John uses it in two different senses in the same sentence, as in 2:3, “in this we know that we have known him.” Your language may have different words for these different meanings. If so, you must be careful to use the appropriate word in the right place in your translation.\n\n### “We”\n\nIn most cases in this letter, the first-person plural pronouns (“we, our,” etc.) are inclusive, and so if your language marks that distinction, use the inclusive form in your translation. In those cases, John is speaking of what both he and the recipients know, or of things that are true of both him and the recipients. However, in a few cases, the first-person pronouns are exclusive, since John is telling the recipients what he and his fellow apostles saw and heard from Jesus. The notes will identify all such places, and in them you should use the exclusive forms if your language marks that distinction. (See: [[rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-exclusive]])\n\n### “You, your”\n\nThe words “you” and “your” in this letter are plural.\n\n### Light and darkness\n\nIn 1:5–7 and 2:8–11 John uses an extended metaphor in which light represents what is good or holy and darkness represents what is evil. If this is not easily understood in your language, you may need to say explicitly that light represents goodness or that light is like goodness, or you may choose to talk about goodness without using the symbol of light. There will be a note explaining the metaphor in each place. (See: [[rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-exmetaphor]])\n\n### Major textual issues in the book of 1 John\n\nWhen ancient manuscripts of the Bible differ, the ULT puts the reading that scholars consider to be the most accurate in its text, but it puts other possibly accurate readings in footnotes. The introductions to each chapter will discuss places where the ancient manuscripts differ in significant ways, and notes will address those places again where they occur in the book. If a translation of the Bible already exists in your region, consider using the readings found in that version. If not, we recommend that you follow the readings in the ULT text. (See: [[rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-textvariants]]) +1:intro ab9v 0 # 1 John 1 General Notes\n\n## Structure and formatting\n\n1. Opening of the letter (1:1–4)\n2. Genuine believers obey God and love one another (1:5–10, continues through 2:17)\n\n## Important Translation Issues in this Chapter\n\nLike many Greek compositions of this time, for stylistic purposes, this letter begins with a very long sentence. It goes from the beginning of [1:1](../01/01.md) to the middle of [1:3](../01/03.md). The parts of this sentence may not be in the order that is customary in many languages. The direct object comes first, and it is very long, made up of many different clauses. The subject and verb do not come until near the end. And in the middle, there is a long digression. So think about the best way to translate and arrange the parts of this sentence in your language.\n\nOne approach that might work well in your language would be to create a verse bridge that includes all of 1:1–3. You could break up this long sentence into several smaller sentences, repeating the subject and verb for clarity. This would allow you to present the parts of the sentence in an order that might be more customary in your language and that your readers might understand better. Here is an example of 1 John 1:1–3 rearranged into an order that might be clearer in your language:\n\n“We want you to have fellowship with us, and also with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. Therefore, we are declaring to you what we have seen and heard. We are declaring to you what was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched. It has to do with the Word of life. Indeed, the life appeared, and we have seen it, and we are testifying to it. Yes, we are announcing to you the eternal life that was with the Father and that then came to us.”\n\nIf you take this approach, another way to translate a combination of the second and third sentences would be, “So we are declaring to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and what our hands have touched.”\n\nAnother approach that could also work well and which would not require a verse bridge would be to leave the phrases in their present order, but to divide the sentence into three parts at the verse divisions. If you do that, you could also put your translation of the phrase “regarding the Word of life” at the beginning rather than the end of [1:1](../01/01.md) and present it as a topical introduction to the letter. Otherwise, your readers might not get the sense that this is a letter until they reached [1:4](../01/04.md), where John formally states his purpose for writing. An example of 1 John 1:1–3 in this order would be:\n\n“1 This is about the Word of life. This Word was from the beginning. We have heard him, we have seen him with our eyes, we have looked at him and our hands have touched him. 2 Indeed, this one who is life appeared, and we have seen him, and we are testifying about him. Yes, we are announcing to you the eternal life that was with the Father and that then came to us. 3 We are declaring to you what we have seen and heard so that you will have fellowship with us, and this fellowship is also with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”\n\nThe notes to [1:1–4](../01/01.md) provide further specific suggestions for how to translate this long opening sentence. (See: [[rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-versebridge]])\n\n## Important Textual Issues in this Chapter\n\nIn [1:4](../01/04.md), the most accurate ancient manuscripts read “so that our joy may be fulfilled.” The ULT follows that reading. However, some other ancient manuscripts read, “your joy” instead of “our joy.” If a translation of the Bible already exists in your region, consider using whichever reading is found in that version. If a translation does not already exist, we recommend that you follow the reading in the ULT text. (See: [[rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-textvariants]]) 1:1 honh rc://*/ta/man/checking/headings 0 If you are using section headings, you could put one here before verse 1. Suggested heading: “The Word of Life” 1:1 j363 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns ὃ ἦν ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς, ὃ ἀκηκόαμεν, ὃ ἑωράκαμεν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν, ὃ ἐθεασάμεθα, καὶ αἱ χεῖρες ἡμῶν ἐψηλάφησαν, περὶ τοῦ λόγου τῆς ζωῆς— 1 See the discussion in the General Notes to this chapter for how to translate the long sentence in [1:1–3](../01/01.md). If you follow the suggestion to translate the phrase **regarding the Word of life** as a topical introduction to this letter, you will already have indicated that the four clauses in this verse refer to a person, Jesus. If you have pronouns in your language that refer to people, such as “he,” “who,” and “whom,” it would be appropriate to use them here. Alternate translation: “Regarding the Word of life—he is the one who has existed from all eternity, whom we heard speak, whom we saw with our own eyes, and whom we looked at and touched with our own hands” 1:1 j364 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς 1 John uses the phrase **from the beginning** in various ways in this letter. Here it refers to the fact that Jesus has always existed. Alternate translation: “from all eternity” 1:1 jd7p rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-exclusive ἀκηκόαμεν & ἑωράκαμεν & ἡμῶν & ἐθεασάμεθα & ἡμῶν 1 Here the pronouns **we** and **our** are exclusive, since John is speaking on behalf of himself and the other eyewitnesses to the earthly life of Jesus, but the people to whom he is writing did not see Jesus. So use exclusive forms here if your language marks that distinction. -1:1 ej5x rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit ἀκηκόαμεν 1 The implication is that what John and the other eyewitnesses **heard** was Jesus speaking. If it would be helpful in your language, you could include this information, as in the UST. Alternate translation: “we heard speak” +1:1 ej5x rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit ὃ ἀκηκόαμεν 1 The implication is that what John and the other eyewitnesses **heard** was Jesus speaking. If it would be helpful in your language, you could include this information, as in the UST. Alternate translation: “whom we heard speak” 1:1 rb73 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-parallelism ὃ ἑωράκαμεν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν, ὃ ἐθεασάμεθα 1 These two phrases mean the same thing. John is likely using repetition for emphasis. If it would be helpful in your language, you could combine these phrases and show the emphasis in another way. Alternate translation: “whom we saw clearly ourselves” -1:1 j001 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicitinfo ἑωράκαμεν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν & καὶ αἱ χεῖρες ἡμῶν ἐψηλάφησαν 1 In your language, it might seem that these phrases express unnecessary extra information. If so, you could abbreviate them. However, your language may have its own way of using such extra information for emphasis, and you could also do that in your translation. Alternate translation: “we saw … and touched” or “we saw with our own eyes … and touched with our own hands” +1:1 j001 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicitinfo ὃ ἑωράκαμεν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν 1 In your language, it might seem that this phrase expresses unnecessary extra information. If so, you could abbreviate it. However, your language may have its own way of using such extra information for emphasis, and you could also do that in your translation. Alternate translation: “whom we saw” or “whom we saw with our own eyes” +1:1 txog rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicitinfo αἱ χεῖρες ἡμῶν ἐψηλάφησαν 1 In your language, it might seem that this phrase expresses unnecessary extra information. If so, you could abbreviate it. However, your language may have its own way of using such extra information for emphasis, and you could also do that in your translation. Alternate translation: “whom we touched” or “whom we touched with our own hands” 1:1 j002 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit ἑωράκαμεν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν & αἱ χεῖρες ἡμῶν ἐψηλάφησαν 1 The false teachers were denying that Jesus was a real human being and saying that he was only a spirit. But the implications of what John is saying here are that Jesus was a real human being. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state that explicitly, as in the UST. -1:1 j003 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-infostructure περὶ τοῦ λόγου τῆς ζωῆς 1 As the General Notes to this chapter suggest, you could put your translation of this phrase, **regarding the Word of life**, at the beginning of this verse and present it as a sentence of its own as a topical introduction to the letter, as UST does. Alternate translation: “We are writing to you about Jesus, the Word of life” -1:1 j004 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns περὶ τοῦ λόγου τῆς ζωῆς 1 Letter writers of this time typically began by giving their own names. That is the case for most of the letters in the New Testament. This letter is an exception, but if it would be helpful to your readers, you could supply John’s name here, as UST does. As noted above, John uses the plural pronoun “we” because he is speaking on behalf of himself and the other eyewitnesses to Jesus’ earthly life. But it may be more natural in your language for him to refer to himself with a singular pronoun, and if so, you could do that in your translation. Alternate translation: “I, John, am writing to you about Jesus, the Word of life” -1:1 gt44 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit τοῦ λόγου τῆς ζωῆς 1 Here, **the Word of life** is implicitly a description of Jesus. As the General Introduction explains, there are many similarities between this letter and the Gospel of John. That gospel begins by saying about Jesus, “In the beginning was the Word.” So it is likely that when John speaks in this letter of **the Word of life** that “was from the beginning,” he is also speaking about Jesus. ULT indicates this by capitalizing **Word** to indicate that this is a title for Jesus. Alternate translation: “Jesus, the Word of God, who gives life” +1:1 j003 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-infostructure περὶ τοῦ λόγου τῆς ζωῆς 1 As the General Notes to this chapter suggest, you could put your translation of this phrase, **regarding the Word of life**, at the beginning of this verse and present it as a sentence of its own as a topical introduction to the letter, as UST does. Alternate translation: “This is about Jesus, the Word of life” +1:1 j004 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns περὶ τοῦ λόγου τῆς ζωῆς 1 Letter writers of this time typically began by giving their own names. That is the case for most of the letters in the New Testament. This letter is an exception, but if it would be helpful to your readers, you could supply John’s name here, as UST does. As noted above, John uses the plural pronoun “we” because he is speaking on behalf of himself and the other eyewitnesses to Jesus’ earthly life. But it may be more natural in your language for him to refer to himself with a singular pronoun, and if so, you could also do that in your translation, as in the UST. Alternate translation: “This is John, writing to you about Jesus, the Word of life” +1:1 gt44 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit τοῦ λόγου τῆς ζωῆς 1 Here, **the Word of life** is implicitly a description of Jesus. As the General Introduction explains, there are many similarities between this letter and the Gospel of John. That gospel begins by saying about Jesus, “In the beginning was the Word.” So when John speaks in this letter of **the Word of life** that **was from the beginning**, he is also speaking about Jesus. ULT indicates this by capitalizing **Word** to indicate that this is a title for Jesus. Alternate translation: “Jesus, the Word of God, who gives life” 1:1 j005 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-possession τῆς ζωῆς 1 This could be referring either to the **life** that Jesus has or to the life that Jesus gives. But since John is writing this letter to reassure believers, it seems more likely that this expression is referring to the **life** that “the Word” (Jesus) gives to those who believe. Alternate translation: “who gives life to everyone who believes in him” 1:1 i8b4 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor τῆς ζωῆς 1 In this letter, John uses **life** in different ways, either to refer literally to physical life or to spiritual life. Here the reference is to spiritual life. Alternate translation: “of spiritual life” -1:2 la4a rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἐφανερώθη 1 See the discussion of the term “appear” in Part 3 of the Introduction to 1 John. Here the term could mean one of two things. (1) John could be emphasizing how Jesus came to this earth. (UST brings this out by saying “he came here to the earth.”) In that case, this would be a situation in which a Greek passive verbal form has an active meaning. As the General Notes to this chapter suggest, it may be helpful to begin a new sentence here. Alternate translation: “Indeed, the life came right here” (2) John could be emphasizing how God revealed Jesus to the world and thereby revealed himself to the world through Jesus. To bring out that emphasis, you could translate this with a passive verbal form or, if your language does not use passive forms, you can use an active form and say who did the action. Alternate translation: “Indeed, the life was made visible” or “Indeed, God made the life visible” +1:2 la4a rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἐφανερώθη 1 See the discussion of the term “appear” in Part 3 of the Introduction to 1 John. Here the term could mean one of two things. (1) John could be emphasizing how Jesus came to this earth. (See the UST.) It may be helpful to begin a new sentence here. Alternate translation: “Indeed, the life came right here” (2) John could be emphasizing how God revealed Jesus to the world and thereby revealed himself to the world through Jesus. To bring out that emphasis, you could translate this with a passive verbal form or, if your language does not use passive forms, you can use an active form and say who did the action. Alternate translation: “Indeed, the life was made visible” or “Indeed, God made the life visible” 1:2 j006 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy ἡ ζωὴ 1 John is speaking of Jesus, whom he calls the “Word of life” in the previous verse, by referring to **the life** that is associated with him. In this case it seems to describe the **life** that Jesus embodies rather than the **life** that he gives. Alternate translation: “Jesus” or “Jesus, who is life” 1:2 j007 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-exclusive ἑωράκαμεν & μαρτυροῦμεν & ἀπαγγέλλομεν & ἡμῖν 1 John is speaking on behalf of himself and the other eyewitnesses to the earthly life of Jesus, so the pronouns **we** and **us** are exclusive in this verse. 1:2 j008 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-you ὑμῖν 1 As the General Introduction explains, John is writing this letter to believers in various churches, and so the pronouns **you**, “your,” and “yourselves” are plural throughout the entire letter. 1:2 jp6s rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns ἑωράκαμεν, καὶ μαρτυροῦμεν, 1 If you decided to use personal pronouns in [1:1](../01/01.md), you could use them in these cases as well. Alternate translation: “we have seen him, and we are testifying that we saw him” 1:2 ih36 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-parallelism μαρτυροῦμεν, καὶ ἀπαγγέλλομεν ὑμῖν 1 These two phrases mean similar things. John is likely using repetition for emphasis. If it would be helpful in your language, you could combine these phrases and express the emphasis in another way, as UST does. Alternate translation: “we are enthusiastically telling you about” -1:2 lyt6 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy τὴν ζωὴν τὴν αἰώνιον 1 As earlier in the verse, John is speaking of Jesus by referring to the **life** that is associated with him. Alternate translation: “Jesus, who is eternal life” or “Jesus, who has always been alive” +1:2 lyt6 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy τὴν ζωὴν τὴν αἰώνιον 1 As earlier in the verse, John is speaking of Jesus by referring to the **life** that is associated with him. Alternate translation: “Jesus, the eternal life” or “Jesus, the one who has always been alive,” 1:2 itv8 rc://*/ta/man/translate/guidelines-sonofgodprinciples τὸν Πατέρα 1 The title **the Father** is an important title for God. Alternate translation: “God the Father” 1:2 fru2 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive καὶ ἐφανερώθη ἡμῖν 1 See how you translated **appeared** earlier in this verse. Alternate translation: “and came right to us” or “and was made visible to us” or “and whom God made visible to us” -1:3 j009 rc://*/ta/man/translate/grammar-connect-logic-result ὃ ἑωράκαμεν, καὶ ἀκηκόαμεν, ἀπαγγέλλομεν καὶ ὑμῖν, ἵνα καὶ ὑμεῖς κοινωνίαν ἔχητε μεθ’ ἡμῶν 1 If it would be helpful in your language, you could rearrange the parts of this section. You could move the clause beginning with **so you also** to the beginning of the verse, since that clause gives the reason for the action that the rest of the verse describes. For clarity, you could also place the direct-object clause **what we have seen and heard** after the subject and verb **we declare … to you**. In that case, you would not need to translate **also** after **declare**. As the General Notes to this chapter suggest, it may be helpful to begin a new sentence here. Alternate translation: “So that you also may have fellowship with us, we are declaring to you what we have seen and heard” -1:3 vw2w rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit ὃ ἑωράκαμεν, καὶ ἀκηκόαμεν 1 John is referring implicitly to the way that he and the other eyewitnesses had **seen and heard** Jesus when he was alive on earth. If it would be helpful in your language, you could include this information, as in the UST. Alternate translation: “what we saw and heard of Jesus when he was alive on earth” +1:3 j009 rc://*/ta/man/translate/grammar-connect-logic-result ὃ ἑωράκαμεν, καὶ ἀκηκόαμεν, ἀπαγγέλλομεν καὶ ὑμῖν, ἵνα καὶ ὑμεῖς κοινωνίαν ἔχητε μεθ’ ἡμῶν 1 If it would be helpful in your language, you could rearrange the parts of this section. You could move the clause beginning with **so that you also** to the beginning of the verse, since that clause gives the reason for the action that the rest of the verse describes. As the General Notes to this chapter suggest, it may be helpful to begin a new sentence here. Alternate translation: “So that you also may have fellowship with us, we are declaring to you what we have seen and heard” +1:3 vw2w rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit ὃ ἑωράκαμεν, καὶ ἀκηκόαμεν 1 John is referring implicitly to the way that he and the other eyewitnesses had **seen and heard** Jesus when he was alive on earth. If it would be helpful in your language, you could include this information, as in the UST. Alternate translation: “what we saw and heard from Jesus when he was alive on earth” 1:3 j010 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-exclusive ἑωράκαμεν, καὶ ἀκηκόαμεν, ἀπαγγέλλομεν & ἡμῶν 1 John is speaking on behalf of himself and the other eyewitnesses to the earthly life of Jesus, so the pronouns **we** and **us** are exclusive. -1:3 dw7l rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns καὶ ὑμεῖς κοινωνίαν ἔχητε μεθ’ ἡμῶν & ἡ κοινωνία & ἡ ἡμετέρα μετὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ μετὰ τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ 1 If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind the abstract noun **fellowship** with a concrete noun such as “friends” and an adjective such as “close.” Alternate translation: “so that you could be close friends with us … we are all close friends with God the Father and with his Son” -1:3 tf4m rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-exclusive ἡ κοινωνία & ἡ ἡμετέρα 1 The word **our** here is likely inclusive, since John is writing to fellow believers. So if your language marks that distinction, you should translate the term as inclusive. Even if your language does not mark that distinction, you can indicate in your translation that the term applies both to John and to the people to whom he is writing. Alternate translation: “we are all close friends” +1:3 dw7l rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns καὶ ὑμεῖς κοινωνίαν ἔχητε μεθ’ ἡμῶν & ἡ κοινωνία & ἡ ἡμετέρα μετὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ μετὰ τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ 1 If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of **fellowship**, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “so that you could be close friends with us … we are all close friends with God the Father and with his Son” +1:3 tf4m rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-exclusive ἡ κοινωνία & ἡ ἡμετέρα μετὰ 1 The word **our** here is likely inclusive, since John is writing to fellow believers. So if your language marks that distinction, you should translate the term as inclusive. Even if your language does not mark that distinction, you can indicate in your translation that the term applies both to John and to the people to whom he is writing. Alternate translation: “we are all close friends with” 1:3 rxq7 rc://*/ta/man/translate/guidelines-sonofgodprinciples τοῦ Πατρὸς & τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ 1 **Father** and **Son** are important titles. Alternate translation: “God the Father … his Son” 1:4 j011 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns ταῦτα γράφομεν ἡμεῖς 1 As the General Notes to this chapter explain, here John is formally stating his purpose for writing. If you decided in [1:1](../01/01.md) that it would be more natural in your language for him to refer to himself with a singular pronoun in such a context, you could do the same thing here. Alternate translation: “I, John, am writing these things” 1:4 j012 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-exclusive ἡμεῖς & ἡμῶν 1 If you use the plural pronoun **we** here, it would be exclusive, since John is speaking of himself and the other eyewitnesses on whose behalf he is writing. However, the term **our** in the second clause is likely inclusive, since John probably means that he wants both himself and his readers to have **joy** in the shared fellowship with one another and with the Father and the Son whom he describes in the previous verse. 1:4 j013 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-textvariants ἡ χαρὰ ἡμῶν 1 See the discussion of textual issues at the end of the General Notes to this chapter to decide whether to follow the reading of ULT and say **our joy** or to follow the reading of some other versions and say “your joy.” 1:4 j014 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-you ἡ χαρὰ ἡμῶν 1 If you follow the variant reading “your joy” here instead of **our joy**, the word “your” would be plural, as in the rest of this letter, since it would refer to a group of believers. -1:4 xn9d rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns ἵνα ἡ χαρὰ ἡμῶν ᾖ πεπληρωμένη 1 If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind the abstract noun **joy** with an adjective such as “happy.” Alternate translation: “so that we will be completely happy” +1:4 xn9d rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns ἵνα ἡ χαρὰ ἡμῶν ᾖ πεπληρωμένη 1 If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of **joy**, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “so that we will be completely happy” 1:4 j015 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive ἵνα ἡ χαρὰ ἡμῶν ᾖ πεπληρωμένη 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you can express this with an active form. Alternate translation: “so that we will be completely happy” 1:4 j016 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit ἵνα ἡ χαρὰ ἡμῶν ᾖ πεπληρωμένη 1 The implications are that John and his readers will be completely happy together if his readers recognize the truth of what he is writing to them about. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state that explicitly, as UST does. 1:5 hdrv rc://*/ta/man/checking/headings 0 If you are using section headings, you could put one here before verse 5. Suggested heading: “Sin Prevents Fellowship with God” @@ -45,37 +46,37 @@ front:intro nl27 0 # Introduction to 1 John\n\n## Part 1: General Introductio 1:5 j019 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-doublenegatives σκοτία ἐν αὐτῷ, οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδεμία 1 John is using a double negative in Greek for emphasis. In English it would translate as “darkness is not in him not at all.” In Greek, the second negative does not cancel the first negative to create a positive meaning. In English, the meaning would inaccurately be positive, which is why ULT uses only one negative and says “darkness is not in him at all.” But if your language uses double negatives for emphasis that do not cancel one another, it would be appropriate to use that construction in your translation. 1:5 j020 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns ἐν αὐτῷ 1 In this second instance in the verse, the pronoun **him** refers to God. Alternate translation: “in God” 1:6 j021 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-hypo ἐὰν εἴπωμεν ὅτι κοινωνίαν ἔχομεν μετ’ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐν τῷ σκότει περιπατῶμεν, ψευδόμεθα καὶ οὐ ποιοῦμεν τὴν ἀλήθειαν 1 John is using a hypothetical situation to help his readers recognize the importance of consistency between their words and their actions. Alternate translation: “Suppose we say that we have fellowship with him, but we walk in darkness. Then we are lying and are not doing the truth” -1:6 j022 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns ἐὰν εἴπωμεν ὅτι κοινωνίαν ἔχομεν μετ’ αὐτοῦ 1 If your language does not use abstract nouns, see how you expressed the idea behind the abstract noun **fellowship** in [1:3](../01/03.md). Alternate translation: “If we say that we are close friends with God” -1:6 j023 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns μετ’ αὐτοῦ 1 The pronoun **him** here refers to God, the antecedent from the previous verse. Alternate translation: “with God” -1:6 j024 rc://*/ta/man/translate/grammar-connect-logic-contrast καὶ 1 John is using the word **and** here to introduce a contrast between what would be expected of a person who claims to have fellowship with God and what such a person might do instead. Alternate translation: “but” +1:6 j022 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns ἐὰν εἴπωμεν ὅτι κοινωνίαν ἔχομεν μετ’ αὐτοῦ 1 If your language does not use an abstract noun for **fellowship**, see how you expressed this idea in [1:3](../01/03.md). Alternate translation: “If we say that we are close friends with God” +1:6 j023 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns μετ’ αὐτοῦ 1 Here, **him** refers back to “God” in the previous verse. If it would be helpful in your language, you could repeat the word “God” here. Alternate translation: “with God” +1:6 j024 rc://*/ta/man/translate/grammar-connect-logic-contrast καὶ 1 John is using the word **and** here to introduce the contrast of a person claiming to have fellowship with God and behaving differently than that. In your translation, indicate this contrast in a way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “but” 1:6 f958 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor ἐν τῷ σκότει περιπατῶμεν 1 John is using the word **walk** to mean how a person lives and behaves. Alternate translation: “do what is evil” 1:6 j025 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor ἐν τῷ σκότει περιπατῶμεν 1 As in [1:5](../01/05.md), John is using the word **darkness** to mean evil. Alternate translation: “do what is evil” 1:6 j026 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-parallelism ψευδόμεθα καὶ οὐ ποιοῦμεν τὴν ἀλήθειαν 1 These two phrases mean similar things. It is likely that John is using repetition for emphasis. If it would be helpful in your language, you could combine these phrases and express the emphasis in another way. Alternate translation: “we are really not truthful at all” -1:6 j027 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns οὐ ποιοῦμεν τὴν ἀλήθειαν 1 If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind the abstract noun **truth** with the concrete noun “message” from the previous verse, since that seems to be what John means by **the truth** in this case. Alternate translation: “we are not living according to God’s true message” +1:6 j027 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns οὐ ποιοῦμεν τὴν ἀλήθειαν 1 If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of **truth**, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “we are not living according to God’s true message” 1:7 j028 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-hypo ἐὰν δὲ ἐν τῷ φωτὶ περιπατῶμεν, ὡς αὐτός ἐστιν ἐν τῷ φωτί, κοινωνίαν ἔχομεν μετ’ ἀλλήλων 1 John is using another hypothetical situation to help his readers recognize the value and benefits of living a life that is holy, as God is holy. Alternate translation: “But suppose we walk in the light as he is in the light. Then we have fellowship with one another” 1:7 lpr3 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor ἐν τῷ φωτὶ περιπατῶμεν 1 John is using the word **walk** to mean how a person lives and behaves. Alternate translation: “we do what is right” 1:7 j029 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor ἐν τῷ φωτὶ περιπατῶμεν 1 As in [1:5](../01/05.md), John is using the word **light** to mean what is holy, right, and good. Alternate translation: “we do what is holy” or “we do what is right” 1:7 j030 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns ὡς αὐτός ἐστιν ἐν τῷ φωτί 1 Here the pronoun **he** refers to God. Alternate translation: “as God is in the light” -1:7 j031 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor ὡς αὐτός ἐστιν ἐν τῷ φωτί 1 John is using the word **light** to mean what is holy. Alternate translation: “as God is holy” -1:7 j032 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns κοινωνίαν ἔχομεν μετ’ ἀλλήλων 1 If your language does not use abstract nouns, see how you expressed the idea behind the abstract noun **fellowship** in [1:3](../01/03.md). Alternate translation: “then we are close friends with one another” +1:7 j031 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor ὡς αὐτός ἐστιν ἐν τῷ φωτί 1 John is using the word **light** here to refer to God's holiness. Alternate translation: “as God is holy” +1:7 j032 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns κοινωνίαν ἔχομεν μετ’ ἀλλήλων 1 If your language does not use an abstract noun for **fellowship**, see how you expressed this idea in [1:3](../01/03.md). Alternate translation: “then we are close friends with one another” 1:7 d7d8 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy τὸ αἷμα Ἰησοῦ 1 John is using the word **blood** here to refer to the sacrificial death of Jesus by association with the **blood** that Jesus shed when he died for our sins. Alternate translation: “the sacrificial death of Jesus” -1:7 j033 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor τὸ αἷμα Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, καθαρίζει ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ πάσης ἁμαρτίας 1 John is speaking of **sin** as if it made a person dirty and of the **blood** of Jesus as if it made a person clean. Alternate translation: “takes away all of our sin” 1:7 jb3e rc://*/ta/man/translate/guidelines-sonofgodprinciples Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ 1 **Son** is an important title for Jesus, the Son of God. +1:7 j033 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor καθαρίζει ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ πάσης ἁμαρτίας 1 John is speaking of **sin** as if it made a person dirty and of the **blood** of Jesus as if it made a person clean. Alternate translation: “takes away all of our sin” 1:8 j034 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-hypo ἐὰν εἴπωμεν ὅτι ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ ἔχομεν, ἑαυτοὺς πλανῶμεν καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἡμῖν 1 John is using another hypothetical situation to help his readers recognize the importance of consistency between their words and their actions. Alternate translation: “Suppose we say that we have no sin. Then we are leading ourselves astray, and the truth is not in us” 1:8 m8hf rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor ἑαυτοὺς πλανῶμεν 1 John speaks of those who say this as if they were guides who were leading people—themselves, actually—in the wrong direction. Alternate translation: “we are deceiving ourselves” 1:8 tt51 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor ἡ ἀλήθεια οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἡμῖν 1 John speaks of the **truth** as if it were an object that could be inside believers. Alternate translation: “we do not believe that what God says is true” -1:8 j035 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns ἡ ἀλήθεια οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἡμῖν 1 If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind the abstract noun **truth** with an adjective such as “true.” Alternate translation: “we do not believe that what God says is true” +1:8 j035 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns ἡ ἀλήθεια οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἡμῖν 1 If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of **truth**, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “we do not believe that what God says is true” 1:9 j036 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-hypo ἐὰν ὁμολογῶμεν τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν, πιστός ἐστιν καὶ δίκαιος 1 John is using another hypothetical situation to help his readers recognize the value and benefits of living in holiness. Alternate translation: “Suppose we confess our sins. Then he is faithful and righteous” 1:9 agve rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit ἐὰν ὁμολογῶμεν τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν 1 Part of confessing sin to God is rejecting them. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state that explicitly. Alternate translation: “If we confess our sins to God and turn away from them” 1:9 gb5l rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns πιστός ἐστιν & ἵνα ἀφῇ 1 The pronoun **he** refers to God in both instances in this verse. Alternate translation: “God is faithful … and God will forgive” 1:9 f68c rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-parallelism ἵνα ἀφῇ ἡμῖν τὰς ἁμαρτίας, καὶ καθαρίσῃ ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ πάσης ἀδικίας 1 These two phrases mean basically the same thing. John is likely using them together for emphasis. If including both phrases would be confusing for your readers, you could combine them and express the emphasis in another way. Alternate translation: “and he will completely forgive us of what we have done wrong” -1:9 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor ἀφῇ ἡμῖν τὰς ἁμαρτίας, καὶ καθαρίσῃ ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ πάσης ἀδικίας 1 As in [1:7](../01/07.md), John is speaking of **sins** as if they made a person dirty and of God’s forgiveness as if it made a person clean. Alternate translation: “he should not hold against us anything that we have done wrong” +1:9 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor ἀφῇ ἡμῖν τὰς ἁμαρτίας, καὶ καθαρίσῃ ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ πάσης ἀδικίας 1 As in [1:7](../01/07.md), John is speaking figuratively as if **sins** made a person physically dirty and of God’s forgiveness as if it made a person physically clean. Alternate translation: “he should not hold against us anything that we have done wrong” 1:9 j039 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns πάσης ἀδικίας 1 If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind the abstract noun **unrighteousness** with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: “anything that we have done wrong” 1:10 j040 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-hypo ἐὰν εἴπωμεν ὅτι οὐχ ἡμαρτήκαμεν, ψεύστην ποιοῦμεν αὐτὸν 1 John is using another hypothetical situation to help his readers recognize the serious implications of not living in holiness. Alternate translation: “Suppose we say that we have not sinned. Then we are calling God a liar” -1:10 j041 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns αὐτὸν & αὐτοῦ 1 The pronouns **him** and **his** refer to God in this verse. Alternate translation: “God … God’s” +1:10 j041 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns αὐτὸν & αὐτοῦ 1 The pronouns **him** and **his** refer to God in this verse. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use that here. Alternate translation: “God … God’s” 1:10 hii2 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit ψεύστην ποιοῦμεν αὐτὸν 1 Be sure that it is clear in your translation that God would not actually be a **liar** in this case. Rather, a person who claimed to be without sin would be calling God a liar, since God has said that everyone is a sinner. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state that explicitly. Alternate translation: “that is the same as calling God a liar, because God has said that we have all sinned” -1:10 j042 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy ὁ λόγος αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἡμῖν 1 John is using the term **word** to mean what God has said by using words. Alternate translation: “we do not believe what God has said” -1:10 m3p1 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor ὁ λόγος αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἡμῖν 1 As he did about the “truth” in [1:8](../01/08.md), John is speaking of God’s **word** as if it were an object that could be inside believers. Alternate translation: “we do not believe what God has said” +1:10 j042 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy ὁ λόγος αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἡμῖν 1 John is using the term **word** here to mean what God has said by using words. Alternate translation: “we do not believe what God has said” +1:10 m3p1 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor ὁ λόγος αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἡμῖν 1 John is speaking of God’s **word** here as if it were an object that could be inside believers. (He also spoke of “truth” in this way in [1:8](../01/08.md).) Alternate translation: “we do not believe what God has said” 2:intro zjj9 0 # 1 John 2 General Notes\n\n## Structure and Formatting\n\n1. Genuine believers obey God and love one another (2:1–17, continuing from 1:5)\n2. It is false teaching to deny that Jesus is the Messiah (2:18–2:27)\n3. Genuine children of God do not sin (2:28–29, continues through 3:10)\n\nIn order to show that John is writing something like poetry in [2:12–14](../02/12.md), some translations set the statements in those verses farther to the right than the rest of the text, and they begin a new line at the start of each statement.\n\n## Special Concepts in this Chapter\n\n### Antichrist\n\nIn [2:18](../02/18.md) and [2:22](../02/22.md), John writes both about a specific person called the Antichrist and about many people who will be “antichrists.” The word “antichrist” means “opposed to Christ.” The Antichrist is a person who will come just before the return of Jesus and imitate Jesus’ work, but he will do that for evil purposes. Before that person comes, there will be many other people who work against Christ. They too are called “antichrists,” but as a description rather than as a name. (See: [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/antichrist]] and [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/lastday]] and [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/evil]])\n\n## Important Textual Issues in this Chapter\n\nIn [2:20](../02/20.md), some ancient manuscripts read “you all know,” and that is the reading that ULT follows. However, other ancient manuscripts read “you know all things.” It seems more likely, based on everything else in the letter, that “you all know” is the correct original reading, since John is countering the claim of false teachers to know more than other believers. The reading “you know all things” seems to have arisen because copyists felt a need to have an object for the verb “know.” Nevertheless, if a translation of the Bible already exists in your region, consider using whichever reading is found in that version. If a translation does not already exist, we recommend that you follow the reading in the ULT text. (See: [[rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-textvariants]]) 2:1 j043 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit τεκνία μου 1 Here and in several other places in the book, John uses the diminutive form of the word **children** as an affectionate form of address. The ULT shows this by adding the word **little**. If your language has diminutive forms, you may wish to use one here. You could also express the meaning of the diminutive as a term of endearment. Alternate translation: “My dear children” 2:1 v57g rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor τεκνία μου 1 John is using the word **children** to describe the believers to whom he is writing. They are under his spiritual care, and so he regards them in that sense as if they were his own children. You could translate this plainly, or you could represent the metaphor as a simile, as UST does. Alternate translation: “You dear believers who are under my care” diff --git a/tn_JHN.tsv b/tn_JHN.tsv index 098c2eb8fc..f5bd884ce2 100644 --- a/tn_JHN.tsv +++ b/tn_JHN.tsv @@ -1,8 +1,8 @@ Reference ID Tags SupportReference Quote Occurrence Note front:intro t6za 0 # Introduction to the Gospel of John\n\n## Part 1: General Introduction\n\n### Outline of the Gospel of John\n\n1. Introduction about who Jesus is (1:1–18)\n2. John the Baptizer baptizes Jesus, and Jesus chooses 12 disciples (1:19–51)\n3. Jesus preaches, teaches, and heals people (2–11)\n4. The seven days before Jesus’ death (12–19)\n\n * Mary anoints the feet of Jesus (12:1–11)\n * Jesus rides a donkey into Jerusalem (12:12–19)\n * Some Greek men want to see Jesus (12:20–36)\n * The Jewish leaders reject Jesus (12:37–50)\n * Jesus teaches his disciples (13–16)\n * Jesus prays for himself and his disciples (17)\n * Jesus is arrested and undergoes trial (18:1–19:15)\n * Jesus is crucified and buried (19:16–42)\n5. Jesus rises from the dead (20:1–29)\n6. John says why he wrote his Gospel (20:30–31)\n7. Jesus meets with the disciples (21)\n\nMore detailed outlines are in the General Notes for each chapter.\n\n### What is the Gospel of John about?\n\nThe Gospel of John is one of four books in the New Testament that describe some of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. These books are called “Gospels,” which means “good news.” Their authors wrote about different aspects of who Jesus was and what he did. John said that he wrote his Gospel “so that people might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God” ([20:31](../20/31.md)). John’s Gospel repeatedly emphasizes that Jesus is God in human form.\n\nJohn’s Gospel is very different from the other three Gospels. John does not include some of the teachings and events that the other writers included in their Gospels. Also, John wrote about some teachings and events that are not in the other Gospels.\n\nJohn wrote much about the miraculous signs Jesus did to prove that what Jesus said about himself was true. (See: [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/sign]])\n\n### How should the title of this book be translated?\n\nTranslators may choose to call this book by its traditional title, “The Gospel of John” or “The Gospel According to John.” Or they may choose a title that may be clearer, such as, “The Good News About Jesus That John Wrote.” (See: [[rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-names]])\n\n### Who wrote the Gospel of John?\n\nThis book does not give the name of the author. However, since early Christian times, most Christians have thought that the apostle John was the author. Further evidence that the apostle John wrote this Gospel is the fact that his name does not occur once within the book. Instead, this Gospel contains the phrases “the disciple whom Jesus loved” or “the other disciple” in places where the other Gospels indicate that John was present ([13:23–25](../13/23.md); [19:26–27](../19/26.md); [20:2–8](../20/02.md); [21:7](../21/07.md), [20–24](../21/20.md)). The apostle John most likely referred to himself in this manner because he wanted to humbly say that he had a very close relationship with Jesus. He was part of Jesus’ inner circle of disciples who became the “pillars” of the early church ([Galatians 2:9](../../gal/02/09.md)).\n\n## Part 2: Important Religious and Cultural Concepts\n\n### Why does John write so much about the final week of Jesus’ life?\n\nJohn wrote much about Jesus’ final week. He wanted his readers to think deeply about Jesus’ final week and his death on the cross. He wanted people to understand that Jesus willingly died on the cross so that God could forgive them for sinning against him. (See: [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/sin]])\n\n## Part 3: Important Translation Issues\n\n### Why does Jesus refer to himself as the “Son of Man”?\n\nIn the Gospels, Jesus calls himself the “Son of Man.” This is a reference to [Daniel 7:13–14](../../dan/07/13.md). In that passage, there is a person who is described as like a “son of man.” That means that the person was someone who looked like a human being. God gave authority to this “son of man” to rule over the nations forever. All people will worship him forever.\n\nJews of Jesus’ time did not use “Son of Man” as a title for anyone. But Jesus used it for himself to help them understand who he truly was. (See: [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/sonofman]])\n\nTranslating the title “Son of Man” can be difficult in many languages. Readers may misunderstand a literal translation. Translators can consider alternatives, such as “The Human One.” It may also be helpful to include a footnote to explain the title.\n\n### What does the word “sign” mean in the Gospel of John?\n\nWhile other New Testament writers use terms like “mighty works” or “wonders” to refer to the miracles that Jesus did, John prefers to use the term “sign.” The miracles John calls “signs” were significant displays of divine power. John called them signs to emphasize that an important purpose of Jesus’ miracles was to prove that Jesus was God and that what Jesus said about himself was true. John said that in his Gospel he only wrote about some of the signs that Jesus did. John said, “these have been written so that you would believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and so that believing, you would have life in his name” ([20:30–31](../20/30.md)).\n\n### What do the words “remain,” “reside,” and “abide” mean in the Gospel of John?\n\nJohn often used the words “remain,” “reside,” and “abide” as metaphors. John spoke of a believer becoming more faithful to Jesus and knowing Jesus better as if Jesus’ word “remained” in the believer. John also spoke of someone being spiritually joined to someone else as if the person “remained” in the other person. Christians are said to “remain” in Christ and in God. The Father is said to “remain” in the Son, and the Son is said to “remain” in the Father. The Son is said to “remain” in believers. The Holy Spirit is also said to “remain” in the believers.\n\nMany translators will find it impossible to represent these ideas in their languages in exactly the same way. For example, Jesus intended to express the idea of the Christian being spiritually together with him when he said, “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him” ([6:56](../06/56.md)). The UST uses the idea of “will be united with me, and I will be united with them,” but translators may have to find other ways of expressing the idea.\n\nIn the passage, “my words remain in you” ([15:7](../15/07.md)), the UST expresses this idea as “obey what I have taught you.” Translators may find it possible to use this translation as a model.\n\n### What is double meaning in the Gospel of John?\n\nJohn occasionally used words or phrases that could have two meanings (double entendre) in the language in which he originally wrote this Gospel. For example, the phrase translated “born again” in the ULT could also mean “born from above” ([3:3](../03/03.md), [7](../03/07.md)). In such cases, you may want to choose one meaning and put the other meaning in a footnote.\n\n### What are the major issues in the text of the Gospel of John?\n\nThe following verses are found in older versions of the Bible but are not included in most modern versions. Translators are advised not to translate these verses. However, if there are older versions of the Bible in the translators’ region that include these verses, then the translators can include them. If they are translated, they should be put inside square brackets (\\[\\]) to indicate that they were probably not originally in John’s Gospel.\n\n* “waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel of the Lord went down into the pool and stirred up the water at certain times, and whoever then first stepped in after the water was stirred was healed from whatever disease he suffered from.” (5:3–4)\n* “going through the midst of them, and so passed by” ([8:59](../08/59.md))\n\nThe following passage is included in most older and modern versions of the Bible. But it is not in the earliest copies of the Bible. Translators are advised to translate this passage. It should be put inside of square brackets (\\[\\]) to indicate that it may not have been original to John’s Gospel.\n\n* The story of the adulterous woman ([7:53](../07/53.md)–[8:11](../08/11.md)) (See: [[rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-textvariants]]) -1:intro k29b 0 # John 1 General Notes\n\n## Structure and Formatting\n\n1. Jesus is God (1:1–5)\n2. John the Baptist was Jesus’ witness (1:6–8)\n3. Summary of Jesus’ ministry on earth (1:9–13)\n4. Jesus is God in the flesh (1:14–18)\n5. John the Baptist prepares the way for Jesus (1:19–34)\n6. Jesus meets Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathaniel (1:35–51)\n\nSome translations set each line of poetry farther to the right than the rest of the text to make it easier to read. The ULT does this with the poetry in [1:23](../01/23.md), which are words from the Old Testament.\n\n## Special Concepts in this Chapter\n\n### “The Word”\n\nJohn uses the phrase “the Word” to refer to Jesus ([1:1](../01/01.md), [14](../01/14.md)). John is saying that God’s most important message to all people is actually Jesus, a person with a physical body. (See: [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/wordofgod]])\n\n### Light and Darkness\n\nIn [1:4–9](../01/04.md), John uses an extended metaphor in which light represents what is true and good and darkness represents what is false and evil. John applies that light metaphor to Jesus in order to show that Jesus is God’s truth and goodness displayed in a human body. (See: [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/righteous]])\n\n### “Children of God”\n\nPeople are sometimes described as “children of God” because God created them. However, John uses this expression in a different sense in this chapter. He uses it to describe people who have entered into a father-child relationship with God by putting their faith and trust in Jesus. God indeed created all people, but people can only become children of God in this sense by believing in Jesus. “Children” in this usage does not refer to those who are young, but only to the relationship that people have to their father at any age. (See: [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/believe]])\n\n## Important Figures of Speech in this Chapter\n\n### Metaphors\n\nJohn uses the metaphors of light and darkness and of “the Word” to tell the reader that he will be writing more about good and evil and about what God wants to tell people through Jesus. (See: [[rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])\n\n## Other Possible Translation Difficulties in this Chapter\n\n### “In the beginning”\n\nSome languages and cultures speak of the world as if it has always existed, as if it had no beginning. But “very long ago” is different from “in the beginning,” and you need to be sure that your translation communicates correctly.\n\n### “Son of Man”\n\nJesus refers to himself as the “Son of Man” in this chapter ([1:51](../01/51.md)). Your language may not allow people to speak of themselves as if they were speaking about someone else. See the discussion of this concept in Part 3 of the General Introduction to the Gospel of John. (See: [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/sonofman]] and [[rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-123person]]) +1:intro k29b 0 # John 1 General Notes\n\n## Structure and Formatting\n\n1. Jesus is God (1:1–5)\n2. John the Baptist was Jesus’ witness (1:6–8)\n3. Summary of Jesus’ ministry on earth (1:9–13)\n4. Jesus is God in the flesh (1:14–18)\n5. John the Baptist prepares the way for Jesus (1:19–34)\n6. Jesus meets Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathaniel (1:35–51)\n\nSome translations set each line of poetry farther to the right than the rest of the text to make it easier to read. The ULT does this with the poetry in [1:23](../01/23.md), which are words from the Old Testament.\n\n## Special Concepts in this Chapter\n\n### “The Word”\n\nJohn uses the phrase “the Word” to refer to Jesus ([1:1](../01/01.md), [14](../01/14.md)). This title does not refer to a word that is spoken by someone. By using this title for Jesus, John is saying that Jesus is God’s most important message to all people. Jesus is the one who reveals who God is. As John explains, Jesus is a person who has always existed, who is God, who was active in creation, and who became a man with a physical body. In your translation of this title, try to make it clear that this is the title of a person whose role it is to communicate a message. Something like “The Message” or “The Revealer” might be appropriate, or you might prefer to use the title that is used in an accepted translation in your area. (See: [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/wordofgod]])\n\n### Light and Darkness\n\nIn [1:4–9](../01/04.md), John uses an extended metaphor in which light represents what is true and good and darkness represents what is false and evil. John applies that light metaphor to Jesus in order to show that Jesus is God’s truth and goodness displayed in a human body. (See: [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/righteous]])\n\n### “Children of God”\n\nPeople are sometimes described as “children of God” because God created them. However, John uses this expression in a different sense in this chapter. He uses it to describe people who have entered into a father-child relationship with God by putting their faith and trust in Jesus. God indeed created all people, but people can only become children of God in this sense by believing in Jesus. “Children” in this usage does not refer to those who are young, but only to the relationship that people have to their father at any age. (See: [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/believe]])\n\n## Important Figures of Speech in this Chapter\n\n### Metaphors\n\nJohn uses the metaphors of light and darkness and of “the Word” to tell the reader that he will be writing more about good and evil and about what God wants to tell people through Jesus. (See: [[rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])\n\n## Other Possible Translation Difficulties in this Chapter\n\n### “In the beginning”\n\nSome languages and cultures speak of the world as if it has always existed, as if it had no beginning. But “very long ago” is different from “in the beginning,” and you need to be sure that your translation communicates correctly.\n\n### “Son of Man”\n\nJesus refers to himself as the “Son of Man” in this chapter ([1:51](../01/51.md)). Your language may not allow people to speak of themselves as if they were speaking about someone else. See the discussion of this concept in Part 3 of the General Introduction to the Gospel of John. (See: [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/sonofman]] and [[rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-123person]]) 1:1 er9g rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν 1 This phrase refers to the very earliest time before God created the heavens and the earth. It does not refer to time in the distant past. If this might confuse your readers, you could express the meaning explicitly. Alternate translation: “Before the beginning of the universe there was” or “Before the universe began there was” -1:1 z59q rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος & καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος 1 Here, **the Word** refers to Jesus. It does not refer to a spoken word. ULT indicates this by capitalizing **Word** to indicate that this is a title for Jesus. Use whatever convention your language uses to indicate that this is a name. If “word” is feminine in your language, it could be translated as “the one who is called the Word.” Alternate translation: “Jesus, who is the Word, and Jesus … and Jesus was God” +1:1 z59q rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit ὁ λόγος 1 Here, **the Word** refers to Jesus. It does not refer to a spoken word. The ULT capitalizes **Word** to indicate that this is a title for Jesus. Use whatever convention your language uses to indicate that this is a title. If “word” is feminine in your language, it could be translated as “the one who is called the Word.” See the discussion in the chapter introduction for more information. Alternate translation: “Jesus, who is the Word” 1:2 u6xx rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns οὗτος 1 **He** here refers to Jesus, whom John has called “the Word” in the previous verse. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “Jesus” or “the Word” 1:2 k8cf ἐν ἀρχῇ 1 Here this phrase refers to the very earliest time before God created the heavens and the earth. See how you translated this phrase in verse [1](../01/01.md). Alternate translation: “before the beginning of the universe” or “before the universe began” 1:3 gm5g rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive πάντα δι’ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο 1 If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you must state who did the action, John implies that God did it. Alternate translation: “God made all things through him”