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OET (OET-LV) But if anyone may_be_walking in the night, he_is_stumbling, because the light is not in him.
In this section, a friend of Jesus, a man named Lazarus, became sick and died. Jesus waited until after he died before he went to Lazarus’ town. Jesus told his disciples that they should go because Lazarus was asleep and he wanted to wake him. They did not understand, so Jesus had to tell them that Lazarus was dead.
Here are other possible section headings:
Lazarus got sick and died
Jesus waited until after Lazarus died before going to him
But if anyone walks at night, he will stumble,
It is when people walk in the night/dark hours that they stumble/trip,
But a person who walks on a dark night can trip,
But: This word introduces the opposite situation, that of walking in the dark. It indicates a contrast between the situation in 11:9b–c and the one in this verse.
if anyone walks at night: This phrase refers in general to anyone and everyone who walks at night, in the dark. See the General Comment on 11:9–10 for an example of a singular subject. In Jesus’ time, in a world without electricity, walking at night meant walking in the dark. It may be natural to say this more clearly. For example:
those who walk in the dark of night
those who walk in the hours of darkness
walks at night: This phrase continues the illustration. Jesus compared living life without him to walking in the world without light. Here are some ways that they are similar:
People who walk in the dark are not able to see/know the way
People who walk in the dark can be in danger.
Try to translate this in a way that helps your readers understand that Jesus was using figurative language. For example:
those who try to walk in the hours of darkness
he will stumble: The Greek word that the BSB translates as stumble refers to someone who falls because they walk into something. It can also be translated as “trip.”
As in 11:9b, the word stumble is a metaphor and refers to sinning or facing unnecessary danger. In some languages, you may want to make the meaning of the metaphor clearer. For example:
stumble into difficulty/danger
because he has no light.”
because they have do not have any light inside them.”
because he does not have the light to see by.”
because: This word introduces the reason why those who walk at night stumble.
he has no light: The Greek clause that the BSB translates literally as he has no light continues the metaphor. It means that the person stumbles because Jesus, the light, is not in him. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
he does not have the light inside him
they have no light in themselves (GW)
In some languages it may be natural to follow the Greek and use a singular rather than a plural subject. It is good to use a general subject that can refer to anyone, male or female. For example:
9If anyone walks around in the daytime…. 10But if anyone walks around at night…. (NET)
In some languages it may be natural to use the second-person pronoun as the subject. For example:
9If you walk during the day, you will have light from the sun, and you won’t stumble. 10But if you walk during the night, you will stumble, because you don’t have any light. (CEV)
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / exmetaphor
ἐὰν δέ τις περιπατῇ ἐν τῇ νυκτί, προσκόπτει, ὅτι τὸ φῶς οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐτῷ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐάν Δέ τὶς περιπατῇ ἐν τῇ νυκτί προσκόπτει ὅτι τό φῶς οὐκ ἐστίν ἐν αὐτῷ)
In this verse Jesus expands the metaphor from the previous verse about a person walking outside. In this metaphor Jesus uses the light to refer to himself, who has previously called himself “the Light of the World” in [8:12](../08/12.md) and [9:5](../09/05.md). This whole metaphor could mean: (1) if his disciples tried to do God’s work after the limited time God had given him to be with them (the night which comes after “the daytime”), they would fail (stumble) because Jesus would not be with them. This interpretation has a similar meaning to Jesus’ statement in [9:4](../09/04.md). Alternate translation: [If you try to do this work after I have left, you will fail because I, the light, am not with you.] (2) someone who does not act according to God’s will (walks at night) is an unbeliever who fails completely (stumble) because that person does not know Jesus. Alternate translation: [If someone does not act according to God’s will, he will fail because he does not know me, the light]
11:1-57 The raising of Lazarus foreshadows Jesus’ own coming death and resurrection. Even the description of Lazarus’ grave (11:38, 44) prefigures Jesus’ grave (20:1, 7). Shortly after this event, Jesus was anointed for burial (12:3) and the hour of his glorification began (12:23).
OET (OET-LV) But if anyone may_be_walking in the night, he_is_stumbling, because the light is not in him.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.