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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Yhn C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21
Yhn 12 V1 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V13 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47 V49
OET (OET-LV) I have_come into the world as_a_light, in_order_that everyone which believing in me, in the darkness may_ not _remain.
OET (OET-RV) I came into this world as light so that anyone who believes in me won’t have darkness residing in them.
Jesus taught the people about who he was and why he had come into the world. He encouraged people to believe in him and receive his word. He emphasized that he came from God and was obedient to God in everything he said. Here are some other possible titles for this section:
The need to receive Jesus’ word
Believing in Jesus or rejecting him
I have come into the world as a light,
I have come into the world to be its light
I have come to the people of the world to give them true/spiritual light
I have come into the world as a light: In this clause, Jesus clearly compared himself to light, as he did in 8:12b, 9:5b, and 12:35a,b. He came into the world to be its light. The Greek text emphasizes the word I.
This clause contains a simile. Jesus was like light in that he showed people the truth, especially about God and salvation. In some languages a literal translation of this simile may be difficult to understand. Here are some other ways to translate this simile:
Make the simile clearer. For example:
I have come into the world to be like a light for you/it.
Make the point of similarity explicit. For example:
I have come into the world like a light, to show/reveal God/truth to you
so that no one who believes in Me should remain in darkness.
so that no one who believes in me should have to live in the dark any longer.
so that all people who have faith in me will be able to leave the darkness.
so that: This phrase introduces Jesus’ purpose in coming into the world to be its light.
no one who believes in Me should remain in darkness: In some languages it may be natural to use the subject “everyone” and a negative verb. For example:
everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness (NRSV)
believes in Me: This phrase includes the idea of believing the facts about who Jesus was and what he did. But it also includes the idea of trusting Jesus instead of trusting oneself or someone else. Both ideas are very closely related. If someone believes the facts about Jesus, it should result in trusting him. See how you translated similar phrases in 1:12b, 3:16b, and 12:44a. Here are other ways to translate this idea:
has faith in me (CEV)
put their trust in me (NLT)
should remain in darkness: The phrase remain in darkness is a figure of speech, a metaphor. The word darkness represents evil. Jesus came so that those who believe in him would no longer continue to live in evil. Those who remain in evil are like those who remain in darkness in the following ways:
They live in fear.
They do not know the truth, how things truly are.
They cannot see/know the right way to act.
See how you translated the idea of darkness in 8:12c and 12:35d. For example:
in the dark (GW)
in dark places
in a dark world
In some languages this figure of speech may be hard to understand. Here are other ways to translate it:
Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
they should not remain in what is like darkness
they should not live as though they were in the dark
Make the meaning of the metaphor more explicit. For example:
they should not live in spiritual darkness
they need not live in the darkness of evil
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἐγὼ φῶς εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἐλήλυθα
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἐγώ φῶς εἰς τόν κόσμον ἐλήλυθα ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμέ ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ μή μείνῃ)
Jesus uses light to refer to himself. See how you translated light in [8:12](../08/12). Alternate translation: [I have come as the one who reveals God’s truth and goodness to the world]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
εἰς τὸν κόσμον
into in (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἐγώ φῶς εἰς τόν κόσμον ἐλήλυθα ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμέ ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ μή μείνῃ)
Here, world refers to the people who live in it. If this might confuse your readers, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [to the people living in the world]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ μὴ μείνῃ
in the darkness (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἐγώ φῶς εἰς τόν κόσμον ἐλήλυθα ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμέ ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ μή μείνῃ)
Jesus uses darkness to refer to what is false and evil. See how you translated darkness in [12:35](../12/35.md) and also see the discussion of light and darkness in the General Notes for Chapter 1. Alternate translation: [might not remain in sin and evil]
12:1-50 Two stories build simultaneously. A growing number of people are praising Jesus (this climaxes in 12:12-13), and the authorities are increasingly determined to arrest him and put him to death.
• John records three events that occurred just days prior to Passover (12:1-11, 12-19, 20-36). Then he explains why most of the people refused to believe and details Jesus’ final public appeal (12:37-50).
OET (OET-LV) I have_come into the world as_a_light, in_order_that everyone which believing in me, in the darkness may_ not _remain.
OET (OET-RV) I came into this world as light so that anyone who believes in me won’t have darkness residing in them.
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.