YHN 1:17 Interlinear View

1. Greek word
2. Greek lemma
3. OET-LV words
4. OET-RV words
5. Strongs
6. Role/Morphology
7. OET Gloss
8. VLT Gloss
9. CAPS codes
10. Confidence
11. OET tags
12. OET word #
1. Ὅτι
2. hoti
3. Because
4. -
5. 37540
6. C·······
7. because
8. because
9. S
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62583
1. ὁ
2. ho
3. the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····NMS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62584
1. νόμος
2. nomos
3. law
4. -
5. 35510
6. N····NMS
7. law
8. law
9. -
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62585
1. διά
2. dia
3. through
4. -
5. 12230
6. P·······
7. through
8. through
9. -
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62586
1. Μωϋσέως
2. mōuseus
3. Mōsaʸs/(Mosheh)
4. -
5. 34750
6. N····GMS
7. Mōsaʸs/(Mosheh)
8. Moses
9. U
10. Person=Moses; Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62587
1. ἐδόθη
2. didōmi
3. was given
4. -
5. 13250
6. VIAP3··S
7. ˓was˒ given
8. ˓was˒ given
9. -
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62588
1. ἡ
2. ho
3. the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····NFS
7. ¬the
8. ¬the
9. -
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62589
1. χάρις
2. χaris
3. -
4. -
5. 54850
6. N····NFS
7. grace
8. grace
9. -
10. -
11. 62590
1. δέ
2. de
3. -
4. -
5. 11610
6. C·······
7. and
8. and
9. -
10. -
11. 62591
1. χάρις
2. χaris
3. grace
4. grace
5. 54850
6. N····NFS
7. grace
8. grace
9. -
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62592
1. καί
2. kai
3. and
4. but
5. 25320
6. C·······
7. and
8. and
9. -
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62593
1. ἡ
2. ho
3. the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····NFS
7. ¬the
8. ¬the
9. -
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62594
1. ἀλήθεια
2. alētheia
3. truth
4. truth
5. 2250
6. N····NFS
7. truth
8. truth
9. -
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62595
1. διά
2. dia
3. through
4. -
5. 12230
6. P·······
7. through
8. through
9. -
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62596
1. Ἰησοῦ
2. iēsous
3. Yaʸsous/(Yəhōshūˊa)
4. -
5. 24240
6. N····GMS
7. Yaʸsous/(Yəhōshūˊa)
8. Jesus
9. UN
10. Person=Jesus; Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62597
1. Χριστοῦ
2. χristos
3. chosen one messiah
4. messiah
5. 55470
6. N····GMS
7. chosen_one/messiah
8. Christ
9. WN
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness; Person=Jesus
11. 62598
1. ἐγένετο
2. ginomai
3. became
4. -
5. 10960
6. VIAM3··S
7. became
8. became
9. -
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62599

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:1–18: The Word became flesh

In this section the author introduces the subject of his book, Jesus Christ. However, he does not mention Jesus by name until near the end of this section, in 1:17. Instead, he uses figurative language, referring to him as the Word and the light.

Here are other possible section headings:

The Word brought life and light to all people

Jesus is the Word and the light

Paragraph 1:14–18

This paragraph declares that the Word became a human being and lived on earth. John the Baptist announced his coming and his greatness. The Word is revealed as Jesus Christ.

1:17a

For the law was given through Moses;

For the law was given long ago through Moses,
God gave the law to his people through Moses.

For the law was given through Moses: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as the law refers to the Torah. The Torah was the collected laws, rules, commands, and instructions in the OT. Many hundreds of years before Jesus was born, God communicated his law to the people of Israel. He used the prophet Moses as his messenger to do that. These laws are recorded in the first five books of the Old Testament. They include the Ten Commandments and also many other laws and instructions. See KBT Law 2.

For: The Greek word that the BSB translates as For here is the same word that appeared at the beginning of verse 16. It is often translated as “because” or “for.” Scholars say that it introduces further grounds for verse 14, or grounds for verse 16, or an explanation of verse 16. Some English translations, such as the GNT, do not translate this word explicitly. However, many translations (BSB, NIV, NET, NASB, ESV, REB, NLT) translate it as “for.”

Introduce the next clause in a way that is natural in your language.

was given: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as was given is passive. Here are some ways to translate it:

as a passive verb. For example:
the Teachings were given through Moses (GW)
as an active verb. God is the implied actor. For example:
God gave his law through Moses.
God caused Moses to give the laws to the people.

Use the verb form that is most natural in your language.

1:17b

grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

but/and grace and truth came to us^(incl) through Jesus Christ.
God showed us^(incl) mercy and revealed to us his truth/faithfulness through/in Jesus the Messiah.

In the Greek text, there is no conjunction to connect 1:17a and 1:17b. Many English translations include the word “but” (CEV, KJV, REB, NET, GW, GNT, NLT, NCV). This is done to indicate the contrast between the law coming through Moses (1:17a) and grace and truth coming through Jesus Christ (1:17b). You may want to indicate this contrast if that is natural in your language. However, your translation should not imply that there was no grace or truth in the law that came through Moses.

grace and truth came through Jesus Christ: The Greek clause grace and truth came through Jesus Christ indicates that Jesus Christ brought grace and truth to the human race. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

Jesus Christ brought us undeserved kindness and truth. (CEV)

It is through Jesus Christ that we^(incl) learned about God’s love and faithfulness that do not fail.

Jesus Christ showed us^(incl) how kind and faithful God is.

grace: The Greek word that the BSB translates as grace refers to God’s favor and kindness to people that do not deserve them. In some languages it may be natural to translate it as an adjective:

[Jesus Christ showed us that God is] kind/gracious to those who do not deserve it.

truth: The Greek word that the BSB translates as truth here refers to God’s faithfulness. He is faithful to himself, to his own righteous character, and also to his people. In some languages it may be natural to translate it as an adjective:

true/faithful

Christ: The word Christ is a title. It is not just one of Jesus’ names. This title refers to the person whom God had appointed and promised to send as king and savior. The title Christ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word “Messiah,” which means “the anointed one.” In Old Testament times, kings and priests were anointed with oil (oil was put on their head). That was done to show that God had chosen and appointed them as leaders.

Here are some ways to translate Christ:

Transliterate the word Christ (or “Messiah”) if the word is known in your area and means “savior.” Indicate in some way that it is a title. For example:
the Krais
the Kirisita
the Massie
Translate the meaning of Christ with a descriptive phrase. For example:
the One God Appointed
The savior God promised
God’s chosen one
the King who rescues his people
It is better to use both a transliteration of Christ or “Messiah” and include a phrase that explains the meaning. In this way, people will learn the meaning of Christ. (You may choose to include the descriptive phrase only for the first uses of the term. Then later you may use only Christ or Messiah.) For example:
the Krais, the appointed one
Cristo, the savior God promised
the Messias, the King-who-rescues

If you do not indicate the meaning of Christ in the text, you may want to include a footnote to explain it. Or you may want to explain the meaning in a glossary. For example:

“Christ” and “Messiah” both mean the same thing. “Christ” is based on a Greek word, and “Messiah” is based on the same word/title in Hebrew. They both refer to the king and savior whom God had promised to send to his people. The word means “anointed,” which means to pour oil on someone to show that God chose him for a special purpose.

It may also help to explain the meaning more completely than that in a glossary.

See also KBT Christ, Messiah, sense 1(a).

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast

ὁ νόμος διὰ Μωϋσέως ἐδόθη, ἡ χάρις καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐγένετο

the law (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ὅτι ὁ νόμος διά Μωϋσέως ἐδόθη ἡ χάρις καί ἡ ἀλήθεια διά Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐγένετο)

John placed the two sentences in this verse next to each other without any connecting word in order to show a contrast between the law of Moses and the grace and truth of Jesus. This does not mean that the law of Moses did not have grace and truth. Rather, John is indicating that the grace and truth revealed by Jesus is more complete than that revealed in the law of Moses. Although God revealed himself and his will through the law of Moses, he did so much more clearly though Jesus, who is God in human form. Alternate translation: [the law was given through Moses. In contrast, grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

ὁ νόμος διὰ Μωϋσέως ἐδόθη

the law (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ὅτι ὁ νόμος διά Μωϋσέως ἐδόθη ἡ χάρις καί ἡ ἀλήθεια διά Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐγένετο)

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 gave the law through Moses]

Note 3 topic: grammar-collectivenouns

ὁ νόμος & ἐδόθη

the law & ˓was˒_given

The word law is a singular noun that refers to the many laws and instructions that God gave to the Israelites. If your language does not use singular nouns in that way, you can use a different expression. Alternate translation: [the group of laws was given] or [God’s laws were given]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

ἡ χάρις καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια

¬the grace ¬the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ὅτι ὁ νόμος διά Μωϋσέως ἐδόθη ἡ χάρις καί ἡ ἀλήθεια διά Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐγένετο)

If your language does not use abstract nouns for the ideas of grace and truth, you could express the same ideas in other ways. Alternate translation: [God’s gracious and faithful character] or [Kind acts and true teachings]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

1. OET-LV words
2. OET-RV words
3. Strongs
4. Greek word
5. Greek lemma
6. Role/Morphology
7. OET Gloss
8. VLT Gloss
9. CAPS codes
10. Confidence
11. OET tags
12. OET word #
1. Because
2. -
3. 37540
4. S
5. hoti
6. C-·······
7. because
8. because
9. S
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62583
1. the
2. -
3. 35880
5. ho
6. E-····NMS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62584
1. law
2. -
3. 35510
5. nomos
6. N-····NMS
7. law
8. law
9. -
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62585
1. was given
2. -
3. 13250
5. didōmi
6. V-IAP3··S
7. ˓was˒ given
8. ˓was˒ given
9. -
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62588
1. through
2. -
3. 12230
5. dia
6. P-·······
7. through
8. through
9. -
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62586
1. Mōsaʸs/(Mosheh)
2. -
3. 34750
4. U
5. mōuseus
6. N-····GMS
7. Mōsaʸs/(Mosheh)
8. Moses
9. U
10. Person=Moses; Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62587
1. the
2. -
3. 35880
5. ho
6. E-····NFS
7. ¬the
8. ¬the
9. -
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62589
1. grace
2. grace
3. 54850
5. χaris
6. N-····NFS
7. grace
8. grace
9. -
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62592
1. and
2. but
3. 25320
5. kai
6. C-·······
7. and
8. and
9. -
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62593
1. the
2. -
3. 35880
5. ho
6. E-····NFS
7. ¬the
8. ¬the
9. -
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62594
1. truth
2. truth
3. 2250
5. alētheia
6. N-····NFS
7. truth
8. truth
9. -
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62595
1. became
2. -
3. 10960
5. ginomai
6. V-IAM3··S
7. became
8. became
9. -
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62599
1. through
2. -
3. 12230
5. dia
6. P-·······
7. through
8. through
9. -
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62596
1. Yaʸsous/(Yəhōshūˊa)
2. -
3. 24240
4. UN
5. iēsous
6. N-····GMS
7. Yaʸsous/(Yəhōshūˊa)
8. Jesus
9. UN
10. Person=Jesus; Y5; TJohn's_Witness
11. 62597
1. chosen one messiah
2. messiah
3. 55470
4. WN
5. χristos
6. N-····GMS
7. chosen_one/messiah
8. Christ
9. WN
10. Y5; TJohn's_Witness; Person=Jesus
11. 62598

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.

OET interlinear YHN (JHN) 1:17

SR Greek word order (including unused variant words in grey)

Section 1:1–18: The Word became flesh

Paragraph 1:14–18

1:17a

1:17b

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)