OET interlinear YHN (JHN) 1:41

1:41a

He first found his brother Simon: The Greek word that the BSB translates as first here means “before doing anything else,” “at once.” For example:

At once he found his brother Simon. (GNT)

found his brother Simon: Andrew found his brother. In your translation, you should not imply that Simon was lost. Andrew simply learned where he was and joined him, that is, went to where he was. Here is another way to translate this phrase:

went to his brother Simon

his brother Simon: In 1:40a the author has already stated that Simon and Andrew were brothers. In some languages it may not be natural to repeat this information again so soon. If this is the case in your language, you may want to follow the NJB:

The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother (NJB)

Here John refers to Simon Peter as Simon, his original name, instead of the combination Simon Peter.

1:41b

“We have found the Messiah” (which is translated as Christ): The Greek word that the BSB translates literally as Christ and the Hebrew word Messiah both mean “the anointed one.”

Here is another way to translate 1:41b:

‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is the Hebrew for Christ) (REB)

We have found the Messiah: The Jewish people had been waiting for the Messiah for hundreds of years. They hoped that he would save them from the foreign nations that oppressed them. To see the Messiah would be the most joyful part of their lives. So this is a very important message. Andrew understood and believed what John the Baptist said about Jesus.

In your translation, you should avoid indicating that the Messiah was lost and therefore had to be found. If a literal translation has this meaning, you may want to say this:

We saw the Messiah.

We have discovered who the Messiah is!

the Messiah: This phrase is a title. The Jews used this title to refer to a person whom God had appointed and promised to send. He would be King and Savior. See Isaiah 9:6, Zechariah 9:9, 12:10. Also see Christ, Messiah in KBT.

You may want to include a footnote to explain the meaning of the Messiah. For example:

The title “the Messiah” refers to the king and savior whom God had promised to send to his people. It means the same as “the Christ.”

which is translated as Christ: The BSB places this clause in parentheses because it is background, parenthetical information. To help his readers, the writer John explained in Greek the meaning of the Hebrew word “Messiah.” If people do not know what Christ means, but know the title Christ, you may want to say this:

This word means “Christ.” (GNT)

(which means Christ, “the anointed one”)