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Yhn 1 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 V51
OET (OET-LV) Nathanaaʸl is_saying to_him:
From_where you_are_knowing me?
Yaʸsous answered and said to_him:
Before the time Filippos to_call you, being under the fig_tree, I_saw you.
OET (OET-RV) But Nathanael queried him, “Where do you know me from?”
¶ And Yeshua replied, “Actually I saw you under that fig tree before Philip had even called you.”
This section tells how Philip and Nathaniel became disciples of Jesus. Jesus showed them his power to know all things. He told Nathaniel that he had seen him under a fig tree. That showed Nathaniel that Jesus was the Son of God and King of Israel.
Here are other possible section headings:
Jesus called Philip and Nathanael to be his disciples/followers
Jesus invited two more men to follow him
Philip and Nathanael became disciples
“How do You know me?” Nathanael asked.
Nathanael asked Jesus, “Where did you(sing) hear about me?”
“How did you(sing) learn who I am?” Nathanael asked.
How do You know me?: This is a real question. Nathanael asked Jesus how he knew what sort of person he was. It is implied that he had never met Jesus before.
Here are other ways to translate this question:
How can you know me? (JBP)
How do you know about me? (NLT)
Jesus replied, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”
Jesus said to Nathanael, “I saw you(sing) while you were still under the fig tree, before Philip called you.”
“I saw you(sing) before Philip called you. You were under the fig tree,” Jesus told him.
Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree: Jesus was pointing out that he knew something that a person did not know without help from God. This was a sign (evidence) that he was from God. He knew what Nathanael had been doing before Philip had invited him to go and meet Jesus. John does not say what Nathanael was doing under the fig tree, but in some languages you may need to include some information. For example:
I saw you sitting/resting under the fig tree.
Here is another way to translate this sentence that may be more natural in some languages:
I saw you in the shade of the fig tree.
the fig tree: This phrase refers to the specific fig tree that Nathanael had been under. The fig tree was a common tree in Israel. It normally produced small fruit called “figs” that they could eat. If speakers of your language are not familiar with the fig tree, here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
the tree with a fruit called “fig”
the fruit tree
In some languages it may be natural to reorder the clauses in 1:48b. For example:
I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you. (NRSV)
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / pastforfuture
λέγει
˓is˒_saying
Here John uses the present tense in past narration in order to call attention to a development in the story.
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
πρὸ τοῦ σε Φίλιππον φωνῆσαι, ὄντα ὑπὸ τὴν συκῆν, εἶδόν σε
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: λέγει αὐτῷ Ναθαναήλ Πόθεν μέ γινώσκεις ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καί εἶπεν αὐτῷ Πρό τοῦ σέ Φίλιππον φωνῆσαι ὄντα ὑπό τήν συκῆν εἶδον σέ)
Nathaniel’s reaction to this statement in the next verse indicates that this is a display of supernatural knowledge. It appears that Jesus knew something about Nathaniel that no one else could have known. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [Before Philip called you, being completely alone under the fig tree, I saw you.]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ὄντα ὑπὸ τὴν συκῆν
being (Some words not found in SR-GNT: λέγει αὐτῷ Ναθαναήλ Πόθεν μέ γινώσκεις ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καί εἶπεν αὐτῷ Πρό τοῦ σέ Φίλιππον φωνῆσαι ὄντα ὑπό τήν συκῆν εἶδον σέ)
The subject of this clause is Philip, not Jesus. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [while you were under the fig tree]
OET (OET-LV) Nathanaaʸl is_saying to_him:
From_where you_are_knowing me?
Yaʸsous answered and said to_him:
Before the time Filippos to_call you, being under the fig_tree, I_saw you.
OET (OET-RV) But Nathanael queried him, “Where do you know me from?”
¶ And Yeshua replied, “Actually I saw you under that fig tree before Philip had even called you.”
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.
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