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OET (OET-LV) For/Because the god not sent_out his son into the world, in_order_that he_may_judge the world, but in_order_that the world may_be_saved through him.
This section tells about how a Pharisee called Nicodemus went to visit Jesus. Jesus told Nicodemus that all people need God to change them. Nicodemus could be sure that Jesus was speaking the truth because Jesus came from God.
Here are some other possible section headings:
Jesus told a Pharisee that he needed to change
Everyone must be born again
All people need God to give them a new birth/life
God sent his Son into the world to save people from being condemned.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him: The two parts of this sentence say similar things, the first part negatively and the second positively. In some language it is more natural to reorder them. See the General Comment on 3:17a–b.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world,
For God did not send the Son to the people of the world to judge them,
For God did not send his Son into the world to judge/condemn its people.
God sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, (GW)
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world: This part of the sentence indicates what God’s purpose was not: God’s purpose and desire were not to condemn the world. Translate this verse so it is clear that God did send his Son into the world, but his purpose was not to condemn the world. Here are other ways to translate this purpose:
It was not to judge the world that God sent his Son into the world. (REB)
God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world. (NLT)
For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge. (GNT)
For: The Greek word that the BSB translates as For introduces an explanation. Most English translations translate it as “for” here (ESV, NASB, NET, NIV, NLT, GNT). Others do not translate the word (CEV, GW, NCV, REB). It is recommended that you translate the word using the natural way to introduce an explanation in your language.
His Son: The phrase His Son refers to God’s Son, as in 3:16a. In some languages it may be necessary to make this more explicit, like the BSB does.
condemn: To condemn someone is to declare that they are guilty of some wrongdoing. Here is another way to translate this word:
judge guilty (NCV)
world: The Greek word that the BSB translates as world refers to the people of the world. See also the note on 3:16a.
but to save the world through Him.
but to rescue them through/by the Son.
He sent his Son to save them from their sins.
but to save the world. (GW)
but: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as but here connects a negative statement in 3:17a to a positive statement in 3:17b. This kind of sentence emphasizes the positive statement. Languages have different ways to indicate this type of emphasis. Here are some ways to show the emphasis:
Use the conjunction but as in the BSB.
It was not to judge the world that God sent his Son into the world, but that through him the world might be saved. (REB)
Use a conjunction other than but. This is a common way in English to show this type of emphasis. For example:
God did not send his son here to earth in order to sentence the people. Rather he sent him here to earth that he save the people.3:17 Otomi BT.
Do not use a conjunction. For example:
God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them! (CEV)
Change the order of the clauses. For example:
God sent his son to the world to save the people there, not to judge them.
You should translate this emphasis in the way that is most natural in your language.
to save the world through Him: This is a purpose clause. It tells God’s purpose in sending Jesus into the world.
save the world through Him: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as save is actually passive. There are at least two ways to translate it:
Use a passive verb. For example:
that through him the world might be saved (REB)
Use an active verb. For example:
be its savior (GNT)
save: The word that the BSB translates as save here means to be rescued, delivered, or freed from sin. The result is that God will not judge or condemn a person that he has saved. That means that he will not punish that person.
the world: Here again the world refers to the people of the world. For example:
God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them! (CEV)
through Him: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as through Him here means “because of what he/Jesus did.” Jesus lived, died, and rose again for us so that we might be saved from sin and evil. In some languages you may need to make some of this clear. For example:
he sent his Son to be the one who saves the world
God’s purpose/intention in sending his Son into the world is to save/deliver/rescue people from their sins.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result
γὰρ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὒ Γάρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ Θεός τόν Υἱόν εἰς τόν κόσμον ἵνα κρίνῃ τόν κόσμον ἀλλʼ ἵνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος διʼ αὐτοῦ)
For here indicates that Jesus is giving a reason why the statement in the previous verse is true. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning explicitly. Alternate translation: [God gave his One and Only Son because]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism
οὐ γὰρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν Υἱὸν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, ἵνα κρίνῃ τὸν κόσμον, ἀλλ’ ἵνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος δι’ αὐτοῦ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὒ Γάρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ Θεός τόν Υἱόν εἰς τόν κόσμον ἵνα κρίνῃ τόν κόσμον ἀλλʼ ἵνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος διʼ αὐτοῦ)
These two clauses mean nearly the same thing, said twice for emphasis, first in the negative and then in the positive. Use whatever form your language uses for emphasis. Alternate translation: [For God truly sent his Son into the world so that he might save it]
Note 3 topic: guidelines-sonofgodprinciples
τὸν Υἱὸν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὒ Γάρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ Θεός τόν Υἱόν εἰς τόν κόσμον ἵνα κρίνῃ τόν κόσμον ἀλλʼ ἵνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος διʼ αὐτοῦ)
Son is an important title for Jesus.
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / 123person
τὸν Υἱὸν & δι’ αὐτοῦ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὒ Γάρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ Θεός τόν Υἱόν εἰς τόν κόσμον ἵνα κρίνῃ τόν κόσμον ἀλλʼ ἵνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος διʼ αὐτοῦ)
Jesus is speaking about himself in the third person. If this is confusing in your language, you can use the first person. Alternate translation: [me … through me]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
τὸν κόσμον
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὒ Γάρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ Θεός τόν Υἱόν εἰς τόν κόσμον ἵνα κρίνῃ τόν κόσμον ἀλλʼ ἵνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος διʼ αὐτοῦ)
Here, world refers to the universe God created. It does not refer only to the people in the world or only to the earth. If this might confuse your readers, you could express the meaning explicitly. Alternate translation: [the universe]
Note 6 topic: writing-pronouns
ἵνα κρίνῃ
in_order_that ˱he˲_˓may˒_judge
Here, he refers to God; it does not refer to Jesus. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [so that God might condemn]
ἵνα κρίνῃ τὸν κόσμον
in_order_that ˱he˲_˓may˒_judge in_order_that (Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὒ Γάρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ Θεός τόν Υἱόν εἰς τόν κόσμον ἵνα κρίνῃ τόν κόσμον ἀλλʼ ἵνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος διʼ αὐτοῦ)
The word translated condemn means to judge someone to be guilty and deserving of punishment. Alternate translation: [so that he might judge the world as guilty]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
τὸν κόσμον & ὁ κόσμος
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὒ Γάρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ Θεός τόν Υἱόν εἰς τόν κόσμον ἵνα κρίνῃ τόν κόσμον ἀλλʼ ἵνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος διʼ αὐτοῦ)
Here, world refers to the people who live in it. If this might confuse your readers, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [the people in the world … the people in the world]
Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ἵνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος
in_order_that in_order_that ˓may_be˒_saved the world
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: [so that God might save the world]
δι’ αὐτοῦ
through him
This phrase indicates the means by which God would save the world. Alternate translation: [by means of him]
OET (OET-LV) For/Because the god not sent_out his son into the world, in_order_that he_may_judge the world, but in_order_that the world may_be_saved through 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.