OET interlinear YHN (JHN) 5:18

5:18a

Because of this, the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him: The phrase Because of this refers back to what Jesus had just said in 5:17b–c. The Jewish leaders were already angry and persecuting Jesus. After they heard him claim that God was his Father, they were even angrier. For example:

So the desire of the Jewish leaders to kill him increased.

This saying made the Jews all the more determined to kill him. (GNT)

tried all the harder to kill Him: The Jewish leaders were looking for a way to have the government punish him with death. They were not actually attacking Jesus with a knife or physically harming him in another way. In your translation, make sure that it does not sound as though they made harder physical efforts. Instead, they concentrated harder on it, they talked about it more, and they plotted or planned together secretly more. For example:

tried all the harder to find a way to kill him (NLT)

all the harder: This phrase means “even more.” For example:

For this reason the Jewish leaders were trying even harder to kill him (NET)

5:18b–c

The words “Not only…but” connect 5:18b with 5:18c. In some languages it may be natural to make the connection clearer. For example:

^18b In addition to disobeying the Sabbath rules, ^18che had spoken of God as his Father…. (NLT)

^18aThis made them try still harder to kill him. ^18bThey said, “First Jesus was breaking the law about the Sabbath day. ^18cNow he says that God is his own Father….” (NCV)

5:18b

Not only was He breaking the Sabbath: In verse 5:18a, John explained that the Jews wanted to kill Jesus even more because of what Jesus said in 5:17b–c. This clause gives the reason why the Jewish leaders want to kill Jesus before Jesus said the words in 5:17b–c. In some languages it may be natural to start a new sentence here, as the BSB does. For example:

They said, “First Jesus was breaking the law about the Sabbath day.…” (NCV)

was He breaking the Sabbath: This phrase tells the original reason that the Jewish leaders had for wanting to kill Jesus. It refers to the healing of the lame man. They thought that Jesus had broken (disobeyed) the Sabbath himself, by healing the man. They also thought that he had told the man to break it by carrying his mat. But Jesus did not really disobey God’s law about the Sabbath. He just disobeyed some of the leaders’ rules about the Sabbath.

breaking the Sabbath: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as breaking the Sabbath means “disobeying the law about the Sabbath.” In some languages it may be necessary to make this more explicit. If this is true in your language, here are ways that you can translate this expression:

he had disobeyed the law of the Sabbath (CEV)

he broke the law about the day of worship/rest

5:18c

but He was even: This Greek word that the BSB translates as but connects the negative statement in 5:18b to the positive statement in 5:18c. Here the negative statement (“Not only was He breaking the Sabbath”) is completed by the positive statement (“He was even calling God His own Father”). The words “Not only” in 5:18b indicate that there is an additional reason why the Jews wanted to kill Jesus. John tells the additional reason in 5:18c and emphasizes it. Translate the connection between the two clauses in a way that is natural in your language. Here are some possibilities:

• Do not use a connector. For example:

  For he not only broke the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God. (NLT)

• Follow the BSB and use but. For example:

  not only had he broken the Sabbath law, but he had said that God was his own Father and in this way had made himself equal with God (GNT)

• Find another way to introduce an additional reason for the Jews to hate Jesus. For example:

  They said, “First Jesus was breaking the law about the Sabbath day. Now he says that God is his own Father, making himself equal with God!” (NCV)

The additional reason in 5:18c tells why Jesus’ statement made the Jewish leaders want to kill Jesus more. This second reason is more serious. You may want to indicate that in your translation. For example:

but he was even calling God his own Father (NIV)

calling God His own Father: This refers back to what Jesus said in 5:17b. The Jewish leaders considered that Jesus had committed a great sin by saying that God was his Father. They did not believe that it was true, and so they considered his statement to be blasphemy (speech that insulted God).

5:18d

making Himself equal with God: The phrase making Himself equal with God means “saying/implying that he was equal with God.” To be someone’s son implies that he is equal in some way with that person because they have the same nature. The Jewish leaders understood that Jesus was placing himself above other men, on a level with God himself. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

by doing that he was saying that he was equal with God

and in this way had made himself equal with God (GNT)

5:18a-d