OET interlinear YHN (JHN) 7:4

7:4a

For: The Greek conjunction that that BSB translates as For here introduces the reason Jesus’ brothers gave him for their advice. The word For means “because” here. Several English translations leave this conjunction implied and begin a new sentence here. For example:

No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. (NIV)

no one who wants to be known publicly acts in secret: This negative statement is a strong way to make a positive statement: everyone who wants to become famous acts openly (publicly). Jesus’ brothers implied that Jesus wanted to be widely known and so he should act publicly. They wanted him to go to Judea, where the capital city Jerusalem was. Then more people would see the miracles he was doing.

Here are other ways to translate this clause:

no one who wants to be publicly known acts in secret (NJB)

No one does anything in secret, if they want others to know about them. (CEV)

In some languages it may be natural to change the order of the information in this clause. For example:

No one hides what he is doing if he wants to be well known. (GNT)

You need to act so the public can see you if you want to become famous.

In some languages it is more natural to translate this as a positive statement. For example:

for everyone who wants to be famous acts openly/publicly

no one who wants to be known publicly: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as no one who wants to be known publicly means “no one who wants many people to know about him.”

Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

no one who seeks to make a reputation for himself (NET)

when he wants to be known publicly (GW)

Jesus’ brothers were implying that Jesus was one of these people, someone who wanted to be widely known. You may want to make this clear. For example:

You can’t become famous if you hide like this! (NLT)

acts in secret: Jesus had not actually been acting in secret (secretly). He had been acting openly, but in the villages and small towns of Galilee. His brothers were implying that Galilee was a less important province/region than Judea. They wanted Jesus to go to the important city of Jerusalem so that more important people would see his works.The NET footnote says: No one who seeks to make a reputation for himself does anything in secret means, in effect: “if you’re going to perform signs to authenticate yourself as Messiah, you should do them at Jerusalem.” (Jerusalem is where mainstream Jewish apocalyptic tradition held that Messiah would appear.) Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

does things secretly (GW)

hides what he does

7:4b

Since You are doing these things, show Yourself to the world: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as Since You are doing these things implies that Jesus was in fact doing these things. So it may be natural to make that clear. For example:

You are doing these things, so let the world see them.

let the world know what you are doing (CEV)

these things: This phrase refers to the miracles Jesus was doing. In some languages it may be natural to make this explicit. For example:

such wonderful things (NLT)

show Yourself to the world: The Greek expression that the BSB translates as show Yourself to the world means “cause everyone to see/know what you are doing.” Jesus’ brothers were advising him to let more people (and, especially, more important people) see what he could do. For example:

you should reveal yourself to the world (NJB)

let the whole world know about you (GNT)

you should let the world see you (GW)

the world: This phrase refers to people in general. Jesus’ brothers were thinking of the people of Judea, in contrast to the small group of people in Galilee. They wanted more people to see Jesus’ miracles. So it may be natural to more clearly refer to people. For example:

everyone

all the people