YHN 1:4 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=important (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

UST The Word gives eternal life, and that eternal life is God’s good and true light that he revealed to humans.

AICNT in it {was}[fn] life, and the life was the light of men.[fn]

1:4, was: Some manuscripts read “is.” ℵ(01) D(05) Latin(a b e ff² it)

1:3-4, What has been made in it: The punctuation here follows the critical Greek text and is also consistent with NRSV, RSV, NAB as well as the SBLGNT. Most other translations punctuate verses 3-4 based on the later Byzantine manuscript tradition.

OEB That which came into being in him was life;
⇔ and the life was the light of humanity;

CSB In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

CEV received its life from him, and his life gave light to everyone.

LSB In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

WEBBE In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

WMBB (Same as above)

MSG ^(3-5)Everything was created through him;
  nothing—not one thing!—
  came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life,
  and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
  the darkness couldn’t put it out.

NET In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind.

LSV In Him was life, and the life was the light of men,

FBV In him was life, the life that was the light of everyone.

TCNT In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

T4T He is the one who caused everything to live. He, who caused us people to live, revealed to us the truth about God as a light [MET] reveals what is in the darkness.

LEB In him was life, and the life was the light of humanity.[fn]

1:4 Or “humankind”

BBE What came into existence in him was life, and the life was the light of men.

Moff In him life lay,
⇔ and this life was the Light for men:

Wymth In Him was Life, and that Life was the Light of men.

ASV In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

DRA In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

YLT In him was life, and the life was the light of men,

Drby In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

RV In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

SLT In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Wbstr In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

KJB-1769 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

KJB-1611 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
(Same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps In it was lyfe, and the lyfe was the lyght of men,
(In it was life, and the life was the light of men,)

Gnva In it was life, and that life was the light of men.

Cvdl In him was the life, and the life was the light of men:

TNT In it was lyfe and the lyfe was the lyght of men
(In it was life and the life was the light of men )

Wycl In hym was lijf, and the lijf was the liyt of men; and the liyt schyneth in derknessis,
(In him was life, and the life was the light of men; and the light shineth/shines in darkness,)

Luth In ihm war das Leben, und das Leben war das Licht der Menschen.
(In him what/which the life, and the life what/which the light(n) the/of_the people.)

ClVg In ipso vita erat, et vita erat lux hominum:[fn]
(In himself life was, and life was light of_men: )

1.4 Quod factum est, erat vita in ipso. AUG. Joannes Chrysostomus: Et sine ipso factum est nihil. Quod factum est. Hilarius: Sine ipso factum est nihil, quod factum est in ipso.

1.4 That done it_is, was life in/into/on himself. AUG. Yoannes Chrysostomus: And without himself done it_is nothing. That done it_is. Hilarius: Sine himself done it_is nothing, that done it_is in/into/on himself.

UGNT ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων.
(en autōi zōaʸ aʸn, kai haʸ zōaʸ aʸn to fōs tōn anthrōpōn.)

SBL-GNT ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων·
(en autōi zōaʸ aʸn, kai haʸ zōaʸ aʸn to fōs tōn anthrōpōn;)

RP-GNT Ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων,
(En autōi zōaʸ aʸn, kai haʸ zōaʸ aʸn to fōs tōn anthrōpōn,)

TC-GNT Ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων,
(En autōi zōaʸ aʸn, kai haʸ zōaʸ aʸn to fōs tōn anthrōpōn, )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs (from our SR-GNT base).

TTN Tyndale Theme Notes:

The Word

John raises the curtain on his Gospel with a stunning description of Jesus Christ as “the Word” (Greek logos, John 1:1). Both Greek and Jewish listeners in the first century would immediately recognize the profound meaning of this title. Greeks would have thought of the seminal forces that sustain the universe. Jewish minds would have thought back to God creating the world with his word (Gen 1:3-28; Ps 33:6, 9). In Jesus’ day, the Word of God had taken on creative personal attributes. Jews viewed God’s Word as personifying divine Wisdom. Through Wisdom, God extended himself into the cosmos, creating the world (Prov 8:22-31).

John makes it clear that Jesus shares the same essence as God; the Son existed before time, and he was the agent of all creation. John anchors the divinity of Jesus in this ancient Jewish concept of Wisdom. The divine Wisdom that has existed with God from before time can now be known in Jesus Christ. In perhaps the most striking verse penned by an apostle, John writes that this Logos, this Wisdom, became flesh and lived among us as a human (John 1:14). What God is, the Logos is, and the Logos is Jesus Christ.

Passages for Further Study

Gen 1:3-28; Ps 33:6, 9; Prov 8:22-31; Isa 40:8; John 1:1-18; 1 Jn 1:1; Rev 19:13

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:1–18: The Word became flesh

In this section the author introduces the subject of his book, Jesus Christ. However, he does not mention Jesus by name until near the end of this section, in 1:17. Instead, he uses figurative language, referring to him as the Word and the light.

Here are other possible section headings:

The Word brought life and light to all people

Jesus is the Word and the light

Paragraph 1:1–5

In this paragraph John introduced his Gospel by writing about a person whom he calls the Word. He emphasized that from the beginning the Word was with God and that the Word was God. God created everything through the Word. Read Genesis 1:1–5 before you translate this section. It is good to use the same words for “beginning,” “made/created,” and “light” that are used there.

This paragraph has a lot of images in it like a poem and may have been a song or hymn.

1:4a

In Him was life,

He was the source of life,
Life came from the Word,
The Word caused people to live,

In Him was life: The pronoun Him continues to refer to the Word. The clause In Him was life means “the Word caused people/everything to live.” It was through the Word that all life began. Plants, animals, and humans all lived because of him. For example:

The Word was the one who gave life to all.

The Word was the source of life. (GNT)

life: The word life can refer to both physical life and spiritual life. The life given at creation and the life of the new creation (salvation, spiritual life) both come from the Word. Try to translate in a way that can be understood in both ways. If you must choose only one sense, it is probably best to choose the physical life given at creation. That is the primary context here.See comments by Carson, p. 119. Some languages refer to the life of plants or animals in a different way than the life of people. If that is the case in your language, you should refer to the life that God gives to people.

General Comment on 1:4a

In some languages it is more natural to translate “life” using a verb rather than a noun. In those languages it may be possible to say this:

He caused all creatures/beings to live.

1:4b

and that life was the light of men.

and this life gave light to people.
and brought light to the human race.

that life was the light of men: This clause indicates that the life (that the Word gives) brought light to human beings.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

this life brought light to people (GNT)

his life gave light to everyone (CEV)

that life: The Greek article that the BSB translates as that indicates that the word life in 1:4b refers back to the “life” just mentioned in 1:4a. In some languages it may be more natural to say this phrase:

this life (GNT)

his life (NLT)

life: Use the same word or phrase here that you used in 1:4a. If you have used a verb there, here you may need to say something like this:

he caused people to live and so they received light

the light of men: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as the light of men means “the light for human beings.” The life provided light for people. It made it possible for people to see.

light: The word light connects this narrative with the creation story. Try to use the same word that you used in Genesis 1:3. Here it is a figure of speech, a metaphor. It refers to something that reveals or tells the truth about God, allowing people to know him. John called the life that God gave light because it made it possible for people to know God. Jesus, the Word of God, revealed God to all people.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ζωὴ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἐν αὐτῷ ζωή ἦν καί ἡ ζωή ἦν τό φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων)

Here it is best to use a general term for life. (See: life) If you must use a more specific word, consider that life here could refer to: (1) eternal life, which is the meaning John uses for this term throughout this Gospel. Alternate translation: [the means of receiving eternal life] (2) physical life, which would mean that this verse continues the discussion about the creation of the universe in the previous verses. Alternate translation: [the life of all living things] (3) both physical life and eternal life. Alternate translation: [the life of all living things and the source of eternal life]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

καὶ ἡ ζωὴ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἐν αὐτῷ ζωή ἦν καί ἡ ζωή ἦν τό φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων)

Here, the life refers to the same life stated in the previous phrase. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [and that life]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἐν αὐτῷ ζωή ἦν καί ἡ ζωή ἦν τό φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων)

John uses light to refer to God’s truth and goodness. If this might confuse your readers, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [the true and good things God has for men]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἐν αὐτῷ ζωή ἦν καί ἡ ζωή ἦν τό φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων)

John uses of to indicate to whom the light is given. If this is not clear in your language, you could use a different expression. Alternate translation: [the light given to men]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

τῶν ἀνθρώπων

¬the ˱of˲_mankind

Although the term men is masculine, John is using the word here in a generic sense that includes both men and women. Alternate translation: [of people]

Parallel YHN 1:4

Section 1:1–18: The Word became flesh

Paragraph 1:1–5

1:4a

General Comment on 1:4a

1:4b