YHN 1:7 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.)

OET (OET-RV) He came as a testimony to tell about the light so that everyone would believe the light.

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor.
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).

ULT He came as a witness in order that he might testify about the light, so that all might believe through him.

UST He came in order to declare to people about Jesus, who is the light. He declared this so that everyone might trust in the light by means of his testimony.

BSB He came as a witness to testify about the Light, so that through him everyone might believe.

BLB He came as a witness, that he might testify concerning the Light, that all might believe through him.

AICNT This one came for a testimony, to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him.

OEB he came as a witness – to bear witness to the light
⇔ so that through him everyone might believe.

CSB He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him.

CEV who came to tell about the light and to lead all people to have faith.

LSB He came as a witness, to bear witness about the Light, so that all might believe through him.

WEBBE The same came as a witness, that he might testify about the light, that all might believe through him.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that everyone might believe through him.

LSV this one came for testimony, that he might testify about the Light, that all might believe through him;

FBV He came as a witness to explain about the light so that everyone might believe through him.

TCNT He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him.

T4T He came to tell people about the one who was like [MET] a light. He came to show that everything that the one who was like a light [MET] said was true, in order that he could enable all people to believe in the one who was like a light.

LEB This one came for a witness, in order that he could testify about the light, so that all would believe through him.

BBE He came for witness, to give witness about the light, so that all men might have faith through him.

Moff he came for the purpose of witnessing, to bear testimony to the Light, so that all men might believe by means of him.

Wymth He came as a witness, in order that he might give testimony concerning the Light—so that all might believe through him.

ASV The same came for witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him.

DRA This man came for a witness, to give testimony of the light, that all men might believe through him.

YLT this one came for testimony, that he might testify about the Light, that all might believe through him;

Drby He came for witness, that he might witness concerning the light, that all might believe through him.

RV The same came for witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him.

SLT This came for testimony, that he might testify concerning the Light, that all might believe through him.

Wbstr The same came for a witness, to bear testimony of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

KJB-1769 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

KJB-1611 The same came for a witnesse, to beare witnesse of the light, that all men through him might beleeue.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation)

Bshps The same came for a witnesse, to beare witnesse of the lyght, that all men through hym myght beleue.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from marking of added words (and possibly capitalisation and punctuation))

Gnva This same came for a witnesse, to beare witnesse of that light, that all men through him might beleeue.
(This same came for a witness, to bear witness of that light, that all men through him might believe. )

Cvdl The same came for a witnesse, to beare wytnesse of ye light, that thorow him they all might beleue.
(The same came for a witness, to bear witness of ye/you_all light, that through him they all might believe.)

TNT The same cam as a witnes to beare witnes of the lyght that all men through him myght beleve.
(The same came as a witness to bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe. )

Wycl This man cam in to witnessyng, that he schulde bere witnessing of the liyt, that alle men schulden bileue bi hym.
(This man came in to witnessing, that he should bear witnessing of the light, that all men should believe by him.)

Luth Derselbige kam zum Zeugnis, daß er von dem Licht zeugete, auf daß sie alle durch ihn glaubeten.
(Derselbige came for_the transcript, that he from to_him light(n) fathered, on/in/to that they/she/them all through him/it believed.)

ClVg Hic venit in testimonium ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine, ut omnes crederent per illum.
(Here/This he_came in/into/on testimony as testimony perhiberet from/about the_light, as everyone they_would_believe through him. )

UGNT οὗτος ἦλθεν εἰς μαρτυρίαν, ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ περὶ τοῦ φωτός, ἵνα πάντες πιστεύσωσιν δι’ αὐτοῦ.
(houtos aʸlthen eis marturian, hina marturaʸsaʸ peri tou fōtos, hina pantes pisteusōsin di’ autou.)

SBL-GNT οὗτος ἦλθεν εἰς μαρτυρίαν, ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ περὶ τοῦ φωτός, ἵνα πάντες πιστεύσωσιν διʼ αὐτοῦ.
(houtos aʸlthen eis marturian, hina marturaʸsaʸ peri tou fōtos, hina pantes pisteusōsin diʼ autou.)

RP-GNT Οὗτος ἦλθεν εἰς μαρτυρίαν, ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ περὶ τοῦ φωτός, ἵνα πάντες πιστεύσωσιν δι' αὐτοῦ.
(Houtos aʸlthen eis marturian, hina marturaʸsaʸ peri tou fōtos, hina pantes pisteusōsin di' autou.)

TC-GNT Οὗτος ἦλθεν εἰς μαρτυρίαν, ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ περὶ τοῦ φωτός, ἵνα πάντες πιστεύσωσι δι᾽ αὐτοῦ.
(Houtos aʸlthen eis marturian, hina marturaʸsaʸ peri tou fōtos, hina pantes pisteusōsi di autou. )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (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 1:6–9

This paragraph explains who John the Baptist was and why God sent him. John came to announce the coming of the one who was the light, Jesus Christ.

1:7a

He came as a witness to testify about the Light,

John came to be a witness, to tell what he saw about the light,
He came/went to the people declaring what he knew about the/that light.

He came: The pronoun He refers to John the Baptist, who was introduced in 1:6. In some languages it may be more natural to repeat his name. For example:

John came… (GW)

came: John came to the people of Israel and preached to them. He did not come into the world from heaven. If you need to say where John came, it may be natural to say this:

he came to the people

he went to the people

as a witness to testify about the Light: The Greek word that the BSB translates as to testify is from the same Greek word as the noun witness. Repeating the word emphasizes it. In some languages it is natural to emphasize the statement without repeating the word. For example:

John came to declare the truth about the light (GW)

He came to tell people the truth about the Light (NCV)

as a witness: The Greek noun that the BSB translates as a witness refers to someone who tells about something he himself has seen or heard. The use of this word implies that this person is reliable. It is a word often used in a courtroom setting. It is good if you can use a legal term. See the notes on Luke 21:13, where the same word appears.

to testify about the Light: This is a purpose clause. John came in order to testify. To testify is to tell others about something or someone the speaker knows personally. John gave honest information about the Light, Jesus Christ.

Light: The word Light is a metaphor. It refers to the Word, Jesus Christ, the one who reveals God and his truth. Try to use the same word or phrase that you used in 1:4b. See the note there.

1:7b

so that through him everyone might believe.

in order that all people might believe through him.
John’s purpose was to help everyone to have faith in that light.

so that: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as so that introduces John’s purpose in coming and preaching to the people. In some languages it is more natural to use other conjunctions. For example:

in order that

through him everyone might believe: John the Baptist came and preached to the people so that they would believe in the light. He wanted everyone who heard him to believe. Everybody did not believe, but many did. Here are some other ways that this phrase has been translated:

so that all should hear the message and believe (GNT)

so that through him all people could hear about the Light and believe (NCV)

through him: This phrase here means “through John the Baptist.” God used John to help people believe in Jesus Christ, the one who is the light. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

through his message (GW)

by means of what he testified

believe: This word includes the idea of believing the facts about who Jesus was and what he did. But it also includes the idea of trusting Jesus instead of trusting oneself or someone else. Both ideas are very closely related. If someone believes the facts about Jesus, it should result in trusting him. Here are other ways to translate this idea:

lead all people to have faith (CEV)

become believers (REB)

General Comment on 1:7a–b

It is important that your readers understand that the pronouns “he” and “him” here refer to John the Baptist. In some languages it may be more natural to make this clear. For example:

^7aGod sent a man named John, who came to tell about the light ^7band to lead all people to have faith. (CEV)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-pronouns

οὗτος

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὗτος ἦλθεν εἰς μαρτυρίαν ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ περί τοῦ φωτός ἵνα πάντες πιστεύσωσιν διʼ αὐτοῦ)

This use of the pronoun He refers to John the Baptist, who was introduced in the previous verse. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [John the Baptist] or [John the Immerser]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

περὶ τοῦ φωτός

John uses light to refer to the revelation of God’s truth and goodness in Jesus. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [about Jesus, who revealed the true and good things of God]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

δι’ αὐτοῦ

through him

John assumes that his readers will understand that through him indicates the means by which everyone might believe in the light. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [by means of him]

Parallel YHN 1:7

Section 1:1–18: The Word became flesh

Paragraph 1:6–9

1:7a

1:7b

General Comment on 1:7a–b