YHN 1:8 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=important Speaker(s)=Narrator (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) Yohan himself wasn’t the light—he was merely the announcer of the light.

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, pink:genitive/possessor, red:negative.
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 That one was not the light, but, came so that he might testify about the light.

UST John himself was not that light, but he came in order to tell people about the light.

BSB He himself was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.

MSB He himself was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.

BLB He was not the Light, but came that he might witness concerning the Light.

AICNT He was not the light, but came to testify about the light.

OEB He was not the light,
⇔ but he came to bear witness to the light.

CSB He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light.

CEV John wasn't this light. He came only to tell about the light.

LSB He was not the Light, but he came to bear witness about the Light.

WEBBE & WMBB He was not the light, but was sent that he might testify about the light.

NET He himself was not the light, but he came to testify about the light.

LSV that one was not the Light, but—that he might testify about the Light.

FBV He himself was not the light, but he came to witness to the light.

TCNT He himself was not the light, but he came to testify about the light.

T4T John himself was not the one who was like a light [MET]. Instead, he came to tell others about that one who was like a light.

LEB That one was not the light, but came[fn] in order that he could testify about the light.

1:8 The verb is implied from the previous verse, and must be supplied in the English translation

BBE He himself was not the light: he was sent to give witness about the light.

Moff He was not the Light; it was to bear testimony to the Light that he appeared.

Wymth He was not the Light, but he existed that he might give testimony concerning the Light.

ASV He was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light.

DRA He was not the light, but was to give testimony of the light.

YLT that one was not the Light, but — that he might testify about the Light.

Drby He was not the light, but that he might witness concerning the light.

RV He was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light.

SLT He was not that Light, but that he might testify for the Light.

Wbstr He was not that Light, but was sent to bear testimony of that Light.

KJB-1769 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

KJB-1611 Hee was not that light, but was sent to beare witnesse of that light.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation)

Bshps He was not that lyght: but was sent to beare witnesse of the lyght.
(He was not that light: but was sent to bear witness of the light.)

Gnva He was not that light, but was sent to beare witnesse of that light.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from marking of added words (and possibly capitalisation and punctuation))

Cvdl He was not that light, but that he might beare witnesse of ye light.
(He was not that light, but that he might bear witness of ye/you_all light.)

TNT He was not that lyght: but to beare witnes of the lyght.
(He was not that light: but to bear witness of the light.)

Wycl He was not the liyt, but that he schulde bere witnessing of the liyt.
(He was not the light, but that he should bear witnessing of the light.)

Luth Er war nicht das Licht, sondern daß er zeugete von dem Licht.
(He what/which not the light(n), rather that he fathered from to_him light(n).)

ClVg Non erat ille lux, sed ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine.
(Not/No was he/that_one light, but as testimony perhiberet from/about the_light.)

UGNT οὐκ ἦν ἐκεῖνος τὸ φῶς, ἀλλ’ ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ περὶ τοῦ φωτός.
(ouk aʸn ekeinos to fōs, all’ hina marturaʸsaʸ peri tou fōtos.)

SBL-GNT οὐκ ἦν ἐκεῖνος τὸ φῶς, ἀλλʼ ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ περὶ τοῦ φωτός.
(ouk aʸn ekeinos to fōs, allʼ hina marturaʸsaʸ peri tou fōtos.)

RP-GNT Οὐκ ἦν ἐκεῖνος τὸ φῶς, ἀλλ' ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ περὶ τοῦ φωτός.
(Ouk aʸn ekeinos to fōs, all' hina marturaʸsaʸ peri tou fōtos.)

TC-GNT οὐκ ἦν ἐκεῖνος τὸ φῶς, ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ περὶ τοῦ φωτός.
(ouk aʸn ekeinos to fōs, all hina marturaʸsaʸ peri tou fōtos.)

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, orange:accents differ, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

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.

1:8a

He himself was not the Light,

John himself was not the light.
John was not the actual light.

He himself: The Greek word that the BSB translates as He himself refers back to John the Baptist. The RSV translates it simply as “he.” In some languages it is more natural to use the name John here. For example:

John was not the Light (NCV, GW)

was not the Light: John the Baptist was not the one who gave light to all people, who directly revealed God. This does not imply that he did not speak honestly, or that he was not a good man. He was a great and good man.

1:8b

but he came to testify about the Light.

Rather, he/John came to declare what he knew about the light.
He came only to tell others about the one who was the light.

but he came to testify about the Light: This clause indicates that although John was not as important as the Light itself, he did have an important mission. His mission and purpose was to tell others about the Light. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

he came only as a witness to the light (NIV)

he was just a witness to tell about the light

but: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as but here connects a negative statement (1:8a) to a positive statement (1:8b). This kind of sentence emphasizes the positive statement. Languages have different ways to indicate this type of emphasis:

Use the conjunction but as in the BSB.
John was not the Light, but he came to tell people the truth about the Light. (NCV)
Use a conjunction other than but. This is a common way in English to show this type of emphasis. For example:
John was not the light itself, rather/instead he came to confirm the truth about the light.
Do not use a conjunction. For example:
He himself was not the light; he came to tell about the light. (GNT)
Change the order of the clauses. For example:
John came to declare the truth about the light; he was not the light himself.

You should translate this emphasis in the way that is most natural in your language.

to testify about the Light: This phrase indicates that John the Baptist came to tell people who the Light was. See how you translated testify in 1:7a. Here is another way to translate this phrase:

to tell what he witnessed about the light

Parallel YHN 1:8

Section 1:1–18: The Word became flesh

Paragraph 1:6–9

1:8a

1:8b