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Text critical issues=minor/spelling Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV) And this is the verdict: that light has come into the world, but some people love the darkness more than the light because they do evil things,![]()
OET-LV And this is the judgement, that the light has_come into the world, and the people loved the darkness rather than the light, because/for the works of_them was evil.
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SR-GNT Αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ κρίσις, ὅτι τὸ φῶς ἐλήλυθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, καὶ ἠγάπησαν οἱ ἄνθρωποι μᾶλλον τὸ σκότος ἢ τὸ φῶς, ἦν γὰρ αὐτῶν πονηρὰ τὰ ἔργα. ‡
(Hautaʸ de estin haʸ krisis, hoti to fōs elaʸluthen eis ton kosmon, kai aʸgapaʸsan hoi anthrōpoi mallon to skotos aʸ to fōs, aʸn gar autōn ponaʸra ta erga.)
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 Now this is the judgment: that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil.
UST Now God’s judicial ruling is as follows: the one who is the light entered the world, but people loved evil instead of him, because they do evil deeds.
BSB And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.
MSB (Same as BSB above)
BLB And this is the judgement, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light; for their deeds were evil.
AICNT And this is the judgment: that [the][fn] light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil.
3:19, the: Absent from 𝔓66.
OEB The ground of their condemnation is this, that though the light has come into the world, people preferred the darkness to the light, because their actions were wicked.
LSB And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
WEBBE This is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their works were evil.
WMBB (Same as above)
NET Now this is the basis for judging: that the light has come into the world and people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil.
LSV And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their works were evil;
FBV This is how the decision[fn] is made: the light came to the world, but people loved the darkness rather than the light, for their actions were evil.
3:19 Or “judgment.”
TCNT This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
T4T The one who was like a light [MET] to reveal God’s truth to us came into the world. But people loved doing what was evil, like darkness [MET] is evil, instead of loving the one who was like a light. That is the reason God will judge people and condemn them.
LEB And this is the judgment: that the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil.
BBE And this is the test by which men are judged: the light has come into the world and men have more love for the dark than for the light, because their acts are evil.
Moff And this is the sentence of condemnation, that the Light has entered the world and yet men have preferred darkness to light. It is because their actions have been evil;
Wymth And this is the test by which men are judged—the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness more than they loved the Light, because their deeds were wicked.
ASV And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.
DRA And this is the judgment: because the light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light: for their works were evil.
YLT 'And this is the judgment, that the light hath come to the world, and men did love the darkness rather than the light, for their works were evil;
Drby And this is the judgment, that light is come into the world, and men have loved darkness rather than light; for their works were evil.
RV And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.
(And this is the judgement, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil. )
SLT And this is the judgment, that light has come into the world, and men rather loved darkness than light, for their works were evil.
Wbstr And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men have loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
KJB-1769 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
KJB-1611 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loued darknesse rather then light, because their deedes were euill.
(And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather then light, because their deeds were evil.)
Bshps And this is the condempnation: that lyght is come into the worlde, and men loued darknesse rather then lyght, because their deedes were euyll.
(And this is the condempnation: that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather then light, because their deeds were evil.)
Gnva And this is the condemnation, that that light came into the worlde, and men loued darknesse rather then that light, because their deedes were euill.
(And this is the condemnation, that that light came into the world, and men loved darkness rather then that light, because their deeds were evil. )
Cvdl But this is ye codempnacion, that the light is come in to the worlde, and men loued the darknesse more the ye light: for their workes were euell.
(But this is ye/you_all codempnacion, that the light is come in to the world, and men loved the darkness more the ye/you_all light: for their works were evil.)
TNT And this is the condempnacion: that light is come into the worlde and the me loved darcknes more then light because their dedes were evill.
(And this is the condempnacion: that light is come into the world and the me loved darkness more then light because their deeds were evil. )
Wycl And this is the dom, for liyt cam in to the world, and men loueden more derknessis than liyt; for her werkes weren yuele.
(And this is the judgement, for light came in to the world, and men loved more darkness than light; for her werkes were evil.)
Luth Das ist aber das Gericht, daß das Licht in die Welt kommen ist, und die Menschen liebeten die Finsternis mehr denn das Licht; denn ihre Werke waren böse.
(The is but the court(n)/justice, that the light(n) in the world coming is, and the people love(s)en the darkness more because/than the light(n); because/than their/her work were evil.)
ClVg Hoc est autem judicium: quia lux venit in mundum, et dilexerunt homines magis tenebras quam lucem: erant enim eorum mala opera.[fn]
(This it_is however judgement: because light he_came in/into/on the_world, and dilexerunt people/men more darkness how the_light: they_were because their evil works. )
3.19 Hoc est autem judicium. Cur qui non credit judicatur? quia lux venit quæ excitat homines et admonet cognoscere sua mala, in quibus omnes sunt, sed alii oderunt admonentem lucem, et fugiunt, ne arguantur eorum mala quæ diligunt. Alii admoniti per lucem accusant sua mala, quod est facere veritatem et sic illuminantur. Erant enim eorum. Qui est in tenebris, et diligit lucem, non est malus, sed ille dicitur malus, et opera ejus mala, qui postquam lux venit, odit lucem et diligit mala Et hoc est quod dicit: Erant enim opera eorum mala. Opera, id est impietas, et incredulitas, et odium æternæ lucis, et nolle eam aspicere, sed velle in tenebris peccatorum remanere.
3.19 This it_is however judgement. Cur who/which not/no he_believes is_judged? because light he_came which excitat people/men and reminds to_know his_own evil, in/into/on to_whom everyone are, but others they_hate admonentem the_light, and fugiunt, not arguantur their evil which they_love. Others admoniti through the_light accusant his_own evil, that it_is to_do the_truth and so illuminantur. They_were because their. Who it_is in/into/on darkness, and he_loves the_light, not/no it_is bad, but he/that_one it_is_said bad, and works his evil, who/which after light he_came, hates the_light and he_loves evil And this it_is that he_says: They_were because works their evil. Opera, that it_is impiety/irreverence, and incredulitas, and odium eternal light, and nolle her take_a_lookre, but to_want in/into/on darkness of_sins/sinners remanere.
UGNT αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ κρίσις, ὅτι τὸ φῶς ἐλήλυθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, καὶ ἠγάπησαν οἱ ἄνθρωποι μᾶλλον τὸ σκότος ἢ τὸ φῶς; ἦν γὰρ αὐτῶν πονηρὰ τὰ ἔργα.
(hautaʸ de estin haʸ krisis, hoti to fōs elaʸluthen eis ton kosmon, kai aʸgapaʸsan hoi anthrōpoi mallon to skotos aʸ to fōs; aʸn gar autōn ponaʸra ta erga.)
SBL-GNT αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ κρίσις ὅτι τὸ φῶς ἐλήλυθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον καὶ ἠγάπησαν οἱ ἄνθρωποι μᾶλλον τὸ σκότος ἢ τὸ φῶς, ἦν γὰρ ⸂αὐτῶν πονηρὰ⸃ τὰ ἔργα.
(hautaʸ de estin haʸ krisis hoti to fōs elaʸluthen eis ton kosmon kai aʸgapaʸsan hoi anthrōpoi mallon to skotos aʸ to fōs, aʸn gar ⸂autōn ponaʸra⸃ ta erga.)
RP-GNT Αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ κρίσις, ὅτι τὸ φῶς ἐλήλυθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, καὶ ἠγάπησαν οἱ ἄνθρωποι μᾶλλον τὸ σκότος ἢ τὸ φῶς· ἦν γὰρ πονηρὰ αὐτῶν τὰ ἔργα.
(Hautaʸ de estin haʸ krisis, hoti to fōs elaʸluthen eis ton kosmon, kai aʸgapaʸsan hoi anthrōpoi mallon to skotos aʸ to fōs; aʸn gar ponaʸra autōn ta erga.)
TC-GNT Αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ κρίσις, ὅτι τὸ φῶς ἐλήλυθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, καὶ ἠγάπησαν οἱ ἄνθρωποι μᾶλλον τὸ σκότος ἢ τὸ φῶς· ἦν γὰρ [fn]πονηρὰ αὐτῶν τὰ ἔργα.
(Hautaʸ de estin haʸ krisis, hoti to fōs elaʸluthen eis ton kosmon, kai aʸgapaʸsan hoi anthrōpoi mallon to skotos aʸ to fōs; aʸn gar ponaʸra autōn ta erga. )
3:19 πονηρα αυτων ¦ αυτων πονηρα CT
Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).
3:16-21 Because there are no quotation marks around Jesus’ speech in the Greek text, translators debate where Jesus’ speech ends and John’s commentary begins; 3:16-21 might be John’s commentary.
This section tells about how a Pharisee called Nicodemus went to visit Jesus. Jesus told Nicodemus that all people need God to change them. Nicodemus could be sure that Jesus was speaking the truth because Jesus came from God.
Here are some other possible section headings:
Jesus told a Pharisee that he needed to change
Everyone must be born again
All people need God to give them a new birth/life
Jesus used the metaphors of light and darkness to describe the basis for God’s judgment. The basis is whether we love the darkness or love the light.
Jesus is represented as light. Light usually refers to that which is good. That is why those who love the darkness do evil deeds and hate the light. Those who love the darkness do not want their sins to be known. They also do not want to accept Jesus or allow him to shine truth in their lives. However, those who follow the truth come to Jesus. Jesus will then reveal that they did their good deeds only because of God.
And this is the verdict:
¶ “The judgment is based on this:
¶ “This is why God judges people:
And: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as And here introduces an explanation. Jesus explains the basis of the judgment that he talked about in 3:17–18. Some English translations, such as the NIV and GNT, do not explicitly translate it. The NET translates it as “Now” because that is a common way to introduce an explanation in English. It is not a time word in this context. You should introduce Jesus’ explanation in a way that is natural in your language.
this is the verdict: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as this is the verdict refers forward to 3:19b–d. It indicates that what follows is the ground or basis of God’s judgment on people. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
this is the basis for judging (NET)
the judgment is based on this fact (NLT)
This is how the judgment works (GNT)
verdict: The word verdict refers to a judge deciding whether someone is guilty or innocent. In this case the judge is God himself. In some languages the noun verdict needs to be translated as a verb phrase. For example:
God is judging/declaring people guilty because…
This is why people are condemned: (GW)
They are judged by this fact: (NCV)
The Light has come into the world,
The light has come to the people of the world,
The one who is light has come into the world to reveal truth.
The Light has come into the world: The word Light here is a metaphor and refers to Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus was speaking, but he did not directly say that he was the light. So try to keep the reference to the light indirect, in the third person. Jesus was like a light because he was good. He also revealed the truth about things, both the good and the evil. If this metaphor is not understood in your language, you may need to follow one of these translation suggestions:
Make explicit or explain the meaning of the metaphor. For example:
Light has come into the world through the one who reveals/shows the truth about everything.
Change the metaphor to a simile and make it explicit that it refers to the Son of God. For example:
The Son of God is like a light coming into the world.
See how you translated the metaphor Light in 1:4b.
but men loved the darkness rather than the Light
but people/they desired darkness and not light,
And yet people wanted to stay/live in the dark and did not want to turn/come to him who is the light,
But people have chosen the darkness instead of the light,
but: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as but here introduces something that is not expected. Instead of loving the light, which we might expect, people loved the darkness. So here is the basis for God’s judgment: although the light came into the world, they did not love the light. In some languages it may be natural to make it clearer that what is said next is not expected.
men loved the darkness: The Greek word that the BSB translates as men here means “people in general.” However, it does not mean all people without exception, because some people did trust Jesus. In some languages it is therefore more natural to say:
They wanted darkness (NCV)
many people loved darkness
loved the darkness: This is a metaphor. It compares people who deliberately refuse to believe in Jesus to people who love darkness.
Darkness hides people who are doing evil. In the same way, people hoped that by staying far from Jesus (the light), they could hide their sin. They wanted to continue sinning. They also wanted to avoid God. So they did not come to hear and believe Jesus.
If this metaphor is not understood in your language, here are some other ways to translate it:
Explain the meaning of the metaphor. For example:
loved the darkness of their sin
Change the metaphor to a simile and make the meaning explicit. For example:
loved their sins, which was like loving darkness
State the meaning directly. For example:
loved sin
the darkness: See how you translated the term darkness in 1:5a, and see the note there.
rather than the Light: There is an interpretation issue here. There are two ways to understand the Greek word that the BSB translates as rather:
It means “rather” or “instead.” For example:
people loved darkness instead of light (NIV) (BSB, NIV, NET, KJV, GNT, RSV, NRSV, NASB, ESV, GW, NCV)
It means “more than.” For example:
they love the dark more than the light (CEV) (NLT, CEV)
NJB and REB could be understood either way. It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) and most English translations and Bible scholars. People loved and chose darkness instead of light.
Here again Light is a metaphor referring to Jesus. He is like a light in that he is good and reveals the truth about things to people. But people did not love him. Refer to your translation of 3:19b and the note there.
because their deeds were evil.
because their actions were evil.
because they were/are doing evil/wrong things.
because their deeds were evil: This is the reason why people loved darkness more than light. In some languages it is more natural to translate the noun deeds with a verb. For example:
because they were doing evil things (NCV)
In some languages it may be more natural to reorder this verse. For example:
19bThe light has come into the world, 19a, dand God judges the people who do evil things as guilty because 19cthey love the dark rather than the light.
19bHe arrived among the people of the world bringing light from God. 19cBut people wanted darkness and not light, 19dbecause their actions were evil. 19aThat is why God judges/punishes them.
ἡ κρίσις
the judgment
Here, judgment could refer to: (1) a verdict a judge pronounces in a court trial. Alternate translation: [the verdict] (2) the reason for a condemning judgment. Alternate translation: [the basis for condemnation]
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
τὸ φῶς ἐλήλυθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον & ἢ τὸ φῶς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: αὕτη Δέ ἐστίν ἡ κρίσις ὅτι τό φῶς ἐλήλυθεν εἰς τόν κόσμον καί ἠγάπησαν οἱ ἄνθρωποι μᾶλλον τό σκότος ἤ τό φῶς ἦν γάρ αὐτῶν πονηρά τά ἔργα)
Jesus 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 this plainly. See how you translated this term in those places where the light also refers to Jesus in the [1:7–9](../01/07.md). Alternate translation: [Jesus, who revealed the true and good things of God, has come into the world … than Jesus]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / 123person
τὸ φῶς ἐλήλυθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον & ἢ τὸ φῶς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: αὕτη Δέ ἐστίν ἡ κρίσις ὅτι τό φῶς ἐλήλυθεν εἰς τόν κόσμον καί ἠγάπησαν οἱ ἄνθρωποι μᾶλλον τό σκότος ἤ τό φῶς ἦν γάρ αὐτῶν πονηρά τά ἔργα)
Jesus is speaking about himself in the third person. If your language does not allow people to speak of themselves in the third person, you may need to specify who the light is. Alternate translation: [I, the light, have come into the world … than me]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations
οἱ ἄνθρωποι
¬the people
Although the term men is masculine, Jesus uses the word here in a generic sense that includes both men and women. Alternate translation: [people]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἠγάπησαν οἱ ἄνθρωποι & τὸ σκότος
loved ¬the people & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: αὕτη Δέ ἐστίν ἡ κρίσις ὅτι τό φῶς ἐλήλυθεν εἰς τόν κόσμον καί ἠγάπησαν οἱ ἄνθρωποι μᾶλλον τό σκότος ἤ τό φῶς ἦν γάρ αὐτῶν πονηρά τά ἔργα)
Jesus uses darkness to refer to what is false and evil. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. See the discussion of light and darkness in the General Notes for Chapter 1. Alternate translation: [men loved evil]