YHN 9:4 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=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) as long as it’s daytime, we need to do what the one who sent us wants, but when nighttime comes, no one will be able to work.

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 It is necessary for us to work the works of the one having sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one is able to work.

UST While I am still with you, we must do the miraculous works that my Father who sent me wants us to do. Just like day is followed by night, when people cannot work, a time will come when it is too late for us to do what God wants us to do.

BSB While it is daytime, we must do[fn] the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work.

MSB While it is daytime, I must do[fn] the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work.

BLB It behooves us to work the works of the One having sent Me while it is day; night is coming, when no one is able to work.

AICNT “We[fn] must work the works of the one who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.

9:4, we: P*66 P*75 N(01) C(04) D(05) NA28 SBLGNT THGNT ‖ Some manuscripts read “I.” A(02) C(04) Latin(a b e ff2) Syriac(sy) BYZ TR

OEB We must do the work of him who sent me, while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.

LSB We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.

WEBBE I must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET We must perform the deeds of the one who sent me as long as it is daytime. Night is coming when no one can work.

LSV it is necessary for Me to be working the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; night comes when no one is able to work:

FBV we have to keep on doing the work of the one who sent me as long as it is still daytime. The night is coming when no one can work.

TCNT [fn]I must do the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.

9:4 I 99.2% ¦ We CT 0.5%

T4T While there is still time, I must do the work that the one who sent me wants me to do. Just like daytime is followed by nighttime when people do not work, at the end of our lives [MET] it is too late for us to do what God wants.

LEB It is necessary for us to do the deeds of the one who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work!

BBE While it is day we have to do the works of him who sent me: the night comes when no work may be done.

Moff While daylight lasts, we must be busy with the work of God: night comes, when no one can do any work.

Wymth We must do the works of Him who sent me while there is daylight. Night is coming on, when no one can work.

ASV We must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

DRA I must work the works of him that sent me, whilst it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

YLT it behoveth me to be working the works of Him who sent me while it is day; night doth come, when no one is able to work: —

Drby I must work the works of him that has sent me while it is day. [The] night is coming, when no one can work.

RV We must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
(We must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh/comes, when no man can work. )

SLT I must work the works of him having sent me, while it is day: night comes, when none can work.

Wbstr I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh when no man can work.

KJB-1769 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
( I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh/comes, when no man can work. )

KJB-1611 I must worke the workes of him that sent me, while it is day: the night commeth when no man can worke.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps I must worke the workes of him that sent me, whyle it is daye. The nyght commeth when no man can worke.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Gnva I must worke the workes of him that sent me, while it is day: the night commeth when no man can worke.
(I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh/comes when no man can work. )

Cvdl I must worke the workes of him that hath sent me, whyle it is daye. The night commeth, whan no man can worke.
(I must work the works of him that hath/has sent me, while it is day. The night cometh/comes, when no man can work.)

TNT I must worke the workes of him that sent me whyll it is daye. The nyght cometh when no man can worke.
(I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day. The night cometh/comes when no man can work. )

Wycl It bihoueth me to worche the werkis of hym that sente me, as longe as the dai is; the nyyt schal come, whanne no man may worche.
(It behoves me to work the works of him that sent me, as long as the day is; the night shall come, when no man may work.)

Luth Ich muß Wirken die Werke des, der mich gesandt hat, solange es Tag ist; es kommt die Nacht, da niemand wirken kann.
(I must Weken the work of, the/of_the me sent has, as_long_as it day is; it comes the night, there no_one works/acts can.)

ClVg Me oportet operari opera ejus qui misit me, donec dies est: venit nox, quando nemo potest operari:
(Me it_is_necessary to_work works his who/which he_sent me, until days it_is: he_came night/darkness, when nobody/no_one can to_work: )

UGNT ἡμᾶς δεῖ ἐργάζεσθαι τὰ ἔργα τοῦ πέμψαντός με, ἕως ἡμέρα ἐστίν; ἔρχεται νὺξ, ὅτε οὐδεὶς δύναται ἐργάζεσθαι.
(haʸmas dei ergazesthai ta erga tou pempsantos me, heōs haʸmera estin; erⱪetai nux, hote oudeis dunatai ergazesthai.)

SBL-GNT ⸀ἡμᾶς δεῖ ἐργάζεσθαι τὰ ἔργα τοῦ πέμψαντός με ἕως ἡμέρα ἐστίν· ἔρχεται νὺξ ὅτε οὐδεὶς δύναται ἐργάζεσθαι.
(⸀haʸmas dei ergazesthai ta erga tou pempsantos me heōs haʸmera estin; erⱪetai nux hote oudeis dunatai ergazesthai.)

RP-GNT Ἐμὲ δεῖ ἐργάζεσθαι τὰ ἔργα τοῦ πέμψαντός με ἕως ἡμέρα ἐστίν· ἔρχεται νύξ, ὅτε οὐδεὶς δύναται ἐργάζεσθαι.
(Eme dei ergazesthai ta erga tou pempsantos me heōs haʸmera estin; erⱪetai nux, hote oudeis dunatai ergazesthai.)

TC-GNT [fn]Ἐμὲ δεῖ ἐργάζεσθαι τὰ ἔργα τοῦ πέμψαντός με ἕως ἡμέρα ἐστίν· ἔρχεται νύξ, ὅτε οὐδεὶς δύναται ἐργάζεσθαι.
(Eme dei ergazesthai ta erga tou pempsantos me heōs haʸmera estin; erⱪetai nux, hote oudeis dunatai ergazesthai. )

9:4 εμε 99.2% ¦ ημας CT 0.5%

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 9:1–12: Jesus healed a man who was blind since his birth

This section tells how Jesus healed a man who had been blind all his life. His disciples asked Jesus who had sinned to make him blind, but Jesus said that he was blind to reveal God’s works. People disagreed about whether this man who could see was the same one who was blind.

Here are other possible section headings:

Jesus cured a man who had always been blind

Jesus caused a blind man to begin to see

A man who had never seen anything began to see

Paragraph 9:1–5

Jesus and his followers saw a man who had been blind since he was born. Jesus’ followers thought this must have happened because of someone’s sin. So they asked Jesus whose sin had caused this man’s blindness. But Jesus said that no one had sinned to cause his blindness. Rather, he was born blind so that God’s power would be revealed.

9:4a

While it is daytime, we must do the works of Him who sent Me.

While it is still day, we^(incl) must do the work of the one who sent me.
God has sent me here, and we^(incl) must do the work he has given us^(incl) while it is still daytime/daylight.

While it is daytime, we must do the works of Him who sent Me: The word we probably refers to Jesus and his disciples.Some Greek manuscripts have “I” here instead of we. The KJV follows those manuscripts. Also, some manuscripts have “us” instead of “me” in the phrase “him who sent me” later in the verse, and NLT follows those manuscripts. Although there is doubt about the original reading, all other English translations agree with BSB. It seems likely that the people who copied the other manuscripts were trying to make the pronouns agree in this verse. So it is recommended that you follow BSB, although if a major language translation in your country has “I” here, you may want to follow that. They were required to do God’s works while they had the opportunity. If your language has inclusive and exclusive pronouns, it is best to use an inclusive pronoun we here.

While it is daytime: This clause implies that it will not always be day. The time a person can work is limited, as daytime is limited. For example:

as long as it is daytime (NET)

daytime: This word here is a metaphor. In this metaphor, “day” represents the time when Jesus was living on earth. The similarity is that both “day” and Jesus’ time on earth are times when it is good to work because light is present. Jesus himself was the light for the world (see 8:12b). It may help your readers understand this figure of speech if you make explicit that “day” refers to the hours of light. For example:

daylight (REB)

we must do the works of Him who sent Me: These clauses indicate that Jesus and his disciples were required to do God’s works. God sent Jesus to the world and told Jesus to do certain miracles (works) to show God’s power. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

We must do the work of him who sent me (GNT)

We must do what the one who sent me wants us to do (GW)

must do: Jesus was already doing what God had sent him to do. He was healing the sick and preaching the gospel. This was not something he was about to start doing. So in some languages it may be natural to make this clearer. For example:

must keep on working

must continue doing (NCV)

the works of Him who sent Me: This phrase indicates the deeds that God himself does and wanted Jesus and his disciples to do. In this context, Jesus did the work of God, the one who sent him, when he healed the blind man. Your translation of works should not only refer to physical labor. In some languages it may be necessary to make it explicit that God is the one who sent Jesus. For example:

the works/deeds of God who sent me

what God who sent me wants/commands

General Comment on 9:4a

In some languages it may be natural to translate the expression “while it is daytime” at the end of the verse. That may make it clearer that “while it is daytime” refers to our working and not God sending. For example:

We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day (NRSV)

9:4b

Night is coming, when no one can work.

Soon it will be night/dark and no one will be able to do any work.
When we reach the time of night/darkness , nobody will be able to do/complete it.

Night is coming, when no one can work: The reason why no one could work at night was because it was dark. If people regularly work at night in your culture, it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

the hours of darkness are coming when no one can work

Night is coming: The words Night is coming mean “it will soon be night.” In some languages it is not natural to speak of night as coming. Use the expression that is natural in your language. For example:

night is near

night is on the way

it will soon be night

Night: This word here is a metaphor. In this metaphor the evil time when Jesus would die and leave them is referred to as Night. Both night and when Jesus would leave are times when it is hard to work because there is no light. When Jesus would no longer be in the world as its light, there would be spiritual darkness. It may help your readers to understand this figure of speech if you translate Night in this way:

the dark/darkness

General Comment on 9:4b

In some languages it may be natural to reorder the information in 9:4b. For example:

The night when no one can do anything is coming. (GW)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive

ἡμᾶς

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἡμάς Δεῖ ἐργάζεσθαι τά ἔργα τοῦ πέμψαντος μέ ἕως ἡμέρα ἐστίν ἔρχεται νύξ ὅτε οὐδείς δύναται ἐργάζεσθαι)

When Jesus says us here, he is including himself and the disciples who are with him. Your language may require you to mark this form.

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

τὰ ἔργα τοῦ πέμψαντός με

Jesus is using of to describe works that God wants Jesus and his disciples to do. If this is not clear in your language, you could use a different expression. Alternate translation: [the works that the one who sent me demands]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

τοῦ πέμψαντός με

˱of˲_the_‹one› (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἡμάς Δεῖ ἐργάζεσθαι τά ἔργα τοῦ πέμψαντος μέ ἕως ἡμέρα ἐστίν ἔρχεται νύξ ὅτε οὐδείς δύναται ἐργάζεσθαι)

Here, the one having sent me refers to God. See how you translated this phrase in [4:34](../04/34.md).

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἕως ἡμέρα ἐστίν; ἔρχεται νὺξ

until day ˱it˲_is ˓is˒_coming (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἡμάς Δεῖ ἐργάζεσθαι τά ἔργα τοῦ πέμψαντος μέ ἕως ἡμέρα ἐστίν ἔρχεται νύξ ὅτε οὐδείς δύναται ἐργάζεσθαι)

Here, day and night could mean: (1) the time when Jesus was on the earth with his disciples and the time when he was no longer on earth, respectively. Alternate translation: [while I am still with you. The time when I will leave you is coming] (2) a person’s lifetime and the time that person dies, respectively. Alternate translation: [while we are still alive. The time when we will die is coming]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἕως ἡμέρα ἐστίν

until day ˱it˲_is

Jesus uses day. He compares the time when he and his disciples can do God’s work to the daytime, which is the time when people normally work. If this might confuse your readers, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [while it is the time like the daylight hours when people usually work]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἔρχεται νὺξ

˓is˒_coming (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἡμάς Δεῖ ἐργάζεσθαι τά ἔργα τοῦ πέμψαντος μέ ἕως ἡμέρα ἐστίν ἔρχεται νύξ ὅτε οὐδείς δύναται ἐργάζεσθαι)