看聖經 > 學英文 John 1:1-5

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The Gospel of John, Chapter 1, Verses 1-5

Reading from the New Living Translation (NLT):

1In the beginning the Word already existed.

The Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

2He existed in the beginning with God.

3God created everything through him,

and nothing was created except through him.

4The Word gave life to everything that was created,

and his life brought light to everyone.

5The light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness can never extinguish it.

Reading from the Good News Translation (GNT):

1In the beginning the Word already existed; the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2From the very beginning the Word was with God. 3Through him God made all things; not one thing in all creation was made without him. 4The Word was the source of life, and this life brought light to people. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.

Learning English from both translations:

1. In NLT, the first verse contains two sentences; in GNT, it is just one sentence.
2. In NLT, Verse 2 starts with the pronoun “he,” which means the Word, previously mentioned; however, in GNT, “the Word” is used as the subject of the sentence, with an adverbial phrase, “from the very beginning,” going before the subject.
3. We see a “compound sentence" both in NLT and GNT, but the two clauses of the sentence are combined by using the conjunction “and” in NLT, and yet with a semicolon (;) instead, in GNT.
4. Regarding Verse 4, see the following diagrams for better understanding of the different structures of the two translations:
   
   
   John 1:4, from NLT
   
   
   John 1:4, from GNT
   
   
   

   In the above diagrams, S = Subject, V = Verb, O = Object, and C = Compliment; these are the main parts of a sentence. And under the main parts are the "modifiers," that is, additional parts that used to describe (or modify) the main parts such as S, V, and O or C. 
5. The first half (or clause) of Verse 5 appears exactly the same in NLT and GNT. Yet the second clause differs: Firstly, the word “extinguish” in NLT is replaced with the phrase “put out” in GNT; secondly, it’s shaped in the simple present tense with a model verb, “can,” in NLT; but the present progressive tense in GNT.

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