看聖經 > 學英文 John 1:8-14

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The Gospel of John, Chapter 1, Verses 8-14

Reading from the New Living Translation (NLT):

8John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 9The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

10He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

14So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

Reading from the Good News Translation (GNT):

8He himself was not the light; he came to tell about the light. 9This was the real light—the light that comes into the world and shines on all people.

10The Word was in the world, and though God made the world through him, yet the world did not recognize him. 11He came to his own country, but his own people did not receive him. 12Some, however, did receive him and believed in him; so he gave them the right to become God's children. 13They did not become God's children by natural means, that is, by being born as the children of a human father; God himself was their Father.

14The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father's only Son.

Learning English from both translations:

1. The first half of Verse 8 reads almost the same in both versions. As for the second half (or clause), different sentence patterns are used in NLT and GNT; that is, the S+V+C pattern in NLT, and the S+V pattern in GNT.
2. The two versions of Verse 9 can be diagramed as follows:
   
   
   

   John 1:9, NLT
   
   
   John 1:9, GNT
   
   
   In the second diagram above, the subjective complement C is repeated as C', meaning "the true light," but in other words, stating, "the light that comes into the world and shines on all people." This type of repetition can also be viewed as an "appositive" in grammar, especially in a broad sense. See the alternative diagram below:
   
   
   John 1:9, GNT (alternative)
   
   
   
   
3. Verse 10 is translated quite differently in both versions. In NLT, it reads: "He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him." And in GNT, it goes this way: "The Word was in the world, and though God made the world through him, yet the world did not recognize him."
   
   Comparing the two versions, I noticed that "he" in NLT signifies "the Word" in GNT; besides, "He came into the very world he created, but..." is expressed as "The Word was in the world, and though God made the world through him, yet..." Here in NLT, the Word has been entirely personalized, as the pronoun "he" implies; and in GNT the Word is also regarded as a person, just as the subordinate clause -- "though God made the world through him" -- has suggested.
   
   Another interesting word for me is "though," one of the subordinating conjuctions in English -- others including because, when, although, etc. Personally, I've seen sentences like these:
   
   (a) He was happy though he was poor.
   (b) Although his strength is limited, he is willing to help.
   (c) He had a bad cold, but/yet he came to school as usual.
   
   However, I had never seen such a sentence from my textbook before:
   
   (d) [Any grammatical error?] "Although he had a cold, but he came to school this morning."
   (e) [Any grammatical error?] "Though he had a cold, yet he came to school this morning."
   
   I mean, I didn't see a "subordinating conjunction" like though, although, or because was used along with a "coordinating conjuction" like but, yet, or so in the same sentence. I was wondering if Verse 10 in GNT should be without either "yet" or "though." Then, referring to NIV, the New International Version, I found its wording as follows:
   
   "He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him." (John 1:10, taken from NIV)
   
   
   John 1:10, NIV
   

   
   
   In the above diagram, we see the coordinating conjunction "and" (which joins two coodinate clauses), and the subordinating conjunction "though" (which forms a subordinate clause -- "though the world was made through him"). It's important to note that a subordinate clause is a dependent clause; it must goes along with an independent clause, which is also known as the main clause.
   
   Whether in NLT or GNT or NIV, Verse 10 is translated into a "compound-complex sentence," which contains two coordinate clauses and one subordinate clause. And, in this very compound-complex sentence, the subordinate or dependent clause is an "adjective clause" in NLT, and an "adverbial clause" in GNT and NIV.
   
   
4. Verse 11 is a short "compound sentence" in both the NLT and GNT versions, but NLT is more direct, stating, "He came to his own people, and even they rejected him." In GNT, it reads: "He came to his own country, but his own people did not receive him."
   
   
5. Now we come to Verses 12, 13, and 14, of which the two different versions are as follows:

Verse 12

• "But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God." (NLT)
• "Some, however, did receive him and believed in him; so he gave them the right to become God's children." (GNT)

Verse 13

• "They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God." (NLT)
• "They did not become God's children by natural means, that is, by being born as the children of a human father; God himself was their Father." (GNT)

Verse 14

• "So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son." (NLT)
• "The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father's only Son." (GNT)
  
  What differences have you found between the two versions of each verse? Can you compare every pair of sentences by analyzing their grammatical structures and other aspects? This task would be great for you if you are interested in linguistics or something similar.

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