And I will remain united in you may also be understood as a comparison “as I remain united with you,” since the Greek conjunction kai may mean either “and” or “as.” If the clause is interpreted as a comparison, then the first clause is most appropriately understood as an imperative, for example, “continue to be a part of me even as I am a part of you” or “continue to be joined to me even as I will remain joined to you.” However, if the second clause is not to be considered a type of comparison, in most languages a conditional relation would be more appropriate, for example, “If you remain joined to me, I will remain joined to you.”

Most translations are literal, maintaining the imagery either of “living in” or “abiding in.” The meaning is essentially that of 6.56 (“to live in fellowship/union with”). Since the spatial concept of one person living in another person may be difficult, it is better to follow Good News Translation and translate “remain united with me.”

By itself is the same expression translated on his own in the son can do nothing on his own of 5.19 (see also 7.18; 16.13). In the same way that the Son can do nothing on his own, so the disciples can do nothing on their own; they must remain united with the Son, as the Son remains united with the Father.

It may not be easy in some languages to translate literally by itself. One equivalent may be “a branch alone cannot bear fruits,” or it may be necessary to indicate clearly what the relation is of the branch to the trunk, for example, “if a branch is not attached to the trunk of a tree, it cannot bear fruit.” This same truth is also expressed in the second part of this second sentence, which may be rendered “a branch can only bear fruit if it remains a part of the vine.” These two parts of the sentence simply reinforce one another.

What may be difficult is the parallel stated in the third sentence of verse 4, since in some languages one cannot speak of a person’s bearing fruit. Such a figure is simply meaningless. One can, however, translate this sentence “In the same way you can’t do anything unless you remain a part of me….”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .