John 15:21

in the name of, on the account of his (or: my) name

Some of the Hebrew and Greek phrases that are translated in English in association with “name,” including “in the name of,” “in my name,” “in your name,” “on the account of my name,” “on the account of your name” (according to a classification by Robert Bratcher in The Bible Translator 1963, p. 72ff. , phrases that belong to the categories of “Agency or instrumentality” and “Representation”) present a number of challenges in other languages.

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Eugene Nida (1947, p 178ff.) explains this way:

“The biblical attitudes toward human personality are of great theological importance. There is, however, only one word which produces any considerable difficulty in other languages. This is the word ‘name.’ The great difference attached to the significance of the name of a person in the Bible times in contrast with our own culture is very important. Note such phrases as ‘whatsoever ye shall ask in my name,’ John 14:13, ‘believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God,’ John 3:18, and ‘life through his name,’ John 20:31. These expressions are generally difficult for us to understand, for the word ‘name’ does not mean the same to us as it meant to those of Bible times. To them the name was the symbolization of the authority and personality of the individual who possessed the name. To us a name is far less important. It may be changed whenever one can convince a judge that another name might be more economically advantageous. The name is also a legal method of giving one’s written assent to certain business transactions, but to us it is not the symbol of the personality.”

The translation in Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl typically is “in someone’s authority” (for instance “I have come in my Father’s name” in John 5:43 becomes “I have come on my Father’s authority”) (source Nida 1947, p. 179), or in Highland Puebla Nahuatl with the more paraphrastic equivalent “as though on orders from you” or in Tzeltal as “by your authority, so he said” (both examples for Mark 9:38 and 39, see Bratcher / Nida).

In Guhu-Samane, Mark 11:9 (in English: “Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord”) is translated as “Blessed is the Lord’s namesake who comes.” “In the name of the Lord” caused “puzzlement [because] “has he just assumed the name of the Lord, valid or otherwise? [But] with ‘blessed is the Lord’s namesake who comes’ the strong bond between the namesake and the important ancestor for whom named entitles the namesake to the deference due the ancestor. Thought very proper in this context.” (Source: Ernest L. Richert in Notes on Translation December 1963: p. 4-7; reprinted in The Bible Translator 1965, p. 198ff. )

Barclay Newman (see The Bible Translator 1974, pp, 432ff. ) reports on different solutions for the translation of the Today’s Malay Version (Alkitab Berita Baik, 1987):

In Malay “the phrase ‘in my name’ is problematic (…) since it sounds like the use of magic. For this reason [the English] Today’s English Version (Good News Bible) was followed at such passages as John 5:43 and 10:25, where ‘in the name of my Father’ is translated as ‘with my Father’s authority’ and ‘by my Father’s authority’ [respectively]. In John 12:13 ‘in the name of the Lord’ has become ‘in his (the Lord’s) behalf,’ following the common language German translation Die Gute Nachricht. In John 14:13, ‘because you are my followers’ is used, in John in 15:16, 16:23 and 24 ‘as my followers,’ in John 17:11 ‘by your own power, the power you gave me,’ and in John 14:26 ‘in my place.'”

Other translations for “in the name of Jesus Christ” include “in the authority of Jesus Christ” (Isthmus Mixe), “calling on Jesus Christ” (Teutila Cuicatec), “calling the name of Jesus Christ over you” (Ayutla Mixtec), “because of Jesus” (Tepeuxila Cuicatec), “by the power of the name of Jesus Christ” (Chichimeca-Jonaz), or “the word of Jesus Christ is strong” (Lalana Chinantec). (source for this and above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.).

complete verse (John 15:21)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 15:21:

Uma: “They do all that to you because you are my followers. They do all that to you because they do not know God who sent me.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “They hate you and they persecute you because you belong to me and because they do not know God, God who sent me.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “But people will treat you badly because of your faith in me because they don’t recognize the one who sent me.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “They will do all these-things to you on-account-of your being-united-with me, because they don’t know the one who sent me.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “But because they don’t recognize/know the one who sent me to come here, therefore they will cause you suffering/hardship because of your believing-in/obeying me.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “This that I am speaking about is what the people will do to you because you are my learners. Because they do not know God who sent me is why they will so do.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

formal pronoun: Jesus addressing his disciples and common people

Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.

As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator 2002, p. 210ff.), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.

Here, Jesus is addressing his disciples, individuals and/or crowds with the formal pronoun, showing respect.

In most Dutch translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and common people with the informal pronoun, whereas they address him with the formal form.

Translation commentary on John 15:21

Because you are mine is literally “because of my name.” Jerusalem Bible renders “on my account,” but this translation leaves unclear the exact meaning of the phrase. A footnote in New American Bible states “For John, association with Jesus’ name implies union with Jesus.” This observation is true, and it is the basis for the Good News Translation rendering. Because of the disciples’ union with Jesus (that is, because they belong to him), they are persecuted (see comments on “in my name” at 14.13). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch renders “because you acknowledge me.”

They will do all this to you refers to persecution, and this reference may be made explicit, for example, “They will persecute you because you are mine” or “because you follow me.”

Note, however, the presence of a rather complex double causation. Those who reject the disciples, and therefore persecute them, do it for two reasons: first, because the disciples belonged to Jesus, and secondly, because they do not know the one who sent Jesus. It may be necessary to repeat in the second part of verse 21 what these persons actually do, for example, “But they will persecute you because you belong to me; they will do this because they do not know the one who sent me.”

The one who sent me is a reference to God the Father.

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 .

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Verse: John 15:21