form of address between the persons of the Trinity

In Hindi a differentiation is made between the way that the different persons of the Trinity are addressed by a regular person or by another person of the Trinity. When Jesus addresses God the Father or when God the Father addresses Jesus, a familiar form of address is used, unlike the way that any of them would be addressed with a honorific (pl.) form by anyone else.

Source: C.S. Thoburn in The Bible Translator 1963, p. 180ff.

complete verse (John 17:6)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 17:6:

  • Uma: “‘As for my companions over there, whom you gave to me from this world, I have told them who you (sing.) are, Father. They were your (sing.) portion beforehand, you (sing.) offered them to me, and they followed your (sing.) words.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “‘I have made you known to the people you have given to me here in this world. They belong to you and you have given them to me. They follow/obey your word/message,” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “As for the people that you gave to me here on the earth, I have caused them to understand who you are. They were yours before, and you gave them to me, and they have carried out that which you commanded them.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘Your (sing.) people whom you (sing.) chose in/from this world whom you (sing.) entrusted to me, I showed them your (sing.) godhood. They were originally your (sing.) people and you (sing.) entrusted them to me. They have followed what you (sing.) have said,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “‘I have caused you to be recognized/known by the people you gave me from the mass-of-people here in this world. These ones, they are yours. You just gave them to me, and they are following/obeying your words.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Those people you chose here in the world to deliver over to me, I caused them to know about you. They were in your hands but you delivered them to me and they believed the word which you sent to them.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on John 17:6

I have made you known means the same as I showed your glory in verse 4. The verb have made you known is in the aorist tense, and it sums up the total revelation of God in Jesus’ ministry.

You is literally “your name.” To refer to the “name” of God is another way to refer to God himself. This is the basis for rendering you in Good News Translation and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch. See also comments at 2.23; 3.18; and the detailed discussion at 14.13.

The verb make known was first used in 1.31. I have made you known must normally be treated as a causative, but this may result in complications in the clause structure. I have made you known may be rendered “I have caused men to know you.” However, a difficulty results from the dependent clause you gave me out of the world. In some languages it may be related to the preceding clause as “Those you gave me out of the world, these I have caused to know you.”

The phrase out of the world is the same rendered from this world in 15.19. In rendering those you gave me out of the world, it is important to avoid an expression implying that God had taken the people out of the world and given them to Jesus. The reference is, rather, to the disciples who remained in the world, but who were not in a sense “of the world.” For the thought that the disciples were given to Jesus by the Father see 6.37; this thought is a frequently recurring theme throughout the priestly prayer (17.2,9,12,24).

They belonged to you, and you gave them to me simply expands the thought of the previous statement, those you gave me out of the world.

They have obeyed your word translates the same expression used in 8.51 (obeys my message), except for a different pronoun and the use here of the Greek perfect tense. The perfect tense suggests that this aspect of the prayer relates to the time the book was written. It suggests that the disciples had kept and were continuing to keep Jesus’ word.

They have obeyed your word may be rendered in some languages “they have done what you told them to do.” A complication here is that your word refers to the message God had relayed to the disciples through Jesus, but this fact can also be understood from the context.

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 .