complete verse (John 7:46)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 7:46:

  • Uma: “They answered: ‘Because we (excl.) have never before heard a person who speaks like he does!'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “The guards answered, they said, ‘Nobody has ever taught like the teaching of that person.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And the guards answered, ‘The reason we weren’t able to seize him is because his preaching was very good. There has never been a man who could preach like his preaching.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘Emphatically no person can-equal his way of speaking,’ answered the police.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “They replied, saying, ‘Very respectfully to you, all this time, there’s been no man whose sayings were as wonderful.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “The police said, ‘Never any where have we heard a person speak like this man does.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on John 7:46

In the reply of the guards this man seems to be emphatic.

Their response must be understood as a reference to the content of what Jesus had said. It would be wrong to suggest that there was something unusual about Jesus’ manner of speech or his accent or pronunciation. One may say in some languages “No one has ever said the things this man has said” or “What this man has said is different from what all other men have said.”

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 .