Every translation hides its close calls. A committee votes, the majority reading goes into the text, and the reader never learns that the vote was close. Open Word Bible marks such decisions as uncertain, explains both sides, and shows a label in the reader. Here are two.
John 1:16: grace upon grace
The end of John 1:16 is χάριν ἀντὶ χάριτος: literally “grace for grace”. The middle word usually means “in place of”. That supports one reading: the grace that came in Christ replaced an earlier grace, the grace given through the law of Moses, which verse 17 mentions next.
The other reading is accumulation: one gift of grace following another, grace upon grace. Open Word Bible chose this one, and the record says why: verse 17 does not call the law grace. John sets law and grace side by side, but he does not describe the law as a grace now superseded.
Balanced: From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace.
Readable: Out of his fullness we have all received one gift of grace after another.
Because both readings are defensible, the decision is marked uncertain. And notice the Literal level:
Literal: Because from his fullness we all received, even grace for grace.
The rule for levels is that a level may keep an ambiguity the original has, but may not pick the other side. Literal keeps the open “grace for grace”, which can be read either way. It does not say “grace in place of grace”.
John 1:5: overcome, or understand?
John 1:5 says the darkness did not κατέλαβεν, a form of καταλαμβάνω. The verb can mean to seize or overpower, or to grasp with the mind. Older English Bibles said “comprehended it not”; most modern ones say “has not overcome it”.
Open Word Bible says “overcome”. John 12:35 uses the same verb of darkness overtaking someone, which supports it. But John may intend both senses, a darkness that neither defeated the light nor understood it, and the record marks the decision uncertain and says so in a note.
Why say so?
Marking uncertainty can look like weakness. We think it is the opposite. A reader who knows a choice was close reads the verse more carefully, compares the alternatives, and trusts the confident decisions more because the uncertain ones are labelled. It is what any careful scholar would tell you in person.