7:50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus 1 before and who was one of the rulers, 2 said, 3
1 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Grk “who was one of them”; the referent (the rulers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Grk “said to them.”
4 tn The words “this happened” are not in the Greek text but are supplied to complete an ellipsis.
5 sn A quotation from Ps 35:19 and Ps 69:4. As a technical term law (νόμος, nomos) is usually restricted to the Pentateuch (the first five books of the OT), but here it must have a broader reference, since the quotation is from Ps 35:19 or Ps 69:4. The latter is the more likely source for the quoted words, since it is cited elsewhere in John’s Gospel (2:17 and 19:29, in both instances in contexts associated with Jesus’ suffering and death).
6 tn The word προσφάγιον (prosfagion) is unusual. According to BDAG 886 s.v. in Hellenistic Greek it described a side dish to be eaten with bread, and in some contexts was the equivalent of ὄψον (oyon), “fish.” Used in addressing a group of returning fishermen, however, it is quite clear that the speaker had fish in mind.
7 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “do you?”).
8 tn Grk “They answered him.”