Ayub 24:14-17

24:14 Before daybreak ¹  the murderer rises up;

he kills the poor and the needy;

in the night he is ²  like a thief. ³ 

24:15 And the eye of the adulterer watches for the twilight,

thinking, ⁴  ‘No eye can see me,’

and covers his face with a mask.

24:16 In the dark the robber ⁵  breaks into houses, ⁶ 

but by day they shut themselves in; ⁷ 

they do not know the light. ⁸ 

24:17 For all of them, ⁹  the morning is to them

like deep darkness;

they are friends with the terrors of darkness.

Yohanes 3:19-21

3:19 Now this is the basis for judging: ¹⁰  that the light has come into the world and people ¹¹  loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil. 3:20 For everyone who does evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed. 3:21 But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done in God. ¹² 

Efesus 5:11

5:11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather ¹³  expose them. ¹⁴ 

Efesus 5:1

Live in Love

5:1 Therefore, be ¹⁵  imitators of God as dearly loved children

Efesus 5:5-7

5:5 For you can be confident of this one thing: ¹⁶  that no person who is immoral, impure, or greedy (such a person is an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Live in the Light

5:6 Let nobody deceive you with empty words, for because of these things God’s wrath comes on the sons of disobedience. ¹⁷  5:7 Therefore do not be partakers with them, ¹⁸ 

Efesus 5:1

Live in Love

5:1 Therefore, be ¹⁹  imitators of God as dearly loved children

Yohanes 1:5-7

1:5 And the light shines on ²⁰  in the darkness, ²¹  but ²²  the darkness has not mastered it. ²³ 

1:6 A man came, sent from God, whose name was John. ²⁴  1:7 He came as a witness ²⁵  to testify ²⁶  about the light, so that everyone ²⁷  might believe through him.

Yohanes 2:8-9

2:8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the head steward,” ²⁸  and they did. 2:9 When ²⁹  the head steward tasted the water that had been turned to wine, not knowing where it came from ³⁰  (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), he ³¹  called the bridegroom

[24:14]  ¹ tn The text simply has לָאוֹר (la’or, “at light” or “at daylight”), probably meaning just at the time of dawn.

[24:14]  ² tn In a few cases the jussive is used without any real sense of the jussive being present (see GKC 323 §109.k).

[24:14]  ³ sn The point is that he is like a thief in that he works during the night, just before the daylight, when the advantage is all his and the victim is most vulnerable.

[24:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “saying.”

[24:16]  ⁵ tn The phrase “the robber” has been supplied in the English translation for clarification.

[24:16]  ⁶ tc This is not the idea of the adulterer, but of the thief. So some commentators reverse the order and put this verse after v. 14.

[24:16]  ⁷ tc The verb חִתְּמוּ (khittÿmu) is the Piel from the verb חָתַם (khatam, “to seal”). The verb is now in the plural, covering all the groups mentioned that work under the cover of darkness. The suggestion that they “seal,” i.e., “mark” the house they will rob, goes against the meaning of the word “seal.”

[24:16]  ⁸ tc Some commentators join this very short colon to the beginning of v. 17: “they do not know the light. For together…” becomes “for together they have not known the light.”

[24:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “together.”

[3:19]  ¹⁰ tn Or “this is the reason for God judging,” or “this is how judgment works.”

[3:19]  ¹¹ tn Grk “and men,” but in a generic sense, referring to people of both genders (as “everyone” in v. 20 makes clear).

[3:21]  ¹² sn John 3:16-21 provides an introduction to the (so-called) “realized” eschatology of the Fourth Gospel: Judgment has come; eternal life may be possessed now, in the present life, as well as in the future. The terminology “realized eschatology” was originally coined by E. Haenchen and used by J. Jeremias in discussion with C. H. Dodd, but is now characteristically used to describe Dodd’s own formulation. See L. Goppelt, Theology of the New Testament, 1:54, note 10, and R. E. Brown (John [AB], 1:cxvii-cxviii) for further discussion. Especially important to note is the element of choice portrayed in John’s Gospel. If there is a twofold reaction to Jesus in John’s Gospel, it should be emphasized that that reaction is very much dependent on a person’s choice, a choice that is influenced by his way of life, whether his deeds are wicked or are done in God (John 3:20-21). For John there is virtually no trace of determinism at the surface. Only when one looks beneath the surface does one find statements like “no one can come to me, unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44).

[5:11]  ¹³ tn The Greek conjunction καὶ (kai) seems to be functioning here ascensively, (i.e., “even”), but is difficult to render in this context using good English. It may read something like: “but rather even expose them!”

[5:11]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “rather even expose.”

[5:1]  ¹⁵ tn Or “become.”

[5:5]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “be knowing this.” See also 2 Pet 1:20 for a similar phrase: τοῦτο πρῶτον γινώσκοντες (touto prwton ginwskonte").

[5:6]  ¹⁷ sn The expression sons of disobedience is a Semitic idiom that means “people characterized by disobedience.” In this context it refers to “all those who are disobedient.” Cf. Eph 2:2-3.

[5:7]  ¹⁸ tn The genitive αὐτῶν (autwn) has been translated as a genitive of association because of its use with συμμέτοχοι (summetocoi) – a verb which implies association in the σύν- (sun-) prefix.

[5:1]  ¹⁹ tn Or “become.”

[1:5]  ²⁰ tn To this point the author has used past tenses (imperfects, aorists); now he switches to a present. The light continually shines (thus the translation, “shines on”). Even as the author writes, it is shining. The present here most likely has gnomic force (though it is possible to take it as a historical present); it expresses the timeless truth that the light of the world (cf. 8:12, 9:5, 12:46) never ceases to shine.

[1:5]  sn The light shines on. The question of whether John has in mind here the preincarnate Christ or the incarnate Christ is probably too specific. The incarnation is not really introduced until v. 9, but here the point is more general: It is of the very nature of light, that it shines.

[1:5]  ²¹ sn The author now introduces what will become a major theme of John’s Gospel: the opposition of light and darkness. The antithesis is a natural one, widespread in antiquity. Gen 1 gives considerable emphasis to it in the account of the creation, and so do the writings of Qumran. It is the major theme of one of the most important extra-biblical documents found at Qumran, the so-called War Scroll, properly titled The War of the Sons of Light with the Sons of Darkness. Connections between John and Qumran are still an area of scholarly debate and a consensus has not yet emerged. See T. A. Hoffman, “1 John and the Qumran Scrolls,” BTB 8 (1978): 117-25.

[1:5]  ²² tn Grk “and,” but the context clearly indicates a contrast, so this has been translated as an adversative use of καί (kai).

[1:5]  ²³ tn Or “comprehended it,” or “overcome it.” The verb κατέλαβεν (katelaben) is not easy to translate. “To seize” or “to grasp” is possible, but this also permits “to grasp with the mind” in the sense of “to comprehend” (esp. in the middle voice). This is probably another Johannine double meaning – one does not usually think of darkness as trying to “understand” light. For it to mean this, “darkness” must be understood as meaning “certain people,” or perhaps “humanity” at large, darkened in understanding. But in John’s usage, darkness is not normally used of people or a group of people. Rather it usually signifies the evil environment or ‘sphere’ in which people find themselves: “They loved darkness rather than light” (John 3:19). Those who follow Jesus do not walk in darkness (8:12). They are to walk while they have light, lest the darkness “overtake/overcome” them (12:35, same verb as here). For John, with his set of symbols and imagery, darkness is not something which seeks to “understand (comprehend)” the light, but represents the forces of evil which seek to “overcome (conquer)” it. The English verb “to master” may be used in both sorts of contexts, as “he mastered his lesson” and “he mastered his opponent.”

[1:6]  ²⁴ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[1:7]  ²⁵ tn Grk “came for a testimony.”

[1:7]  sn Witness is also one of the major themes of John’s Gospel. The Greek verb μαρτυρέω (marturew) occurs 33 times (compare to once in Matthew, once in Luke, 0 in Mark) and the noun μαρτυρία (marturia) 14 times (0 in Matthew, once in Luke, 3 times in Mark).

[1:7]  ²⁶ tn Or “to bear witness.”

[1:7]  ²⁷ tn Grk “all.”

[2:8]  ²⁸ tn Or “the master of ceremonies.”

[2:9]  ²⁹ tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, δέ (de) has not been translated here.

[2:9]  ³⁰ tn Grk “and he did not know where it came from.”

[2:9]  ³¹ tn Grk “the head steward”; here the repetition of the phrase is somewhat redundant in English and the pronoun (“he”) is substituted in the translation.