Yohanes 3:2

3:2 came to Jesus ¹  at night ²  and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs ³  that you do unless God is with him.”

Yohanes 9:22

9:22 (His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jewish religious leaders. ⁴  For the Jewish leaders had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus ⁵  to be the Christ ⁶  would be put out ⁷  of the synagogue. ⁸ 

Yohanes 9:34

9:34 They replied, ⁹  “You were born completely in sinfulness, ¹⁰  and yet you presume to teach us?” ¹¹  So they threw him out.

Yohanes 12:42-43

12:42 Nevertheless, even among the rulers ¹²  many believed in him, but because of the Pharisees ¹³  they would not confess Jesus to be the Christ, ¹⁴  so that they would not be put out of ¹⁵  the synagogue. ¹⁶  12:43 For they loved praise ¹⁷  from men more than praise ¹⁸  from God.

Yohanes 19:38

Jesus’ Burial

19:38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus (but secretly, because he feared the Jewish leaders ¹⁹ ), ²⁰  asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. Pilate ²¹  gave him permission, so he went and took the body away. ²² 

Yohanes 20:19

Jesus’ Appearance to the Disciples

20:19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the disciples had gathered together ²³  and locked the doors ²⁴  of the place ²⁵  because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. ²⁶  Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

Amsal 29:25

29:25 The fear of people ²⁷  becomes ²⁸  a snare, ²⁹ 

but whoever trusts in the Lord will be set on high. ³⁰ 

Galatia 2:12-13

2:12 Until ³¹  certain people came from James, he had been eating with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he stopped doing this ³²  and separated himself ³³  because he was afraid of those who were pro-circumcision. ³⁴  2:13 And the rest of the Jews also joined with him in this hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray with them ³⁵  by their hypocrisy.

Galatia 2:2

2:2 I went there ³⁶  because of ³⁷  a revelation and presented ³⁸  to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did so ³⁹  only in a private meeting with the influential people, ⁴⁰  to make sure that I was not running – or had not run ⁴¹  – in vain.

Titus 2:9-13

2:9 Slaves ⁴²  are to be subject to their own masters in everything, ⁴³  to do what is wanted and not talk back, 2:10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, ⁴⁴  in order to bring credit to ⁴⁵  the teaching of God our Savior in everything.

2:11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. ⁴⁶  2:12 It trains us ⁴⁷  to reject godless ways ⁴⁸  and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 2:13 as we wait for the happy fulfillment of our hope in the glorious appearing ⁴⁹  of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. ⁵⁰ 

Wahyu 2:13

2:13 ‘I know ⁵¹  where you live – where Satan’s throne is. Yet ⁵²  you continue to cling ⁵³  to my name and you have not denied your ⁵⁴  faith in me, ⁵⁵  even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, ⁵⁶  who was killed in your city ⁵⁷  where Satan lives.

[3:2]  ¹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:2]  ² tn Or “during the night.”

[3:2]  sn Possibly Nicodemus came…at night because he was afraid of public association with Jesus, or he wanted a lengthy discussion without interruptions; no explanation for the timing of the interview is given by the author. But the timing is significant for John in terms of the light-darkness motif – compare John 9:4, 11:10, 13:30 (especially), 19:39, and 21:3. Out of the darkness of his life and religiosity Nicodemus came to the Light of the world. The author probably had multiple meanings or associations in mind here, as is often the case.

[3:2]  ³ sn The reference to signs (σημεῖα, shmeia) forms a link with John 2:23-25. Those people in Jerusalem believed in Jesus because of the signs he had performed. Nicodemus had apparently seen them too. But for Nicodemus all the signs meant is that Jesus was a great teacher sent from God. His approach to Jesus was well-intentioned but theologically inadequate; he had failed to grasp the messianic implications of the miraculous signs.

[9:22]  ⁴ tn Or “the Jewish religious authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Twice in this verse the phrase refers to the Pharisees, mentioned by name in John 9:13, 15, 16. The second occurrence is shortened to “the Jewish leaders” for stylistic reasons. See the note on the phrase “the Jewish religious leaders” in v. 18.

[9:22]  ⁵ tn Grk “confessed him.”

[9:22]  ⁶ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[9:22]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[9:22]  ⁷ tn Or “would be expelled from.”

[9:22]  ⁸ sn This reference to excommunication from the Jewish synagogue for those who had made some sort of confession about Jesus being the Messiah is dismissed as anachronistic by some (e.g., Barrett) and nonhistorical by others. In later Jewish practice there were at least two forms of excommunication: a temporary ban for thirty days, and a permanent ban. But whether these applied in NT times is far from certain. There is no substantial evidence for a formal ban on Christians until later than this Gospel could possibly have been written. This may be a reference to some form of excommunication adopted as a contingency to deal with those who were proclaiming Jesus to be the Messiah. If so, there is no other record of the procedure than here. It was probably local, limited to the area around Jerusalem. See also the note on synagogue in 6:59.

[9:34]  ⁹ tn Grk “They answered and said to him.” This has been simplified in the translation to “They replied.”

[9:34]  ¹⁰ tn Or “From birth you have been evil.” The implication of this insult, in the context of John 9, is that the man whom Jesus caused to see had not previously adhered rigorously to all the conventional requirements of the OT law as interpreted by the Pharisees. Thus he had no right to instruct them about who Jesus was.

[9:34]  ¹¹ tn Grk “and are you teaching us?”

[12:42]  ¹² sn The term rulers here denotes members of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews. Note the same word (“ruler”) is used to describe Nicodemus in 3:1.

[12:42]  ¹³ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[12:42]  ¹⁴ tn The words “Jesus to be the Christ” are not in the Greek text, but are implied (see 9:22). As is often the case in Greek, the direct object is omitted for the verb ὡμολόγουν (Jwmologoun). Some translators supply an ambiguous “it,” or derive the implied direct object from the previous clause “believed in him” so that the rulers would not confess “their faith” or “their belief.” However, when one compares John 9:22, which has many verbal parallels to this verse, it seems clear that the content of the confession would have been “Jesus is the Christ (i.e., Messiah).”

[12:42]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[12:42]  ¹⁵ tn Or “be expelled from.”

[12:42]  ¹⁶ sn Compare John 9:22. See the note on synagogue in 6:59.

[12:43]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “the glory.”

[12:43]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “the glory.”

[19:38]  ¹⁹ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially the Pharisees (see John 12:42). See also the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 7.

[19:38]  ²⁰ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[19:38]  ²¹ tn Grk “And Pilate.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[19:38]  ²² tn Grk “took away his body.”

[20:19]  ²³ tn Although the words “had gathered together” are omitted in some of the earliest and best mss, they are nevertheless implied, and have thus been included in the translation.

[20:19]  ²⁴ tn Grk “the doors were shut”; “locked” conveys a more appropriate idea for the modern English reader.

[20:19]  sn The fact that the disciples locked the doors is a perfectly understandable reaction to the events of the past few days. But what is the significance of the inclusion of this statement by the author? It is often taken to mean that Jesus, when he entered the room, passed through the closed doors. This may well be the case, but it may be assuming too much about our knowledge of the mode in which the resurrected body of Jesus exists. The text does not explicitly state how Jesus got through the closed doors. It is possible to assume that the doors opened of their own accord before him, or that he simply appeared in the middle of the room without passing through the doors at all. The point the author makes here is simply that the closed doors were no obstacle at all to the resurrected Jesus.

[20:19]  ²⁵ tn Grk “where they were.”

[20:19]  ²⁶ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders.

[29:25]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the fear of man.” This uses an objective genitive to describe a situation where fearing what people might do or think controls one’s life. There is no indication in the immediate context that this should be limited only to males, so the translation uses the more generic “people” here.

[29:25]  ²⁸ tn Heb “gives [or yields, or produces]”; NIV “will prove to be.”

[29:25]  ²⁹ sn “Snare” is an implied comparison; fearing people is like being in a trap – there is no freedom of movement or sense of security.

[29:25]  ³⁰ sn The image of being set on high comes from the military experience of finding a defensible position, a place of safety and security, such as a high wall or a mountain. Trusting in the Lord sets people free and gives them a sense of safety and security (e.g, Prov 10:27; 12:2).

[2:12]  ³¹ tn The conjunction γάρ has not been translated here.

[2:12]  ³² tn Grk “he drew back.” If ἑαυτόν (Jeauton) goes with both ὑπέστελλεν (Jupestellen) and ἀφώριζεν (afwrizen) rather than only the latter, the meaning would be “he drew himself back” (see BDAG 1041 s.v. ὑποστέλλω 1.a).

[2:12]  ³³ tn Or “and held himself aloof.”

[2:12]  ³⁴ tn Grk “the [ones] of the circumcision,” that is, the group of Jewish Christians who insisted on circumcision of Gentiles before they could become Christians.

[2:13]  ³⁵ tn The words “with them” are a reflection of the σύν- (sun-) prefix on the verb συναπήχθη (sunaphcqh; see L&N 31.76).

[2:2]  ³⁶ tn Grk “I went up”; one always spoke idiomatically of going “up” to Jerusalem.

[2:2]  ³⁷ tn Or “in accordance with.” According to BDAG 512 s.v. κατά B.5.a.δ, “Oft. the norm is at the same time the reason, so that in accordance with and because of are merged…Instead of ‘in accordance w.’ κ. can mean simply because of, as a result of, on the basis of…κ. ἀποκάλυψιν Gal 2:2.”

[2:2]  ³⁸ tn Or “set before them.”

[2:2]  ³⁹ tn Grk “Gentiles, but only privately…to make sure.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started with “But” and the words “I did so,” an implied repetition from the previous clause, were supplied to make a complete English sentence.

[2:2]  ⁴⁰ tn L&N 87.42 has “important persons, influential persons, prominent persons” for οἱ δοκοῦντες and translates this phrase in Gal 2:2 as “in a private meeting with the prominent persons.” The “prominent people” referred to here are the leaders of the Jerusalem church.

[2:2]  ⁴¹ tn Here the first verb (τρέχω, trecw, “was not running”) is present subjunctive, while the second (ἔδραμον, edramon, “had not run”) is aorist indicative.

[2:9]  ⁴² tn See the note on the word “slave” in 1:1.

[2:9]  ⁴³ tn Or “to be subject to their own masters, to do what is wanted in everything.”

[2:10]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “showing that genuine faith is productive.” At issue between these two translations is the force of ἀγαθήν (agaqhn): Is it attributive (as the text has it) or predicate (as in this note)? A number of considerations point in the direction of a predicate ἀγαθήν (e.g., separation from the noun πίστιν (pistin) by the verb, the possibility that the construction is an object-complement, etc.), though is not usually seen as an option in either translations or commentaries. Cf. ExSyn 188-89, 312-13, for a discussion. Contextually, it makes an intriguing statement, for it suggests a synthetic or synonymous parallel: “‘Slaves should be wholly subject to their masters…demonstrating that all [genuine] faith is productive, with the result [ecbatic ἵνα] that they will completely adorn the doctrine of God.’ The point of the text, then, if this understanding is correct, is an exhortation to slaves to demonstrate that their faith is sincere and results in holy behavior. If taken this way, the text seems to support the idea that saving faith does not fail, but even results in good works” (ExSyn 312-13). The translation of ἀγαθήν as an attributive adjective, however, also makes good sense.

[2:10]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “adorn,” “show the beauty of.”

[2:11]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “all men”; but ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpois) is generic here, referring to both men and women.

[2:12]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “training us” (as a continuation of the previous clause). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 12 by translating the participle παιδεύουσα (paideuousa) as a finite verb and supplying the pronoun “it” as subject.

[2:12]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “ungodliness.”

[2:13]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “the blessed hope and glorious appearing.”

[2:13]  ⁵⁰ tn The terms “God and Savior” both refer to the same person, Jesus Christ. This is one of the clearest statements in the NT concerning the deity of Christ. The construction in Greek is known as the Granville Sharp rule, named after the English philanthropist-linguist who first clearly articulated the rule in 1798. Sharp pointed out that in the construction article-noun-καί-noun (where καί [kai] = “and”), when two nouns are singular, personal, and common (i.e., not proper names), they always had the same referent. Illustrations such as “the friend and brother,” “the God and Father,” etc. abound in the NT to prove Sharp’s point. The only issue is whether terms such as “God” and “Savior” could be considered common nouns as opposed to proper names. Sharp and others who followed (such as T. F. Middleton in his masterful The Doctrine of the Greek Article) demonstrated that a proper name in Greek was one that could not be pluralized. Since both “God” (θεός, qeos) and “savior” (σωτήρ, swthr) were occasionally found in the plural, they did not constitute proper names, and hence, do fit Sharp’s rule. Although there have been 200 years of attempts to dislodge Sharp’s rule, all attempts have been futile. Sharp’s rule stands vindicated after all the dust has settled. For more information on Sharp’s rule see ExSyn 270-78, esp. 276. See also 2 Pet 1:1 and Jude 4.

[2:13]  ⁵¹ tc The shorter reading adopted here has superior ms support (א A C P 2053 al latt co), while the inclusion of “your works and” (τὰ ἔργα σου καί, ta erga sou kai) before “where you reside” is supported by the Byzantine witnesses and is evidently a secondary attempt to harmonize the passage with 2:2, 19; 3:1, 8, 15.

[2:13]  ⁵² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Yet” to indicate the contrast between their location and their faithful behavior.

[2:13]  ⁵³ tn The present indicative verb κρατεῖς (kratei") has been translated as a progressive present.

[2:13]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “the faith”; here the Greek article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[2:13]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “the faith of me” (τὴν πίστιν μου, thn pistin mou) with the genitive “of me” (μου) functioning objectively.

[2:13]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “martyr.” The Greek word μάρτυς can mean either “witness” or “martyr.”

[2:13]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “killed among you.” The term “city” does not occur in the Greek text of course, but the expression παρ᾿ ὑμῖν, ὅπου ὁ σατανᾶς κατοικεῖ (par’ Jumin, {opou Jo satana" katoikei) seems to indicate that this is what is meant. See G. B. Caird, Revelation (HNTC), 36-38.