Yohanes 2:4

2:4 Jesus replied, ¹  “Woman, ²  why are you saying this to me? ³  My time ⁴  has not yet come.”

Yohanes 2:7

2:7 Jesus told the servants, ⁵  “Fill the water jars with water.” So they filled them up to the very top.

Yohanes 6:1--8:59

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

6:1 After this ⁶  Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (also called the Sea of Tiberias). ⁷  6:2 A large crowd was following him because they were observing the miraculous signs he was performing on the sick. 6:3 So Jesus went on up the mountainside ⁸  and sat down there with his disciples. 6:4 (Now the Jewish feast of the Passover ⁹  was near.) ¹⁰  6:5 Then Jesus, when he looked up ¹¹  and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread so that these people may eat?” 6:6 (Now Jesus ¹²  said this to test him, for he knew what he was going to do.) ¹³  6:7 Philip replied, ¹⁴  “Two hundred silver coins worth ¹⁵  of bread would not be enough for them, for each one to get a little.” 6:8 One of Jesus’ disciples, ¹⁶  Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 6:9 “Here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what good ¹⁷  are these for so many people?”

6:10 Jesus said, “Have ¹⁸  the people sit down.” (Now there was a lot of grass in that place.) ¹⁹  So the men ²⁰  sat down, about five thousand in number. 6:11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed the bread to those who were seated. He then did the same with the fish, ²¹  as much as they wanted. 6:12 When they were all satisfied, Jesus ²²  said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces that are left over, so that nothing is wasted.” 6:13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves ²³  left over by the people who had eaten.

6:14 Now when the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus ²⁴  performed, they began to say to one another, “This is certainly the Prophet ²⁵  who is to come into the world.” ²⁶  6:15 Then Jesus, because he knew they were going to come and seize him by force to make him king, withdrew again up the mountainside alone. ²⁷ 

Walking on Water

6:16 Now when evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, ²⁸  6:17 got into a boat, and started to cross the lake ²⁹  to Capernaum. ³⁰  (It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.) ³¹  6:18 By now a strong wind was blowing and the sea was getting rough. 6:19 Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, ³²  they caught sight of Jesus walking on the lake, ³³  approaching the boat, and they were frightened. 6:20 But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” 6:21 Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat came to the land where they had been heading.

6:22 The next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the lake ³⁴  realized that only one small boat ³⁵  had been there, and that Jesus had not boarded ³⁶  it with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 6:23 But some boats from Tiberias ³⁷  came to shore ³⁸  near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. ³⁹  6:24 So when the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats ⁴⁰  and came to Capernaum ⁴¹  looking for Jesus.

Jesus’ Discourse About the Bread of Life

6:25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, ⁴²  they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” ⁴³  6:26 Jesus replied, ⁴⁴  “I tell you the solemn truth, ⁴⁵  you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate all the loaves of bread you wanted. ⁴⁶  6:27 Do not work for the food that disappears, ⁴⁷  but for the food that remains to eternal life – the food ⁴⁸  which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has put his seal of approval on him.” ⁴⁹ 

6:28 So then they said to him, “What must we do to accomplish the deeds ⁵⁰  God requires?” ⁵¹  6:29 Jesus replied, ⁵²  “This is the deed ⁵³  God requires ⁵⁴  – to believe in the one whom he ⁵⁵  sent.” 6:30 So they said to him, “Then what miraculous sign will you perform, so that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 6:31 Our ancestors ⁵⁶  ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” ⁵⁷ 

6:32 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the solemn truth, ⁵⁸  it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but my Father is giving you the true bread from heaven. 6:33 For the bread of God is the one who ⁵⁹  comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 6:34 So they said to him, “Sir, ⁶⁰  give us this bread all the time!”

6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never go hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty. ⁶¹  6:36 But I told you ⁶²  that you have seen me ⁶³  and still do not believe. 6:37 Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never send away. ⁶⁴  6:38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. 6:39 Now this is the will of the one who sent me – that I should not lose one person of every one he has given me, but raise them all up ⁶⁵  at the last day. 6:40 For this is the will of my Father – for everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him to have eternal life, and I will raise him up ⁶⁶  at the last day.” ⁶⁷ 

6:41 Then the Jews who were hostile to Jesus ⁶⁸  began complaining about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” 6:42 and they said, “Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 6:43 Jesus replied, ⁶⁹  “Do not complain about me to one another. ⁷⁰  6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, ⁷¹  and I will raise him up at the last day. 6:45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ ⁷²  Everyone who hears and learns from the Father ⁷³  comes to me. 6:46 (Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God – he ⁷⁴  has seen the Father.) ⁷⁵  6:47 I tell you the solemn truth, ⁷⁶  the one who believes ⁷⁷  has eternal life. ⁷⁸  6:48 I am the bread of life. ⁷⁹  6:49 Your ancestors ⁸⁰  ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 6:50 This ⁸¹  is the bread that has come down from heaven, so that a person ⁸²  may eat from it and not die. 6:51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread he will live forever. The bread ⁸³  that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

6:52 Then the Jews who were hostile to Jesus ⁸⁴  began to argue with one another, ⁸⁵  “How can this man ⁸⁶  give us his flesh to eat?” 6:53 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, ⁸⁷  unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, ⁸⁸  you have no life ⁸⁹  in yourselves. 6:54 The one who eats ⁹⁰  my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. ⁹¹  6:55 For my flesh is true ⁹²  food, and my blood is true ⁹³  drink. 6:56 The one who eats ⁹⁴  my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me, and I in him. ⁹⁵  6:57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so the one who consumes ⁹⁶  me will live because of me. 6:58 This ⁹⁷  is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread your ancestors ⁹⁸  ate, but then later died. ⁹⁹  The one who eats ¹⁰⁰  this bread will live forever.”

Many Followers Depart

6:59 Jesus ¹⁰¹  said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue ¹⁰²  in Capernaum. ¹⁰³  6:60 Then many of his disciples, when they heard these things, ¹⁰⁴  said, “This is a difficult ¹⁰⁵  saying! ¹⁰⁶  Who can understand it?” ¹⁰⁷  6:61 When Jesus was aware ¹⁰⁸  that his disciples were complaining ¹⁰⁹  about this, he said to them, “Does this cause you to be offended? ¹¹⁰  6:62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascending where he was before? ¹¹¹  6:63 The Spirit is the one who gives life; human nature is of no help! ¹¹²  The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. ¹¹³  6:64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus had already known from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) ¹¹⁴  6:65 So Jesus added, ¹¹⁵  “Because of this I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has allowed him to come.” ¹¹⁶ 

Peter’s Confession

6:66 After this many of his disciples quit following him ¹¹⁷  and did not accompany him ¹¹⁸  any longer. 6:67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “You don’t want to go away too, do you?” ¹¹⁹  6:68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. 6:69 We ¹²⁰  have come to believe and to know ¹²¹  that you are the Holy One of God!” ¹²²  6:70 Jesus replied, ¹²³  “Didn’t I choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is the devil?” ¹²⁴  6:71 (Now he said this about Judas son of Simon Iscariot, ¹²⁵  for Judas, ¹²⁶  one of the twelve, was going to betray him.) ¹²⁷ 

The Feast of Tabernacles

7:1 After this ¹²⁸  Jesus traveled throughout Galilee. ¹²⁹  He ¹³⁰  stayed out of Judea ¹³¹  because the Jewish leaders ¹³²  wanted ¹³³  to kill him. 7:2 Now the Jewish feast of Tabernacles ¹³⁴  was near. ¹³⁵  7:3 So Jesus’ brothers ¹³⁶  advised him, “Leave here and go to Judea so your disciples may see your miracles that you are performing. ¹³⁷  7:4 For no one who seeks to make a reputation for himself ¹³⁸  does anything in secret. ¹³⁹  If you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” 7:5 (For not even his own brothers believed in him.) ¹⁴⁰ 

7:6 So Jesus replied, ¹⁴¹  “My time ¹⁴²  has not yet arrived, ¹⁴³  but you are ready at any opportunity! ¹⁴⁴  7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I am testifying about it that its deeds are evil. 7:8 You go up ¹⁴⁵  to the feast yourselves. I am not going up to this feast ¹⁴⁶  because my time ¹⁴⁷  has not yet fully arrived.” ¹⁴⁸  7:9 When he had said this, he remained in Galilee.

7:10 But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, then Jesus ¹⁴⁹  himself also went up, not openly but in secret. 7:11 So the Jewish leaders ¹⁵⁰  were looking for him at the feast, asking, “Where is he?” ¹⁵¹  7:12 There was ¹⁵²  a lot of grumbling ¹⁵³  about him among the crowds. ¹⁵⁴  Some were saying, “He is a good man,” but others, “He deceives the common people.” ¹⁵⁵  7:13 However, no one spoke openly about him for fear of the Jewish leaders. ¹⁵⁶ 

Teaching in the Temple

7:14 When the feast was half over, Jesus went up to the temple courts ¹⁵⁷  and began to teach. ¹⁵⁸  7:15 Then the Jewish leaders ¹⁵⁹  were astonished ¹⁶⁰  and said, “How does this man know so much when he has never had formal instruction?” ¹⁶¹  7:16 So Jesus replied, ¹⁶²  “My teaching is not from me, but from the one who sent me. ¹⁶³  7:17 If anyone wants to do God’s will, ¹⁶⁴  he will know about my teaching, whether it is from God or whether I speak from my own authority. ¹⁶⁵  7:18 The person who speaks on his own authority ¹⁶⁶  desires ¹⁶⁷  to receive honor ¹⁶⁸  for himself; the one who desires ¹⁶⁹  the honor ¹⁷⁰  of the one who sent him is a man of integrity, ¹⁷¹  and there is no unrighteousness in him. 7:19 Hasn’t Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps ¹⁷²  the law! Why do you want ¹⁷³  to kill me?”

7:20 The crowd ¹⁷⁴  answered, “You’re possessed by a demon! ¹⁷⁵  Who is trying to kill you?” ¹⁷⁶  7:21 Jesus replied, ¹⁷⁷  “I performed one miracle ¹⁷⁸  and you are all amazed. ¹⁷⁹  7:22 However, because Moses gave you the practice of circumcision ¹⁸⁰  (not that it came from Moses, but from the forefathers), you circumcise a male child ¹⁸¹  on the Sabbath. 7:23 But if a male child ¹⁸²  is circumcised ¹⁸³  on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses is not broken, ¹⁸⁴  why are you angry with me because I made a man completely well ¹⁸⁵  on the Sabbath? 7:24 Do not judge according to external appearance, ¹⁸⁶  but judge with proper ¹⁸⁷  judgment.”

Questions About Jesus’ Identity

7:25 Then some of the residents of Jerusalem ¹⁸⁸  began to say, “Isn’t this the man ¹⁸⁹  they are trying ¹⁹⁰  to kill? 7:26 Yet here he is, speaking publicly, ¹⁹¹  and they are saying nothing to him. ¹⁹²  Do the rulers really know that this man ¹⁹³  is the Christ? ¹⁹⁴  7:27 But we know where this man ¹⁹⁵  comes from. ¹⁹⁶  Whenever the Christ ¹⁹⁷  comes, no one will know where he comes from.” ¹⁹⁸ 

7:28 Then Jesus, while teaching in the temple courts, ¹⁹⁹  cried out, ²⁰⁰  “You both know me and know where I come from! ²⁰¹  And I have not come on my own initiative, ²⁰²  but the one who sent me ²⁰³  is true. You do not know him, ²⁰⁴  7:29 but ²⁰⁵  I know him, because I have come from him ²⁰⁶  and he ²⁰⁷  sent me.”

7:30 So then they tried to seize Jesus, ²⁰⁸  but no one laid a hand on him, because his time ²⁰⁹  had not yet come. 7:31 Yet many of the crowd ²¹⁰  believed in him and said, “Whenever the Christ ²¹¹  comes, he won’t perform more miraculous signs than this man did, will he?” ²¹² 

7:32 The Pharisees ²¹³  heard the crowd ²¹⁴  murmuring these things about Jesus, ²¹⁵  so the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers ²¹⁶  to arrest him. ²¹⁷  7:33 Then Jesus said, “I will be with you for only a little while longer, ²¹⁸  and then ²¹⁹  I am going to the one who sent me. 7:34 You will look for me ²²⁰  but will not find me, and where I am you cannot come.”

7:35 Then the Jewish leaders ²²¹  said to one another, “Where is he ²²²  going to go that we cannot find him? ²²³  He is not going to go to the Jewish people dispersed ²²⁴  among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, is he? ²²⁵  7:36 What did he mean by saying, ²²⁶  ‘You will look for me ²²⁷  but will not find me, and where I am you cannot come’?”

Teaching About the Spirit

7:37 On the last day of the feast, the greatest day, ²²⁸  Jesus stood up and shouted out, ²²⁹  “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and 7:38 let the one who believes in me drink. ²³⁰  Just as the scripture says, ‘From within him ²³¹  will flow rivers of living water.’” ²³²  7:39 (Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were going to receive, for the Spirit had not yet been given, ²³³  because Jesus was not yet glorified.) ²³⁴ 

Differing Opinions About Jesus

7:40 When they heard these words, some of the crowd ²³⁵  began to say, “This really ²³⁶  is the Prophet!” ²³⁷  7:41 Others said, “This is the Christ!” ²³⁸  But still others said, “No, ²³⁹  for the Christ doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? ²⁴⁰  7:42 Don’t the scriptures say that the Christ is a descendant ²⁴¹  of David ²⁴²  and comes from Bethlehem, ²⁴³  the village where David lived?” ²⁴⁴  7:43 So there was a division in the crowd ²⁴⁵  because of Jesus. ²⁴⁶  7:44 Some of them were wanting to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him. ²⁴⁷ 

Lack of Belief

7:45 Then the officers ²⁴⁸  returned ²⁴⁹  to the chief priests and Pharisees, ²⁵⁰  who said to them, “Why didn’t you bring him back with you?” ²⁵¹  7:46 The officers replied, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 7:47 Then the Pharisees answered, ²⁵²  “You haven’t been deceived too, have you? ²⁵³  7:48 None of the rulers ²⁵⁴  or the Pharisees have believed in him, have they? ²⁵⁵  7:49 But this rabble ²⁵⁶  who do not know the law are accursed!”

7:50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus ²⁵⁷  before and who was one of the rulers, ²⁵⁸  said, ²⁵⁹  7:51 “Our law doesn’t condemn ²⁶⁰  a man unless it first hears from him and learns ²⁶¹  what he is doing, does it?” ²⁶²  7:52 They replied, ²⁶³  “You aren’t from Galilee too, are you? ²⁶⁴  Investigate carefully and you will see that no prophet ²⁶⁵  comes from Galilee!”

A Woman Caught in Adultery

7:53 ²⁶⁶ [[And each one departed to his own house. 8:1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ²⁶⁷  8:2 Early in the morning he came to the temple courts again. All the people came to him, and he sat down and began to teach ²⁶⁸  them. 8:3 The experts in the law ²⁶⁹  and the Pharisees ²⁷⁰  brought a woman who had been caught committing adultery. They made her stand in front of them 8:4 and said to Jesus, ²⁷¹  “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of adultery. 8:5 In the law Moses commanded us to stone to death ²⁷²  such women. ²⁷³  What then do you say?” 8:6 (Now they were asking this in an attempt to trap him, so that they could bring charges against ²⁷⁴  him.) ²⁷⁵  Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground with his finger. ²⁷⁶  8:7 When they persisted in asking him, he stood up straight ²⁷⁷  and replied, ²⁷⁸  “Whoever among you is guiltless ²⁷⁹  may be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8:8 Then ²⁸⁰  he bent over again and wrote on the ground.

8:9 Now when they heard this, they began to drift away one at a time, starting with the older ones, ²⁸¹  until Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 8:10 Jesus stood up straight ²⁸²  and said to her, “Woman, ²⁸³  where are they? Did no one condemn you?” 8:11 She replied, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”]] ²⁸⁴ 

Jesus as the Light of the World

8:12 Then Jesus spoke out again, ²⁸⁵  “I am the light of the world. ²⁸⁶  The one who follows me will never ²⁸⁷  walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 8:13 So the Pharisees ²⁸⁸  objected, ²⁸⁹  “You testify about yourself; your testimony is not true!” ²⁹⁰  8:14 Jesus answered, ²⁹¹  “Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you people ²⁹²  do not know where I came from or where I am going. ²⁹³  8:15 You people ²⁹⁴  judge by outward appearances; ²⁹⁵  I do not judge anyone. ²⁹⁶  8:16 But if I judge, my evaluation is accurate, ²⁹⁷  because I am not alone when I judge, ²⁹⁸  but I and the Father who sent me do so together. ²⁹⁹  8:17 It is written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. ³⁰⁰  8:18 I testify about myself ³⁰¹  and the Father who sent me testifies about me.”

8:19 Then they began asking ³⁰²  him, “Who is your father?” Jesus answered, “You do not know either me or my Father. If you knew me you would know my Father too.” ³⁰³  8:20 (Jesus ³⁰⁴  spoke these words near the offering box ³⁰⁵  while he was teaching in the temple courts. ³⁰⁶  No one seized him because his time ³⁰⁷  had not yet come.) ³⁰⁸ 

Where Jesus Came From and Where He is Going

8:21 Then Jesus ³⁰⁹  said to them again, ³¹⁰  “I am going away, and you will look for me ³¹¹  but will die in your sin. ³¹²  Where I am going you cannot come.” 8:22 So the Jewish leaders ³¹³  began to say, ³¹⁴  “Perhaps he is going to kill himself, because he says, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’” 8:23 Jesus replied, ³¹⁵  “You people ³¹⁶  are from below; I am from above. You people are from this world; I am not from this world. 8:24 Thus I told you ³¹⁷  that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am he, ³¹⁸  you will die in your sins.”

8:25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus replied, ³¹⁹  “What I have told you from the beginning. 8:26 I have many things to say and to judge ³²⁰  about you, but the Father ³²¹  who sent me is truthful, ³²²  and the things I have heard from him I speak to the world.” ³²³  8:27 (They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father.) ³²⁴ 

8:28 Then Jesus said, ³²⁵  “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, ³²⁶  and I do nothing on my own initiative, ³²⁷  but I speak just what the Father taught me. ³²⁸  8:29 And the one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, ³²⁹  because I always do those things that please him.” 8:30 While he was saying these things, many people ³³⁰  believed in him.

Abraham’s Children and the Devil’s Children

8:31 Then Jesus said to those Judeans ³³¹  who had believed him, “If you continue to follow my teaching, ³³²  you are really ³³³  my disciples 8:32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ³³⁴  8:33 “We are descendants ³³⁵  of Abraham,” they replied, ³³⁶  “and have never been anyone’s slaves! How can you say, ³³⁷  ‘You will become free’?” 8:34 Jesus answered them, “I tell you the solemn truth, ³³⁸  everyone who practices ³³⁹  sin is a slave ³⁴⁰  of sin. 8:35 The slave does not remain in the family ³⁴¹  forever, but the son remains forever. ³⁴²  8:36 So if the son ³⁴³  sets you free, you will be really free. 8:37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. ³⁴⁴  But you want ³⁴⁵  to kill me, because my teaching ³⁴⁶  makes no progress among you. ³⁴⁷  8:38 I am telling you the things I have seen while with the ³⁴⁸  Father; ³⁴⁹  as for you, ³⁵⁰  practice the things you have heard from the ³⁵¹  Father!”

8:39 They answered him, ³⁵²  “Abraham is our father!” ³⁵³  Jesus replied, ³⁵⁴  “If you are ³⁵⁵  Abraham’s children, you would be doing ³⁵⁶  the deeds of Abraham. 8:40 But now you are trying ³⁵⁷  to kill me, a man who has told you ³⁵⁸  the truth I heard from God. Abraham did not do this! ³⁵⁹  8:41 You people ³⁶⁰  are doing the deeds of your father.”

Then ³⁶¹  they said to Jesus, ³⁶²  “We were not born as a result of immorality! ³⁶³  We have only one Father, God himself.” 8:42 Jesus replied, ³⁶⁴  “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come from God and am now here. ³⁶⁵  I ³⁶⁶  have not come on my own initiative, ³⁶⁷  but he ³⁶⁸  sent me. 8:43 Why don’t you understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot accept ³⁶⁹  my teaching. ³⁷⁰  8:44 You people ³⁷¹  are from ³⁷²  your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. ³⁷³  He ³⁷⁴  was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, ³⁷⁵  because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, ³⁷⁶  he speaks according to his own nature, ³⁷⁷  because he is a liar and the father of lies. ³⁷⁸  8:45 But because I am telling you ³⁷⁹  the truth, you do not believe me. 8:46 Who among you can prove me guilty ³⁸⁰  of any sin? ³⁸¹  If I am telling you ³⁸²  the truth, why don’t you believe me? 8:47 The one who belongs to ³⁸³  God listens and responds ³⁸⁴  to God’s words. You don’t listen and respond, ³⁸⁵  because you don’t belong to God.” ³⁸⁶ 

8:48 The Judeans ³⁸⁷  replied, ³⁸⁸  “Aren’t we correct in saying ³⁸⁹  that you are a Samaritan and are possessed by a demon?” ³⁹⁰  8:49 Jesus answered, “I am not possessed by a demon, ³⁹¹  but I honor my Father – and yet ³⁹²  you dishonor me. 8:50 I am not trying to get ³⁹³  praise for myself. ³⁹⁴  There is one who demands ³⁹⁵  it, and he also judges. ³⁹⁶  8:51 I tell you the solemn truth, ³⁹⁷  if anyone obeys ³⁹⁸  my teaching, ³⁹⁹  he will never see death.” ⁴⁰⁰ 

8:52 Then ⁴⁰¹  the Judeans ⁴⁰²  responded, ⁴⁰³  “Now we know you’re possessed by a demon! ⁴⁰⁴  Both Abraham and the prophets died, and yet ⁴⁰⁵  you say, ‘If anyone obeys ⁴⁰⁶  my teaching, ⁴⁰⁷  he will never experience ⁴⁰⁸  death.’ ⁴⁰⁹  8:53 You aren’t greater than our father Abraham who died, are you? ⁴¹⁰  And the prophets died too! Who do you claim to be?” 8:54 Jesus replied, ⁴¹¹  “If I glorify myself, my glory is worthless. ⁴¹²  The one who glorifies me is my Father, about whom you people ⁴¹³  say, ‘He is our God.’ 8:55 Yet ⁴¹⁴  you do not know him, but I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, ⁴¹⁵  I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I obey ⁴¹⁶  his teaching. ⁴¹⁷  8:56 Your father Abraham was overjoyed ⁴¹⁸  to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.” ⁴¹⁹ 

8:57 Then the Judeans ⁴²⁰  replied, ⁴²¹  “You are not yet fifty years old! ⁴²²  Have ⁴²³  you seen Abraham?” 8:58 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, ⁴²⁴  before Abraham came into existence, ⁴²⁵  I am!” ⁴²⁶  8:59 Then they picked up ⁴²⁷  stones to throw at him, ⁴²⁸  but Jesus hid himself and went out from the temple area. ⁴²⁹ 

Yohanes 12:23

12:23 Jesus replied, ⁴³⁰  “The time ⁴³¹  has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ⁴³² 

Yohanes 12:13

12:13 So they took branches of palm trees ⁴³³  and went out to meet him. They began to shout, ⁴³⁴  “Hosanna! ⁴³⁵  Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! ⁴³⁶  Blessed is ⁴³⁷  the king of Israel!”

Yohanes 1:1-51

The Prologue to the Gospel

1:1 In the beginning ⁴³⁸  was the Word, and the Word was with God, ⁴³⁹  and the Word was fully God. ⁴⁴⁰  1:2 The Word ⁴⁴¹  was with God in the beginning. 1:3 All things were created ⁴⁴²  by him, and apart from him not one thing was created ⁴⁴³  that has been created. ⁴⁴⁴  1:4 In him was life, ⁴⁴⁵  and the life was the light of mankind. ⁴⁴⁶  1:5 And the light shines on ⁴⁴⁷  in the darkness, ⁴⁴⁸  but ⁴⁴⁹  the darkness has not mastered it. ⁴⁵⁰ 

1:6 A man came, sent from God, whose name was John. ⁴⁵¹  1:7 He came as a witness ⁴⁵²  to testify ⁴⁵³  about the light, so that everyone ⁴⁵⁴  might believe through him. 1:8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify ⁴⁵⁵  about the light. 1:9 The true light, who gives light to everyone, ⁴⁵⁶  was coming into the world. ⁴⁵⁷  1:10 He was in the world, and the world was created ⁴⁵⁸  by him, but ⁴⁵⁹  the world did not recognize ⁴⁶⁰  him. 1:11 He came to what was his own, ⁴⁶¹  but ⁴⁶²  his own people ⁴⁶³  did not receive him. ⁴⁶⁴  1:12 But to all who have received him – those who believe in his name ⁴⁶⁵  – he has given the right to become God’s children 1:13 – children not born ⁴⁶⁶  by human parents ⁴⁶⁷  or by human desire ⁴⁶⁸  or a husband’s ⁴⁶⁹  decision, ⁴⁷⁰  but by God.

1:14 Now ⁴⁷¹  the Word became flesh ⁴⁷²  and took up residence ⁴⁷³  among us. We ⁴⁷⁴  saw his glory – the glory of the one and only, ⁴⁷⁵  full of grace and truth, who came from the Father. 1:15 John ⁴⁷⁶  testified ⁴⁷⁷  about him and shouted out, ⁴⁷⁸  “This one was the one about whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than I am, ⁴⁷⁹  because he existed before me.’” 1:16 For we have all received from his fullness one gracious gift after another. ⁴⁸⁰  1:17 For the law was given through Moses, but ⁴⁸¹  grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ. 1:18 No one has ever seen God. The only one, ⁴⁸²  himself God, who is in closest fellowship with ⁴⁸³  the Father, has made God ⁴⁸⁴  known. ⁴⁸⁵ 

The Testimony of John the Baptist

1:19 Now ⁴⁸⁶  this was ⁴⁸⁷  John’s ⁴⁸⁸  testimony ⁴⁸⁹  when the Jewish leaders ⁴⁹⁰  sent ⁴⁹¹  priests and Levites from Jerusalem ⁴⁹²  to ask him, “Who are you?” ⁴⁹³  1:20 He confessed – he did not deny but confessed – “I am not the Christ!” ⁴⁹⁴  1:21 So they asked him, “Then who are you? ⁴⁹⁵  Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not!” ⁴⁹⁶  “Are you the Prophet?” ⁴⁹⁷  He answered, “No!” 1:22 Then they said to him, “Who are you? Tell us ⁴⁹⁸  so that we can give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

1:23 John ⁴⁹⁹  said, “I am the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Make straight ⁵⁰⁰  the way for the Lord,’ ⁵⁰¹  as Isaiah the prophet said.” 1:24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. ⁵⁰² ) ⁵⁰³  1:25 So they asked John, ⁵⁰⁴  “Why then are you baptizing if you are not the Christ, ⁵⁰⁵  nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

1:26 John answered them, ⁵⁰⁶  “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not recognize, ⁵⁰⁷  1:27 who is coming after me. I am not worthy ⁵⁰⁸  to untie the strap ⁵⁰⁹  of his sandal!” 1:28 These things happened in Bethany ⁵¹⁰  across the Jordan River ⁵¹¹  where John was baptizing.

1:29 On the next day John ⁵¹²  saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God ⁵¹³  who takes away the sin of the world! 1:30 This is the one about whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is greater than I am, ⁵¹⁴  because he existed before me.’ 1:31 I did not recognize ⁵¹⁵  him, but I came baptizing with water so that he could be revealed to Israel.” ⁵¹⁶ 

1:32 Then ⁵¹⁷  John testified, ⁵¹⁸  “I saw the Spirit descending like a dove ⁵¹⁹  from heaven, ⁵²⁰  and it remained on him. ⁵²¹  1:33 And I did not recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining – this is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 1:34 I have both seen and testified that this man is the Chosen One of God.” ⁵²² 

1:35 Again the next day John ⁵²³  was standing there ⁵²⁴  with two of his disciples. 1:36 Gazing at Jesus as he walked by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” ⁵²⁵  1:37 When John’s ⁵²⁶  two disciples heard him say this, ⁵²⁷  they followed Jesus. ⁵²⁸  1:38 Jesus turned around and saw them following and said to them, “What do you want?” ⁵²⁹  So they said to him, “Rabbi” (which is translated Teacher), ⁵³⁰  “where are you staying?” 1:39 Jesus ⁵³¹  answered, ⁵³²  “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. Now it was about four o’clock in the afternoon. ⁵³³ 

Andrew’s Declaration

1:40 Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two disciples who heard what John said ⁵³⁴  and followed Jesus. ⁵³⁵  1:41 He first ⁵³⁶  found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah!” ⁵³⁷  (which is translated Christ). ⁵³⁸  1:42 Andrew brought Simon ⁵³⁹  to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, the son of John. ⁵⁴⁰  You will be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter). ⁵⁴¹ 

The Calling of More Disciples

1:43 On the next day Jesus ⁵⁴²  wanted to set out for Galilee. ⁵⁴³  He ⁵⁴⁴  found Philip and said ⁵⁴⁵  to him, “Follow me.” 1:44 (Now Philip was from Bethsaida, ⁵⁴⁶  the town of ⁵⁴⁷  Andrew and Peter.) 1:45 Philip found Nathanael ⁵⁴⁸  and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets also ⁵⁴⁹  wrote about – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 1:46 Nathanael ⁵⁵⁰  replied, ⁵⁵¹  “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” ⁵⁵²  Philip replied, ⁵⁵³  “Come and see.”

1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and exclaimed, ⁵⁵⁴  “Look, a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” ⁵⁵⁵  1:48 Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” Jesus replied, ⁵⁵⁶  “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, ⁵⁵⁷  I saw you.” 1:49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king ⁵⁵⁸  of Israel!” ⁵⁵⁹  1:50 Jesus said to him, ⁵⁶⁰  “Because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” ⁵⁶¹  1:51 He continued, ⁵⁶²  “I tell all of you the solemn truth ⁵⁶³  – you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” ⁵⁶⁴ 

Yohanes 18:4

18:4 Then Jesus, because he knew everything that was going to happen to him, ⁵⁶⁵  came and asked them, “Who are you looking for?” ⁵⁶⁶ 

[2:4]  ¹ tn Grk “and Jesus said to her.”

[2:4]  ² sn The term Woman is Jesus’ normal, polite way of addressing women (Matt 15:28, Luke 13:12; John 4:21; 8:10; 19:26; 20:15). But it is unusual for a son to address his mother with this term. The custom in both Hebrew (or Aramaic) and Greek would be for a son to use a qualifying adjective or title. Is there significance in Jesus’ use here? It probably indicates that a new relationship existed between Jesus and his mother once he had embarked on his public ministry. He was no longer or primarily only her son, but the “Son of Man.” This is also suggested by the use of the same term in 19:26 in the scene at the cross, where the beloved disciple is “given” to Mary as her “new” son.

[2:4]  ³ tn Grk “Woman, what to me and to you?” (an idiom). The phrase τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί, γύναι (ti emoi kai soi, gunai) is Semitic in origin. The equivalent Hebrew expression in the Old Testament had two basic meanings: (1) When one person was unjustly bothering another, the injured party could say “What to me and to you?” meaning, “What have I done to you that you should do this to me?” (Judg 11:12, 2 Chr 35:21, 1 Kgs 17:18). (2) When someone was asked to get involved in a matter he felt was no business of his, he could say to the one asking him, “What to me and to you?” meaning, “That is your business, how am I involved?” (2 Kgs 3:13, Hos 14:8). Option (1) implies hostility, while option (2) implies merely disengagement. Mere disengagement is almost certainly to be understood here as better fitting the context (although some of the Greek Fathers took the remark as a rebuke to Mary, such a rebuke is unlikely).

[2:4]  ⁴ tn Grk “my hour” (referring to the time of Jesus’ crucifixion and return to the Father).

[2:4]  sn The Greek word translated time (ὥρα, Jwra) occurs in John 2:4; 4:21, 23; 5:25, 28, 29; 7:30; 8:20; 12:23, 27; 13:1; 16:25; and 17:1. It is a reference to the special period in Jesus’ life when he was to leave this world and return to the Father (13:1); the hour when the Son of man is glorified (17:1). This is accomplished through his suffering, death, resurrection (and ascension – though this last is not emphasized by John). John 7:30 and 8:20 imply that Jesus’ arrest and death are included. John 12:23 and 17:1, referring to the glorification of the Son, imply that the resurrection and ascension are included as part of the “hour.” In John 2:4 Jesus’ remark to his mother indicates that the time for this self-manifestation has not yet arrived; his identity as Messiah is not yet to be publicly revealed.

[2:7]  ⁵ tn Grk “them” (it is clear from the context that the servants are addressed).

[6:1]  ⁶ tn Again, μετὰ ταῦτα (meta tauta) is a vague temporal reference. How Jesus got from Jerusalem to Galilee is not explained, which has led many scholars (e.g., Bernard, Bultmann, and Schnackenburg) to posit either editorial redaction or some sort of rearrangement or dislocation of material (such as reversing the order of chaps. 5 and 6, for example). Such a rearrangement of the material would give a simple and consistent connection of events, but in the absence of all external evidence it does not seem to be supportable. R. E. Brown (John [AB], 1:236) says that such an arrangement is attractive in some ways but not compelling, and that no rearrangement can solve all the geographical and chronological problems in John.

[6:1]  ⁷ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. Only John in the New Testament refers to the Sea of Galilee by the name Sea of Tiberias (see also John 21:1), but this is correct local usage. In the mid-20’s Herod completed the building of the town of Tiberias on the southwestern shore of the lake; after this time the name came into use for the lake itself.

[6:3]  ⁸ sn Up on the mountainside does not necessarily refer to a particular mountain or hillside, but may simply mean “the hill country” or “the high ground,” referring to the high country east of the Sea of Galilee (known today as the Golan Heights).

[6:4]  ⁹ sn Passover. According to John’s sequence of material, considerable time has elapsed since the feast of 5:1. If the feast in 5:1 was Pentecost of a.d. 31, then this feast would be the Passover of a.d. 32, just one year before Jesus’ crucifixion.

[6:4]  ¹⁰ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[6:5]  ¹¹ tn Grk “when he lifted up his eyes” (an idiom).

[6:6]  ¹² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:6]  ¹³ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[6:7]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Philip answered him.”

[6:7]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “two hundred denarii.” The denarius was a silver coin worth about a day’s wage for a laborer; this would be an amount worth about eight months’ pay.

[6:8]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “one of his disciples.”

[6:9]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “but what are these”; the word “good” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[6:10]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Make.”

[6:10]  ¹⁹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author (suggesting an eyewitness recollection).

[6:10]  ²⁰ tn Here “men” has been used in the translation because the following number, 5,000, probably included only adult males (see the parallel in Matt 14:21).

[6:11]  ²¹ tn Grk “likewise also (he distributed) from the fish.”

[6:12]  ²² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:13]  ²³ sn Note that the fish mentioned previously (in John 6:9) are not emphasized here, only the five barley loaves. This is easy to understand, however, because the bread is of primary importance for the author in view of Jesus’ upcoming discourse on the Bread of Life.

[6:14]  ²⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:14]  ²⁵ sn The Prophet is a reference to the “prophet like Moses” of Deut 18:15, by this time an eschatological figure in popular belief.

[6:14]  ²⁶ sn An allusion to Deut 18:15.

[6:15]  ²⁷ sn Jesus, knowing that his “hour” had not yet come (and would not, in this fashion) withdrew again up the mountainside alone. The ministry of miracles in Galilee, ending with this, the multiplication of the bread (the last public miracle in Galilee recorded by John) aroused such a popular response that there was danger of an uprising. This would have given the authorities a legal excuse to arrest Jesus. The nature of Jesus’ kingship will become an issue again in the passion narrative of the Fourth Gospel (John 18:33ff.). Furthermore, the volatile reaction of the Galileans to the signs prepares for and foreshadows the misunderstanding of the miracle itself, and even the misunderstanding of Jesus’ explanation of it (John 6:22-71).

[6:16]  ²⁸ tn Or “sea.” The Greek word indicates a rather large body of water, but the English word “sea” normally indicates very large bodies of water, so the word “lake” in English is a closer approximation.

[6:17]  ²⁹ tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in the previous verse.

[6:17]  ³⁰ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.

[6:17]  ³¹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[6:19]  ³² tn Grk “about twenty-five or thirty stades” (a stade as a unit of linear measure is about 607 feet or 187 meters).

[6:19]  sn About three or four miles. The Sea of Galilee was at its widest point 7 mi (11.6 km) by 12 mi (20 km). So at this point the disciples were in about the middle of the lake.

[6:19]  ³³ tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in v. 16. John uses the phrase ἐπί (epi, “on”) followed by the genitive (as in Mark, instead of Matthew’s ἐπί followed by the accusative) to describe Jesus walking “on the lake.”

[6:22]  ³⁴ tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in v. 16.

[6:22]  ³⁵ tc Most witnesses have after “one” the phrase “which his disciples had entered” (ἐκεῖνο εἰς ὃ ἐνέβησαν οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ, ekeino ei" }o enebhsan Joi maqhtai autou) although there are several permutations of this clause ([א* D] Θ [˹³ 33] Ï [sa]). The witnesses that lack this expression are, however, significant and diffused (Ì⁷⁵ א² A B L N W Ψ 1 565 579 1241 al lat). The clarifying nature of the longer reading, the multiple variants from it, and the weighty testimony for the shorter reading all argue against the authenticity of the longer text in any of its variations.

[6:22]  tn Grk “one”; the referent (a small boat) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:22]  ³⁶ tn Grk “entered.”

[6:23]  ³⁷ map For location see Map1 E2; Map2 C2; Map3 C3; Map4 D1; Map5 G4.

[6:23]  ³⁸ tn Or “boats from Tiberias landed”; Grk “came.”

[6:23]  ³⁹ tc D 091 a e sy^s,c lack the phrase “after the Lord had given thanks” (εὐχαριστήσαντος τοῦ κυρίου, eucaristhsanto" tou kuriou), while almost all the rest of the witnesses ({Ì⁷⁵ א A B L W Θ Ψ 0141 [˹] ˹³ 33 Ï as well as several versions and fathers}) have the words (though {l672 l950 sy^p pbo} read ᾿Ιησοῦ [Ihsou, “Jesus”] instead of κυρίου). Although the shorter reading has minimal support, it is significant that this Gospel speaks of Jesus as Lord in the evangelist’s narrative descriptions only in 11:2; 20:18, 20; 21:12; and possibly 4:1 (but see tc note on “Jesus” there). There is thus but one undisputed preresurrection text in which the narrator calls Jesus “Lord.” This fact can be utilized on behalf of either reading: The participial phrase could be seen as a scribal addition harking back to 6:11 but which does not fit Johannine style, or it could be viewed as truly authentic and in line with what John indisputably does elsewhere even if rarely. On balance, in light of the overwhelming support for these words it is probably best to retain them in the text.

[6:24]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “embarked in the boats.”

[6:24]  ⁴¹ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.

[6:25]  ⁴² tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in v. 16.

[6:25]  ⁴³ sn John 6:25-31. The previous miracle of the multiplication of the bread had taken place near the town of Tiberias (cf. John 6:23). Jesus’ disciples set sail for Capernaum (6:17) and were joined by the Lord in the middle of the sea. The next day boats from Tiberias picked up a few of those who had seen the multiplication (certainly not the whole 5,000) and brought them to Capernaum. It was to this group that Jesus spoke in 6:26-27. But there were also people from Capernaum who had gathered to see Jesus, who had not witnessed the multiplication, and it was this group that asked Jesus for a miraculous sign like the manna (6:30-31). This would have seemed superfluous if it were the same crowd that had already seen the multiplication of the bread. But some from Capernaum had heard about it and wanted to see a similar miracle repeated.

[6:26]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[6:26]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[6:26]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “because you ate of the loaves of bread and were filled.”

[6:27]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “perishes” (this might refer to spoiling, but is more focused on the temporary nature of this kind of food).

[6:27]  sn Do not work for the food that disappears. Note the wordplay on “work” here. This does not imply “working” for salvation, since the “work” is later explained (in John 6:29) as “to believe in the one whom he (the Father) sent.”

[6:27]  ⁴⁸ tn The referent (the food) has been specified for clarity by repeating the word “food” from the previous clause.

[6:27]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “on this one.”

[6:28]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “the works.”

[6:28]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “What must we do to work the works of God?”

[6:29]  ⁵² tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[6:29]  ⁵³ tn Grk “the work.”

[6:29]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “This is the work of God.”

[6:29]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “that one” (i.e., God).

[6:31]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[6:31]  ⁵⁷ sn A quotation from Ps 78:24 (referring to the events of Exod 16:4-36).

[6:32]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[6:33]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “he who.”

[6:34]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “Lord.” The Greek κύριος (kurios) means both “Sir” and “Lord.” In this passage it is not at all clear at this point that the crowd is acknowledging Jesus as Lord. More likely this is simply a form of polite address (“sir”).

[6:35]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “the one who believes in me will not possibly thirst, ever.”

[6:35]  sn The one who believes in me will never be thirsty. Note the parallelism between “coming to Jesus” in the first part of v. 35 and “believing in Jesus” in the second part of v. 35. For the author of the Gospel of John these terms are virtually equivalent, both referring to a positive response to Jesus (see John 3:17-21).

[6:36]  ⁶² tn Grk “But I said to you.”

[6:36]  ⁶³ tc A few witnesses lack με (me, “me”; א A a b e q sy^s,c), while the rest of the tradition has the word (Ì^66,75vid rell). It is possible that the mss that lack the pronoun preserve the original wording here, with the rest of the witnesses adding the pronoun for clarity’s sake. This likelihood increases since the object is not required in Greek. Without it, however, ambiguity increases: The referent could be “me” or it could be “signs,” reaching back to vv. 26 and 30. However, the oblique form of ἐγώ (egw, the first person personal pronoun) occurs some two dozen times in this chapter alone, yet it vacillates between the emphatic form and the unemphatic form. Although generally the unemphatic form is used with verbs, there are several exceptions to this in John (cf. 8:12; 12:26, 45, 48; 13:20; 14:9). If the pronoun is a later addition here, one wonders why it is so consistently the unemphatic form in the mss. Further, that two unrelated Greek witnesses lack this small word could easily be due to accidental deletion. Finally, the date and diversity of the witnesses for the pronoun are so weighty that it is likely to be authentic and should thus be retained in the text.

[6:37]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “drive away”; Grk “cast out.”

[6:39]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “resurrect them all,” or “make them all live again”; Grk “raise it up.” The word “all” is supplied to bring out the collective nature of the neuter singular pronoun αὐτό (auto) in Greek. The plural pronoun “them” is used rather than neuter singular “it” because this is clearer in English, which does not use neuter collective singulars in the same way Greek does.

[6:40]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “resurrect him,” or “make him live again.”

[6:40]  ⁶⁷ sn Notice that here the result (having eternal life and being raised up at the last day) is produced by looking on the Son and believing in him. Compare John 6:54 where the same result is produced by eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood. This suggests that the phrase in 6:54 (eats my flesh and drinks my blood) is to be understood in terms of the phrase here (looks on the Son and believes in him).

[6:41]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “Then 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 translation restricts the phrase to those Jews who were hostile to Jesus (cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e.β), since the “crowd” mentioned in 6:22-24 was almost all Jewish (as suggested by their addressing Jesus as “Rabbi” (6:25). Likewise, the designation “Judeans” does not fit here because the location is Galilee rather than Judea.

[6:43]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[6:43]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “Do not grumble among yourselves.” The words “about me” are supplied to clarify the translation “complain to one another” (otherwise the Jewish opponents could be understood to be complaining about one another, rather than complaining to one another about Jesus).

[6:44]  ⁷¹ tn Or “attracts him,” or “pulls him.” The word is used of pulling or dragging, often by force. It is even used once of magnetic attraction (A. Oepke, TDNT 2:503).

[6:44]  sn The Father who sent me draws him. The author never specifically explains what this “drawing” consists of. It is evidently some kind of attraction; whether it is binding and irresistible or not is not mentioned. But there does seem to be a parallel with 6:65, where Jesus says that no one is able to come to him unless the Father has allowed it. This apparently parallels the use of Isaiah by John to reflect the spiritual blindness of the Jewish leaders (see the quotations from Isaiah in John 9:41 and 12:39-40).

[6:45]  ⁷² sn A quotation from Isa 54:13.

[6:45]  ⁷³ tn Or “listens to the Father and learns.”

[6:46]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “this one.”

[6:46]  ⁷⁵ sn This is best taken as a parenthetical note by the author. Although some would attribute these words to Jesus himself, the switch from first person in Jesus’ preceding and following remarks to third person in v. 46 suggests that the author has added a clarifying comment here.

[6:47]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[6:47]  ⁷⁷ tc Most witnesses (A C² D Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat and other versions) have “in me” (εἰς ἐμέ, eis eme) here, while the Sinaitic and Curetonian Syriac versions read “in God.” These clarifying readings are predictable variants, being motivated by the scribal tendency toward greater explicitness. That the earliest and best witnesses (Ì^66,75vid א B C* L T W Θ 892 pc) lack any object is solid testimony to the shorter text’s authenticity.

[6:47]  ⁷⁸ tn Compare John 6:40.

[6:48]  ⁷⁹ tn That is, “the bread that produces (eternal) life.”

[6:49]  ⁸⁰ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[6:50]  ⁸¹ tn Or “Here.”

[6:50]  ⁸² tn Grk “someone” (τις, tis).

[6:51]  ⁸³ tn Grk “And the bread.”

[6:52]  ⁸⁴ tn Grk “Then the Jews began to argue.” Here the translation restricts the phrase to those Jews who were hostile to Jesus (cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e.β), since the “crowd” mentioned in 6:22-24 was almost all Jewish (as suggested by their addressing Jesus as “Rabbi” (6:25). See also the note on the phrase “the Jews who were hostile to Jesus” in v. 41.

[6:52]  ⁸⁵ tn Grk “with one another, saying.”

[6:52]  ⁸⁶ tn Grk “this one,” “this person.”

[6:53]  ⁸⁷ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[6:53]  ⁸⁸ sn Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood. These words are at the heart of the discourse on the Bread of Life, and have created great misunderstanding among interpreters. Anyone who is inclined toward a sacramental viewpoint will almost certainly want to take these words as a reference to the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, or the Eucharist, because of the reference to eating and drinking. But this does not automatically follow: By anyone’s definition there must be a symbolic element to the eating which Jesus speaks of in the discourse, and once this is admitted, it is better to understand it here, as in the previous references in the passage, to a personal receiving of (or appropriation of) Christ and his work.

[6:53]  ⁸⁹ tn That is, “no eternal life” (as opposed to physical life).

[6:54]  ⁹⁰ tn Or “who chews”; Grk ὁ τρώγων (Jo trwgwn). The alternation between ἐσθίω (esqiw, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trwgw, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) may simply reflect a preference for one form over the other on the author’s part, rather than an attempt to express a slightly more graphic meaning. If there is a difference, however, the word used here (τρώγω) is the more graphic and vivid of the two (“gnaw” or “chew”).

[6:54]  ⁹¹ sn Notice that here the result (has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day) is produced by eating (Jesus’) flesh and drinking his blood. Compare John 6:40 where the same result is produced by “looking on the Son and believing in him.” This suggests that the phrase here (eats my flesh and drinks my blood) is to be understood by the phrase in 6:40 (looks on the Son and believes in him).

[6:55]  ⁹² tn Or “real.”

[6:55]  ⁹³ tn Or “real.”

[6:56]  ⁹⁴ tn Or “who chews.” On the alternation between ἐσθίω (esqiw, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trwgw, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) see the note on “eats” in v. 54.

[6:56]  ⁹⁵ sn Resides in me, and I in him. Note how in John 6:54 eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood produces eternal life and the promise of resurrection at the last day. Here the same process of eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood leads to a relationship of mutual indwelling (resides in me, and I in him). This suggests strongly that for the author (and for Jesus) the concepts of ‘possessing eternal life’ and of ‘residing in Jesus’ are virtually interchangeable.

[6:57]  ⁹⁶ tn Or “who chews”; Grk “who eats.” Here the translation “consumes” is more appropriate than simply “eats,” because it is the internalization of Jesus by the individual that is in view. On the alternation between ἐσθίω (esqiw, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trwgw, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) see the note on “eats” in v. 54.

[6:58]  ⁹⁷ tn Or “This one.”

[6:58]  ⁹⁸ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[6:58]  ⁹⁹ tn Grk “This is the bread that came down from heaven, not just like your ancestors ate and died.” The cryptic Greek expression has been filled out in the translation for clarity.

[6:58]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Or “who chews.” On the alternation between ἐσθίω (esqiw, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trwgw, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) see the note on “eats” in v. 54.

[6:59]  ¹⁰¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:59]  ¹⁰² sn A synagogue was a place for Jewish prayer and worship, with recognized leadership (cf. Luke 8:41). Though the origin of the synagogue is not entirely clear, it seems to have arisen in the postexilic community during the intertestamental period. A town could establish a synagogue if there were at least ten men. In normative Judaism of the NT period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present (see the Mishnah, m. Megillah 3-4; m. Berakhot 2).

[6:59]  ¹⁰³ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.

[6:60]  ¹⁰⁴ tn The words “these things” are not present in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, and must be supplied for the English reader.

[6:60]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Or “hard,” “demanding.”

[6:60]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Or “teaching”; Grk “word.”

[6:60]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Or “obey it”; Grk “hear it.” The Greek word ἀκούω (akouw) could imply hearing with obedience here, in the sense of “obey.” It could also point to the acceptance of what Jesus had just said, (i.e., “who can accept what he said?” However, since the context contains several replies by those in the crowd of hearers that suggest uncertainty or confusion over the meaning of what Jesus had said (6:42; 6:52), the meaning “understand” is preferred here.

[6:61]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Grk “When Jesus knew within himself.”

[6:61]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Or “were grumbling.”

[6:61]  ¹¹⁰ tn Or “Does this cause you to no longer believe?” (Grk “cause you to stumble?”)

[6:61]  sn Does this cause you to be offended? It became apparent to some of Jesus’ followers at this point that there would be a cost involved in following him. They had taken offense at some of Jesus’ teaching (perhaps the graphic imagery of “eating his flesh” and “drinking his blood,” and Jesus now warned them that if they thought this was a problem, there was an even worse cause for stumbling in store: his upcoming crucifixion (John 6:61b-62). Jesus asked, in effect, “Has what I just taught caused you to stumble? What will you do, then, if you see the Son of Man ascending where he was before?” This ascent is to be accomplished through the cross; for John, Jesus’ departure from this world and his return to the Father form one continual movement from cross to resurrection to ascension.

[6:62]  ¹¹¹ tn Or “he was formerly?”

[6:63]  ¹¹² tn Grk “the flesh counts for nothing.”

[6:63]  ¹¹³ tn Or “are spirit-giving and life-producing.”

[6:64]  ¹¹⁴ sn This is a parenthetical comment by the author.

[6:65]  ¹¹⁵ tn Grk “And he said”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:65]  ¹¹⁶ tn Grk “unless it has been permitted to him by the Father.”

[6:66]  ¹¹⁷ tn Grk “many of his disciples went back to what lay behind.”

[6:66]  ¹¹⁸ tn Grk “were not walking with him.”

[6:67]  ¹¹⁹ 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 it is “do you?”).

[6:69]  ¹²⁰ tn Grk “And we.”

[6:69]  ¹²¹ sn See 1 John 4:16.

[6:69]  ¹²² tc The witnesses display a bewildering array of variants here. Instead of “the Holy One of God” (ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ, Jo {agio" tou qeou), Tertullian has ὁ Χριστός (Jo Cristo", “the Christ”); C³ Θ* ˹ 33 565 lat read ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ (Jo Cristo" Jo Juio" tou qeou, “the Christ, the Son of God”); two versional witnesses (b sy^c) have ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ (“the Son of God”); the Byzantine text as well as many others (Ψ 0250 ˹³ 33 Ï) read ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος (Jo Cristo" Jo Juio" tou qeou tou zwnto", “the Christ, the Son of the living God”); and Ì⁶⁶ as well as a few versions have ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ (“the Christ, the Holy One of God”). The reading ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ is, however, well supported by Ì⁷⁵ א B C* D L W as well as versional witnesses. It appears that Peter’s confession in the Synoptic Gospels (especially Matt 16:16) supplied the motivation for the variations. Although the witnesses in Matt 16:16; Mark 8:29; and Luke 9:20 vary considerably, the readings are all intra-synoptic, that is, they do not pull in “the Holy One of God” but reflect various permutations of “Christ”/“Christ of God”/“Christ, the Son of God”/“Christ, the Son of the living God.” The wording “the Holy One of God” (without “Christ”) in important witnesses here is thus unique among Peter’s confessions, and best explains the rise of the other readings.

[6:69]  sn You have the words of eternal life…you are the Holy One of God! In contrast to the response of some of his disciples, here is the response of the twelve, whom Jesus then questioned concerning their loyalty to him. This was the big test, and the twelve, with Peter as spokesman, passed with flying colors. The confession here differs considerably from the synoptic accounts (Matt 16:16, Mark 8:29, and Luke 9:20) and concerns directly the disciples’ personal loyalty to Jesus, in contrast to those other disciples who had deserted him (John 6:66).

[6:70]  ¹²³ tn Grk “Jesus answered them.”

[6:70]  ¹²⁴ tn Although most translations render this last phrase as “one of you is a devil,” such a translation presupposes that there is more than one devil. This finds roots in the KJV in which the Greek word for demon was often translated “devil.” In fact, the KJV never uses the word “demon.” (Sixty-two of the 63 NT instances of δαιμόνιον [daimonion] are translated “devil” [in Acts 17:18 the plural has been translated “gods”]. This can get confusing in places where the singular “devil” is used: Is Satan or one of the demons in view [cf. Matt 9:33 (demon); 13:39 (devil); 17:18 (demon); Mark 7:26 (demon); Luke 4:2 (devil); etc.]?) Now regarding John 6:70, both the construction in Greek and the technical use of διάβολος (diabolos) indicate that the one devil is in view. To object to the translation “the devil” because it thus equates Judas with Satan does not take into consideration that Jesus often spoke figuratively (e.g., “destroy this temple” [John 2:19]; “he [John the Baptist] is Elijah” [Matt 11:14]), even equating Peter with the devil on one occasion (Mark 8:33). According to ExSyn 249, “A curious phenomenon has occurred in the English Bible with reference to one particular monadic noun, διάβολος. The KJV translates both διάβολος and δαιμόνιον as ‘devil.’ Thus in the AV translators’ minds, ‘devil’ was not a monadic noun. Modern translations have correctly rendered δαιμόνιον as ‘demon’ and have, for the most part, recognized that διάβολος is monadic (cf., e.g., 1 Pet 5:8; Rev 20:2). But in John 6:70 modern translations have fallen into the error of the King James translators. The KJV has ‘one of you is a devil.’ So does the RSV, NRSV, ASV, NIV, NKJV, and the JB [Jerusalem Bible]. Yet there is only one devil…The legacy of the KJV still lives on, then, even in places where it ought not.”

[6:71]  ¹²⁵ sn At least six explanations for the name Iscariot have been proposed, but it is probably transliterated Hebrew with the meaning “man of Kerioth” (there are at least two villages that had that name). See D. A. Carson, John, 304.

[6:71]  ¹²⁶ tn Grk “this one”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:71]  ¹²⁷ sn This parenthetical statement by the author helps the reader understand Jesus’ statement one of you is the devil in the previous verse. This is the first mention of Judas in the Fourth Gospel, and he is immediately identified (as he is in the synoptic gospels, Matt 10:4, Mark 3:19, Luke 6:16) as the one who would betray Jesus.

[7:1]  ¹²⁸ sn Again, the transition is indicated by the imprecise temporal indicator After this. Clearly, though, the author has left out much of the events of Jesus’ ministry, because chap. 6 took place near the Passover (6:4). This would have been the Passover between winter/spring of a.d. 32, just one year before Jesus’ crucifixion (assuming a date of a.d. 33 for the crucifixion), or the Passover of winter/spring a.d. 29, assuming a date of a.d. 30 for the crucifixion.

[7:1]  ¹²⁹ tn Grk “Jesus was traveling around in Galilee.”

[7:1]  ¹³⁰ tn Grk “For he.” Here γάρ (gar, “for”) has not been translated.

[7:1]  ¹³¹ tn Grk “he did not want to travel around in Judea.”

[7:1]  ¹³² 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 should be restricted to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents.

[7:1]  ¹³³ tn Grk “were seeking.”

[7:2]  ¹³⁴ tn Or “feast of the Tents” (the feast where people lived in tents or shelters, which was celebrated in the autumn after harvest). John’s use of σκηνοπηγία (skhnophgia) for the feast of Tabernacles constitutes the only use of this term in the New Testament.

[7:2]  ¹³⁵ sn Since the present verse places these incidents at the feast of Tabernacles (a.d. 29 or 32, depending on whether one dates the crucifixion in a.d. 30 or 33) there would have been a 6-month interval during which no events are recorded. The author is obviously selective in his approach; he is not recording an exhaustive history (as he will later tell the reader in John 21:25). After healing the paralytic on the Sabbath in Jerusalem (John 5:1-47), Jesus withdrew again to Galilee because of mounting opposition. In Galilee the feeding of the 5,000 took place, which marked the end of the Galilean ministry for all practical purposes. John 7:1-9 thus marks Jesus’ final departure from Galilee.

[7:3]  ¹³⁶ tn Grk “his brothers.”

[7:3]  sn Jesus’ brothers. Jesus’ brothers (really his half-brothers) were mentioned previously by John in 2:12 (see the note on brothers there). They are also mentioned elsewhere in Matt 13:55 and Mark 6:3.

[7:3]  ¹³⁷ tn Grk “your deeds that you are doing.”

[7:3]  sn Should the advice by Jesus’ brothers, Leave here and go to Judea so your disciples may see your miracles that you are performing, be understood as a suggestion that he should attempt to win back the disciples who had deserted him earlier (6:66)? Perhaps. But it is also possible to take the words as indicating that if Jesus is going to put forward messianic claims (i.e., through miraculous signs) then he should do so in Jerusalem, not in the remote parts of Galilee. Such an understanding seems to fit better with the following verse. It would also indicate misunderstanding on the part of Jesus’ brothers of the true nature of his mission – he did not come as the royal Messiah of Jewish apocalyptic expectation, to be enthroned as king at this time.

[7:4]  ¹³⁸ tn Or “seeks to be well known.”

[7:4]  ¹³⁹ sn No one who seeks to make a reputation for himself does anything in secret means, in effect: “if you’re going to perform signs to authenticate yourself as Messiah, you should do them at Jerusalem.” (Jerusalem is where mainstream Jewish apocalyptic tradition held that Messiah would appear.)

[7:5]  ¹⁴⁰ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[7:6]  ¹⁴¹ tn Grk “Then Jesus said to them.”

[7:6]  ¹⁴² tn Or “my opportunity.”

[7:6]  ¹⁴³ tn Or “is not yet here.”

[7:6]  ¹⁴⁴ tn Grk “your time is always ready.”

[7:8]  ¹⁴⁵ sn One always speaks of “going up” to Jerusalem in Jewish idiom, even though in western thought it is more common to speak of south as “down” (Jerusalem lies south of Galilee). The reason for the idiom is that Jerusalem was identified with Mount Zion in the OT, so that altitude was the issue.

[7:8]  ¹⁴⁶ tc Most mss (Ì^66,75 B L T W Θ Ψ 070 0105 0250 Ë^1,13 Ï sa), including most of the better witnesses, have “not yet” (οὔπω, oupw) here. Those with the reading οὐκ are not as impressive (א D K 1241 al lat), but οὐκ is the more difficult reading here, especially because it stands in tension with v. 10. On the one hand, it is possible that οὐκ arose because of homoioarcton: A copyist who saw oupw wrote ouk. However, it is more likely that οὔπω was introduced early on to harmonize with what is said two verses later. As for Jesus’ refusal to go up to the feast in v. 8, the statement does not preclude action of a different kind at a later point. Jesus may simply have been refusing to accompany his brothers with the rest of the group of pilgrims, preferring to travel separately and “in secret” (v. 10) with his disciples.

[7:8]  ¹⁴⁷ tn Although the word is καιρός (kairos) here, it parallels John’s use of ὥρα (Jwra) elsewhere as a reference to the time appointed for Jesus by the Father – the time of his return to the Father, characterized by his death, resurrection, and ascension (glorification). In the Johannine literature, synonyms are often interchanged for no apparent reason other than stylistic variation.

[7:8]  ¹⁴⁸ tn Or “my time has not yet come to an end” (a possible hint of Jesus’ death at Jerusalem); Grk “my time is not yet fulfilled.”

[7:10]  ¹⁴⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:11]  ¹⁵⁰ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents. See the note on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 1.

[7:11]  ¹⁵¹ tn Grk “Where is that one?”

[7:12]  ¹⁵² tn Grk “And there was.”

[7:12]  ¹⁵³ tn Or “complaining.”

[7:12]  ¹⁵⁴ tn Or “among the common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities mentioned in the previous verse).

[7:12]  ¹⁵⁵ tn Or “the crowd.”

[7:13]  ¹⁵⁶ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents. See also the note on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 1.

[7:14]  ¹⁵⁷ tn Grk “to the temple.”

[7:14]  ¹⁵⁸ tn Or “started teaching.” An ingressive sense for the imperfect verb (“began to teach” or “started teaching”) fits well here, since the context implies that Jesus did not start his teaching at the beginning of the festival, but began when it was about half over.

[7:15]  ¹⁵⁹ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents. See the note on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 1.

[7:15]  ¹⁶⁰ tn Or “began to be astonished.” This imperfect verb could also be translated ingressively (“began to be astonished”), but for English stylistic reasons it is rendered as a simple past.

[7:15]  ¹⁶¹ tn Grk “How does this man know learning since he has not been taught?” The implication here is not that Jesus never went to school (in all probability he did attend a local synagogue school while a youth), but that he was not the disciple of a particular rabbi and had not had formal or advanced instruction under a recognized rabbi (compare Acts 4:13 where a similar charge is made against Peter and John; see also Paul’s comment in Acts 22:3).

[7:15]  sn He has never had formal instruction. Ironically when the Jewish leaders came face to face with the Word become flesh – the preexistent Logos, creator of the universe and divine Wisdom personified – they treated him as an untaught, unlearned person, without the formal qualifications to be a teacher.

[7:16]  ¹⁶² tn Grk “So Jesus answered and said to them.”

[7:16]  ¹⁶³ tn The phrase “the one who sent me” refers to God.

[7:17]  ¹⁶⁴ tn Grk “his will.”

[7:17]  ¹⁶⁵ tn Grk “or whether I speak from myself.”

[7:18]  ¹⁶⁶ tn Grk “who speaks from himself.”

[7:18]  ¹⁶⁷ tn Or “seeks.”

[7:18]  ¹⁶⁸ tn Or “praise”; Grk “glory.”

[7:18]  ¹⁶⁹ tn Or “seeks.”

[7:18]  ¹⁷⁰ tn Or “praise”; Grk “glory.”

[7:18]  ¹⁷¹ tn Or “is truthful”; Grk “is true.”

[7:19]  ¹⁷² tn Or “accomplishes”; Grk “does.”

[7:19]  ¹⁷³ tn Grk “seek.”

[7:20]  ¹⁷⁴ tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities mentioned in 7:15).

[7:20]  ¹⁷⁵ tn Grk “You have a demon!”

[7:20]  ¹⁷⁶ tn Grk “Who is seeking to kill you?”

[7:20]  sn Who is trying to kill you? Many of the crowd (if they had come in from surrounding regions for the feast) probably were ignorant of any plot. The plot was on the part of the Jewish leaders. Note how carefully John distinguishes between the leadership and the general populace in their respective responses to Jesus.

[7:21]  ¹⁷⁷ tn Grk “Jesus answered and said to them.”

[7:21]  ¹⁷⁸ tn Grk “I did one deed.”

[7:21]  ¹⁷⁹ sn The “one miracle” that caused them all to be amazed was the last previous public miracle in Jerusalem recorded by the author, the healing of the paralyzed man in John 5:1-9 on the Sabbath. (The synoptic gospels record other Sabbath healings, but John does not mention them.)

[7:22]  ¹⁸⁰ tn Grk “gave you circumcision.”

[7:22]  ¹⁸¹ tn Grk “a man.” While the text literally reads “circumcise a man” in actual fact the practice of circumcising male infants on the eighth day after birth (see Phil 3:5) is primarily what is in view here.

[7:23]  ¹⁸² tn Grk “a man.” See the note on “male child” in the previous verse.

[7:23]  ¹⁸³ tn Grk “receives circumcision.”

[7:23]  ¹⁸⁴ sn If a male child is circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses is not broken. The Rabbis counted 248 parts to a man’s body. In the Talmud (b. Yoma 85b) R. Eleazar ben Azariah (ca. a.d. 100) states: “If circumcision, which attaches to one only of the 248 members of the human body, suspends the Sabbath, how much more shall the saving of the whole body suspend the Sabbath?” So absolutely binding did rabbinic Judaism regard the command of Lev 12:3 to circumcise on the eighth day, that in the Mishnah m. Shabbat 18.3; 19.1, 2; and m. Nedarim 3.11 all hold that the command to circumcise overrides the command to observe the Sabbath.

[7:23]  ¹⁸⁵ tn Or “made an entire man well.”

[7:24]  ¹⁸⁶ tn Or “based on sight.”

[7:24]  ¹⁸⁷ tn Or “honest”; Grk “righteous.”

[7:25]  ¹⁸⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[7:25]  ¹⁸⁹ tn Grk “Is it not this one.”

[7:25]  ¹⁹⁰ tn Grk “seeking.”

[7:26]  ¹⁹¹ tn Or “speaking openly.”

[7:26]  ¹⁹² sn They are saying nothing to him. Some people who had heard Jesus were so impressed with his teaching that they began to infer from the inactivity of the opposing Jewish leaders a tacit acknowledgment of Jesus’ claims.

[7:26]  ¹⁹³ tn Grk “this one.”

[7:26]  ¹⁹⁴ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[7:26]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[7:27]  ¹⁹⁵ tn Grk “this one.”

[7:27]  ¹⁹⁶ sn We know where this man comes from. The author apparently did not consider this objection worth answering. The true facts about Jesus’ origins were readily available for any reader who didn’t know already. Here is an instance where the author assumes knowledge about Jesus that is independent from the material he records.

[7:27]  ¹⁹⁷ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[7:27]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[7:27]  ¹⁹⁸ sn The view of these people regarding the Messiah that no one will know where he comes from reflects the idea that the origin of the Messiah is a mystery. In the Talmud (b. Sanhedrin 97a) Rabbi Zera taught: “Three come unawares: Messiah, a found article, and a scorpion.” Apparently OT prophetic passages like Mal 3:1 and Dan 9:25 were interpreted by some as indicating a sudden appearance of Messiah. It appears that this was not a universal view: The scribes summoned by Herod at the coming of the Magi in Matt 2 knew that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. It is important to remember that Jewish messianic expectations in the early 1st century were not monolithic.

[7:28]  ¹⁹⁹ tn Grk “the temple.”

[7:28]  ²⁰⁰ tn Grk “Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying.”

[7:28]  ²⁰¹ sn You both know me and know where I come from! Jesus’ response while teaching in the temple is difficult – it appears to concede too much understanding to his opponents. It is best to take the words as irony: “So you know me and know where I am from, do you?” On the physical, literal level, they did know where he was from: Nazareth of Galilee (at least they thought they knew). But on another deeper (spiritual) level, they did not: He came from heaven, from the Father. Jesus insisted that he has not come on his own initiative (cf. 5:37), but at the bidding of the Father who sent him.

[7:28]  ²⁰² tn Grk “And I have not come from myself.”

[7:28]  ²⁰³ tn The phrase “the one who sent me” refers to God.

[7:28]  ²⁰⁴ tn Grk “the one who sent me is true, whom you do not know.”

[7:29]  ²⁰⁵ tn Although the conjunction “but” is not in the Greek text, the contrast is implied (an omitted conjunction is called asyndeton).

[7:29]  ²⁰⁶ tn The preposition παρά (para) followed by the genitive has the local sense preserved and can be used of one person sending another. This does not necessarily imply origin in essence or eternal generation.

[7:29]  ²⁰⁷ tn Grk “and that one.”

[7:30]  ²⁰⁸ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:30]  sn Here the response is on the part of the crowd, who tried to seize Jesus. This is apparently distinct from the attempted arrest by the authorities mentioned in 7:32.

[7:30]  ²⁰⁹ tn Grk “his hour.”

[7:31]  ²¹⁰ tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities).

[7:31]  ²¹¹ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[7:31]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[7:31]  ²¹² 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 it is “will he?”).

[7:32]  ²¹³ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[7:32]  ²¹⁴ tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities like the Pharisees).

[7:32]  ²¹⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:32]  ²¹⁶ tn Or “servants.” The “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. As “servants” or “officers” of the Sanhedrin their representatives should be distinguished from the Levites serving as temple police (perhaps John 7:30 and 44; also John 8:20; 10:39; 19:6; Acts 4:3). Even when performing “police” duties such as here, their “officers” are doing so only as part of their general tasks (see K. H. Rengstorf, TDNT 8:540).

[7:32]  ²¹⁷ tn Grk “to seize him.” In the context of a deliberate attempt by the servants of the chief priests and Pharisees to detain Jesus, the English verb “arrest” conveys the point more effectively.

[7:33]  ²¹⁸ tn Grk “Yet a little I am with you.”

[7:33]  ²¹⁹ tn The word “then” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[7:34]  ²²⁰ tn Grk “seek me.”

[7:35]  ²²¹ 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 is understood to refer to the Jewish authorities or leaders, since the Jewish leaders are mentioned in this context both before and after the present verse (7:32, 45).

[7:35]  ²²² tn Grk “this one.”

[7:35]  ²²³ tn Grk “will not find him.”

[7:35]  ²²⁴ sn The Jewish people dispersed (Grk “He is not going to the Diaspora”). The Greek term diaspora (“dispersion”) originally meant those Jews not living in Palestine, but dispersed or scattered among the Gentiles.

[7:35]  ²²⁵ 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 “is he?”).

[7:35]  sn Note the Jewish opponents’ misunderstanding of Jesus’ words, as made clear in vv. 35-36. They didn’t realize he spoke of his departure out of the world. This is another example of the author’s use of misunderstanding as a literary device to emphasize a point.

[7:36]  ²²⁶ tn Grk “What is this word that he said.”

[7:36]  ²²⁷ tn Grk “seek me.”

[7:37]  ²²⁸ sn There is a problem with the identification of this reference to the last day of the feast, the greatest day: It appears from Deut 16:13 that the feast went for seven days. Lev 23:36, however, makes it plain that there was an eighth day, though it was mentioned separately from the seven. It is not completely clear whether the seventh or eighth day was the climax of the feast, called here by the author the “last great day of the feast.” Since according to the Mishnah (m. Sukkah 4.1) the ceremonies with water and lights did not continue after the seventh day, it seems more probable that this is the day the author mentions.

[7:37]  ²²⁹ tn Grk “Jesus stood up and cried out, saying.”

[7:38]  ²³⁰ tn An alternate way of punctuating the Greek text of vv. 37-38 results in this translation: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. The one who believes in me, just as the scripture says, ‘From within him will flow rivers of living water.’” John 7:37-38 has been the subject of considerable scholarly debate. Certainly Jesus picks up on the literal water used in the ceremony and uses it figuratively. But what does the figure mean? According to popular understanding, it refers to the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell in the believer. There is some difficulty in locating an OT text which speaks of rivers of water flowing from within such a person, but Isa 58:11 is often suggested: “The Lord will continually lead you, he will feed you even in parched regions. He will give you renewed strength, and you will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring that continually produces water.” Other passages which have been suggested are Prov 4:23 and 5:15; Isa 44:3 and 55:1; Ezek 47:1 ff.; Joel 3:18; and Zech 13:1 and 14:8. The meaning in this case is that when anyone comes to believe in Jesus the scriptures referring to the activity of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life are fulfilled. “When the believer comes to Christ and drinks he not only slakes his thirst but receives such an abundant supply that veritable rivers flow from him” (L. Morris, John [NICNT], 424-25). In other words, with this view, the believer himself becomes the source of the living water. This is the traditional understanding of the passage, often called the “Eastern interpretation” following Origen, Athanasius, and the Greek Fathers. It is supported by such modern scholars as Barrett, Behm, Bernard, Cadman, Carson, R. H. Lightfoot, Lindars, Michaelis, Morris, Odeberg, Schlatter, Schweizer, C. H. Turner, M. M. B. Turner, Westcott, and Zahn. In addition it is represented by the following Greek texts and translations: KJV, RSV, NASB, NA²⁷, and UBS⁴. D. A. Carson, John, 322-29, has a thorough discussion of the issues and evidence although he opts for the previous interpretation. There is another interpretation possible, however, called the “Western interpretation” because of patristic support by Justin, Hippolytus, Tertullian, and Irenaeus. Modern scholars who favor this view are Abbott, Beasley-Murray, Bishop, Boismard, Braun, Brown, Bullinger, Bultmann, Burney, Dodd, Dunn, Guilding, R. Harris, Hoskyns, Jeremias, Loisy, D. M. Stanley, Thüsing, N. Turner, and Zerwick. This view is represented by the translation in the RSV margin and by the NEB. It is also sometimes called the “christological interpretation” because it makes Jesus himself the source of the living water in v. 38, by punctuating as follows: (37b) ἐάν τι διψᾷ ἐρχέσθω πρός με, καὶ πινέτω (38) ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμέ. Καθὼς εἶπεν ἡ γραφή, ποταμοὶ ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας αὐτοῦ ῥεύσουσιν ὕδατος ζῶντος. Three crucial questions are involved in the solution of this problem: (1) punctuation; (2) determining the antecedent of αὐτοῦ (autou); and (3) the source of the scripture quotation. With regard to (1) Ì⁶⁶ does place a full stop after πινέτω (pinetw), but this may be theologically motivated and could have been added later. Grammatical and stylistic arguments are inconclusive. More important is (2) the determination of the antecedent of αὐτοῦ. Can any other Johannine parallels be found which make the believer the source of the living water? John 4:14 is often mentioned in this regard, but unlike 4:14 the water here becomes a source for others also. Neither does 14:12 provide a parallel. Furthermore, such an interpretation becomes even more problematic in light of the explanation given in v. 39 that the water refers to the Holy Spirit, since it is extremely difficult to see the individual believer becoming the ‘source’ of the Spirit for others. On the other hand, the Gospel of John repeatedly places Jesus himself in this role as source of the living water: 4:10, of course, for the water itself; but according to 20:22 Jesus provides the Spirit (cf. 14:16). Furthermore, the symbolism of 19:34 is difficult to explain as anything other than a deliberate allusion to what is predicted here. This also explains why the Spirit cannot come to the disciples unless Jesus “departs” (16:7). As to (3) the source of the scripture quotation, M. E. Boismard has argued that John is using a targumic rendering of Ps 78:15-16 which describes the water brought forth from the rock in the wilderness by Moses (“Les citations targumiques dans le quatrième évangile,” RB 66 [1959]: 374-78). The frequency of Exodus motifs in the Fourth Gospel (paschal lamb, bronze serpent, manna from heaven) leads quite naturally to the supposition that the author is here drawing on the account of Moses striking the rock in the wilderness to bring forth water (Num 20:8 ff.). That such imagery was readily identified with Jesus in the early church is demonstrated by Paul’s understanding of the event in 1 Cor 10:4. Jesus is the Rock from which the living water – the Spirit – will flow. Carson (see note above) discusses this imagery although he favors the traditional or “Eastern” interpretation. In summary, the latter or “Western” interpretation is to be preferred.

[7:38]  ²³¹ tn Or “out of the innermost part of his person”; Grk “out of his belly.”

[7:38]  ²³² sn An OT quotation whose source is difficult to determine; Isa 44:3, 55:1, 58:11, and Zech 14:8 have all been suggested.

[7:39]  ²³³ tn Grk “for the Spirit was not yet.” Although only B and a handful of other NT mss supply the participle δεδομένον (dedomenon), this is followed in the translation to avoid misunderstanding by the modern English reader that prior to this time the Spirit did not exist. John’s phrase is expressed from a human standpoint and has nothing to do with the preexistence of the third Person of the Godhead. The meaning is that the era of the Holy Spirit had not yet arrived; the Spirit was not as yet at work in a way he later would be because Jesus had not yet returned to his Father. Cf. also Acts 19:2.

[7:39]  ²³⁴ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[7:40]  ²³⁵ tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities like the chief priests and Pharisees).

[7:40]  ²³⁶ tn Or “truly.”

[7:40]  ²³⁷ sn The Prophet is a reference to the “prophet like Moses” of Deut 18:15, by this time an eschatological figure in popular belief.

[7:41]  ²³⁸ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[7:41]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[7:41]  ²³⁹ tn An initial negative reply (“No”) is suggested by the causal or explanatory γάρ (gar) which begins the clause.

[7:41]  ²⁴⁰ 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 “does he?”).

[7:42]  ²⁴¹ tn Grk “is from the seed” (an idiom for human descent).

[7:42]  ²⁴² sn An allusion to Ps 89:4.

[7:42]  ²⁴³ sn An allusion to Mic 5:2.

[7:42]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[7:42]  ²⁴⁴ tn Grk “the village where David was.”

[7:43]  ²⁴⁵ tn Or “among the common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities like the chief priests and Pharisees).

[7:43]  ²⁴⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:44]  ²⁴⁷ sn Compare John 7:30 regarding the attempt to seize Jesus.

[7:45]  ²⁴⁸ tn Or “servants.” The “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. As “servants” or “officers” of the Sanhedrin, their representatives should be distinguished from the Levites serving as temple police (perhaps John 7:30 and 44; also John 8:20; 10:39; 19:6; Acts 4:3). Even when performing ‘police’ duties such as here, their “officers” are doing so only as part of their general tasks (See K. H. Rengstorf, TDNT 8:540).

[7:45]  ²⁴⁹ tn Grk “came.”

[7:45]  ²⁵⁰ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[7:45]  ²⁵¹ tn Grk “Why did you not bring him?” The words “back with you” are implied.

[7:47]  ²⁵² tn Grk “answered them.”

[7:47]  ²⁵³ 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 “have you?”).

[7:48]  ²⁵⁴ sn The chief priests and Pharisees (John 7:45) is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. Likewise the term ruler here denotes a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews. Note the same word (“ruler”) is used to describe Nicodemus in John 3:1, and Nicodemus also speaks up in this episode (John 7:50).

[7:48]  ²⁵⁵ 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 “have they?”).

[7:49]  ²⁵⁶ tn Grk “crowd.” “Rabble” is a good translation here because the remark by the Pharisees is so derogatory.

[7:50]  ²⁵⁷ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:50]  ²⁵⁸ tn Grk “who was one of them”; the referent (the rulers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:50]  ²⁵⁹ tn Grk “said to them.”

[7:51]  ²⁶⁰ tn Grk “judge.”

[7:51]  ²⁶¹ tn Grk “knows.”

[7:51]  ²⁶² 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 “does it?”).

[7:52]  ²⁶³ tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”

[7:52]  ²⁶⁴ 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 “are you?”).

[7:52]  ²⁶⁵ tc At least one early and important ms (Ì^66*) places the article before “prophet” (ὁ προφήτης, Jo profhths), making this a reference to the “prophet like Moses” mentioned in Deut 18:15.

[7:52]  tn This claim by the leaders presents some difficulty, because Jonah had been from Gath Hepher, in Galilee (2 Kgs 14:25). Also the Babylonian Talmud later stated, “There was not a tribe in Israel from which there did not come prophets” (b. Sukkah 27b). Two explanations are possible: (1) In the heat of anger the members of the Sanhedrin overlooked the facts (this is perhaps the easiest explanation). (2) This anarthrous noun is to be understood as a reference to the prophet of Deut 18:15 (note the reading of Ì⁶⁶ which is articular), by this time an eschatological figure in popular belief. This would produce in the text of John’s Gospel a high sense of irony indeed, since the religious authorities by their insistence that “the Prophet” could not come from Galilee displayed their true ignorance of where Jesus came from on two levels at once (Bethlehem, his birthplace, the fulfillment of Mic 5:2, but also heaven, from which he was sent by the Father). The author does not even bother to refute the false attestation of Jesus’ place of birth as Galilee (presumably Christians knew all too well where Jesus came from).

[7:53]  ²⁶⁶ tc This entire section, 7:53-8:11, traditionally known as the pericope adulterae, is not contained in the earliest and best mss and was almost certainly not an original part of the Gospel of John. Among modern commentators and textual critics, it is a foregone conclusion that the section is not original but represents a later addition to the text of the Gospel. B. M. Metzger summarizes: “the evidence for the non-Johannine origin of the pericope of the adulteress is overwhelming” (TCGNT 187). External evidence is as follows. For the omission of 7:53-8:11: Ì^66,75 א B L N T W Δ Θ Ψ 0141 0211 33 565 1241 1424* 2768 al. In addition codices A and C are defective in this part of John, but it appears that neither contained the pericope because careful measurement shows that there would not have been enough space on the missing pages to include the pericope 7:53-8:11 along with the rest of the text. Among the mss that include 7:53-8:11 are D Ï lat. In addition E S Λ 1424^mg al include part or all of the passage with asterisks or obeli, 225 places the pericope after John 7:36, ˹ places it after John 21:25, {115} after John 8:12, ˹³ after Luke 21:38, and the corrector of 1333 includes it after Luke 24:53. (For a more complete discussion of the locations where this “floating” text has ended up, as well as a minority opinion on the authenticity of the passage, see M. A. Robinson, “Preliminary Observations regarding the Pericope Adulterae Based upon Fresh Collations of nearly All Continuous-Text Manuscripts and All Lectionary Manuscripts containing the Passage,” Filologia Neotestamentaria 13 [2000]: 35-59, especially 41-42.) In evaluating this ms evidence, it should be remembered that in the Gospels A is considered to be of Byzantine texttype (unlike in the epistles and Revelation, where it is Alexandrian), as are E F G (mss with the same designation are of Western texttype in the epistles). This leaves D as the only major Western uncial witness in the Gospels for the inclusion. Therefore the evidence could be summarized by saying that almost all early mss of the Alexandrian texttype omit the pericope, while most mss of the Western and Byzantine texttype include it. But it must be remembered that “Western mss” here refers only to D, a single witness (as far as Greek mss are concerned). Thus it can be seen that practically all of the earliest and best mss extant omit the pericope; it is found only in mss of secondary importance. But before one can conclude that the passage was not originally part of the Gospel of John, internal evidence needs to be considered as well. Internal evidence in favor of the inclusion of 8:1-11 (7:53-8:11): (1) 7:53 fits in the context. If the “last great day of the feast” (7:37) refers to the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles, then the statement refers to the pilgrims and worshipers going home after living in “booths” for the week while visiting Jerusalem. (2) There may be an allusion to Isa 9:1-2 behind this text: John 8:12 is the point when Jesus describes himself as the Light of the world. But the section in question mentions that Jesus returned to the temple at “early dawn” (῎Ορθρου, Orqrou, in 8:2). This is the “dawning” of the Light of the world (8:12) mentioned by Isa 9:2. (3) Furthermore, note the relationship to what follows: Just prior to presenting Jesus’ statement that he is the Light of the world, John presents the reader with an example that shows Jesus as the light. Here the woman “came to the light” while her accusers shrank away into the shadows, because their deeds were evil (cf. 3:19-21). Internal evidence against the inclusion of 8:1-11 (7:53-8:11): (1) In reply to the claim that the introduction to the pericope, 7:53, fits the context, it should also be noted that the narrative reads well without the pericope, so that Jesus’ reply in 8:12 is directed against the charge of the Pharisees in 7:52 that no prophet comes from Galilee. (2) The assumption that the author “must” somehow work Isa 9:1-2 into the narrative is simply that – an assumption. The statement by the Pharisees in 7:52 about Jesus’ Galilean origins is allowed to stand without correction by the author, although one might have expected him to mention that Jesus was really born in Bethlehem. And 8:12 does directly mention Jesus’ claim to be the Light of the world. The author may well have presumed familiarity with Isa 9:1-2 on the part of his readers because of its widespread association with Jesus among early Christians. (3) The fact that the pericope deals with the light/darkness motif does not inherently strengthen its claim to authenticity, because the motif is so prominent in the Fourth Gospel that it may well have been the reason why someone felt that the pericope, circulating as an independent tradition, fit so well here. (4) In general the style of the pericope is not Johannine either in vocabulary or grammar (see D. B. Wallace, “Reconsidering ‘The Story of the Woman Taken in Adultery Reconsidered’,” NTS 39 [1993]: 290-96). According to R. E. Brown it is closer stylistically to Lukan material (John [AB], 1:336). Interestingly one important family of mss (˹³) places the pericope after Luke 21:38. Conclusion: In the final analysis, the weight of evidence in this case must go with the external evidence. The earliest and best mss do not contain the pericope. It is true with regard to internal evidence that an attractive case can be made for inclusion, but this is by nature subjective (as evidenced by the fact that strong arguments can be given against such as well). In terms of internal factors like vocabulary and style, the pericope does not stand up very well. The question may be asked whether this incident, although not an original part of the Gospel of John, should be regarded as an authentic tradition about Jesus. It could well be that it is ancient and may indeed represent an unusual instance where such a tradition survived outside of the bounds of the canonical literature. However, even that needs to be nuanced (see B. D. Ehrman, “Jesus and the Adulteress,” NTS 34 [1988]: 24–44).

[7:53]  sn Double brackets have been placed around this passage to indicate that most likely it was not part of the original text of the Gospel of John. In spite of this, the passage has an important role in the history of the transmission of the text, so it has been included in the translation.

[8:1]  ²⁶⁷ sn The Mount of Olives is a hill running north to south about 1.8 mi (3 km) long, lying east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. It was named for the large number of olive trees that grew on it.

[8:2]  ²⁶⁸ tn An ingressive sense for the imperfect fits well here following the aorist participle.

[8:3]  ²⁶⁹ tn Or “The scribes.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.

[8:3]  ²⁷⁰ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[8:4]  ²⁷¹ tn Grk “to him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:5]  ²⁷² sn An allusion to Lev 20:10 and Deut 22:22-24.

[8:5]  ²⁷³ sn The accusers themselves subtly misrepresented the law. The Mosaic law stated that in the case of adultery, both the man and woman must be put to death (Lev 20:10, Deut 22:22), but they mentioned only such women.

[8:6]  ²⁷⁴ tn Grk “so that they could accuse.”

[8:6]  ²⁷⁵ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author of 7:53–8:11.

[8:6]  ²⁷⁶ tn Or possibly “Jesus bent down and wrote an accusation on the ground with his finger.” The Greek verb καταγράφω (katagrafw) may indicate only the action of writing on the ground by Jesus, but in the overall context (Jesus’ response to the accusation against the woman) it can also be interpreted as implying that what Jesus wrote was a counteraccusation against the accusers (although there is no clue as to the actual content of what he wrote, some scribes added “the sins of each one of them” either here or at the end of v. 8 [U 264 700 al]).

[8:7]  ²⁷⁷ tn Or “he straightened up.”

[8:7]  ²⁷⁸ tn Grk “and said to them.”

[8:7]  ²⁷⁹ tn Or “sinless.”

[8:8]  ²⁸⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[8:9]  ²⁸¹ tn Or “beginning from the eldest.”

[8:10]  ²⁸² tn Or “straightened up.”

[8:10]  ²⁸³ sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.

[8:11]  ²⁸⁴ tc The earliest and best mss do not contain 7:53–8:11 (see note on 7:53).

[8:12]  ²⁸⁵ tn Grk “Then again Jesus spoke to them saying.”

[8:12]  ²⁸⁶ sn The theory proposed by F. J. A. Hort (The New Testament in the Original Greek, vol. 2, Introduction; Appendix, 87-88), that the backdrop of 8:12 is the lighting of the candelabra in the court of women, may offer a plausible setting to the proclamation by Jesus that he is the light of the world. The last time that Jesus spoke in the narrative (assuming 7:53-8:11 is not part of the original text, as the textual evidence suggests) is in 7:38, where he was speaking to a crowd of pilgrims in the temple area. This is where he is found in the present verse, and he may be addressing the crowd again. Jesus’ remark has to be seen in view of both the prologue (John 1:4, 5) and the end of the discourse with Nicodemus (John 3:19-21). The coming of Jesus into the world provokes judgment: A choosing up of sides becomes necessary. The one who comes to the light, that is, who follows Jesus, will not walk in the darkness. The one who refuses to come, will walk in the darkness. In this contrast, there are only two alternatives. So it is with a person’s decision about Jesus. Furthermore, this serves as in implicit indictment of Jesus’ opponents, who still walk in the darkness, because they refuse to come to him. This sets up the contrast in chap. 9 between the man born blind, who receives both physical and spiritual sight, and the Pharisees (John 9:13, 15, 16) who have physical sight but remain in spiritual darkness.

[8:12]  ²⁸⁷ tn The double negative οὐ μή (ou mh) is emphatic in 1st century Hellenistic Greek.

[8:13]  ²⁸⁸ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[8:13]  ²⁸⁹ tn Grk “Then the Pharisees said to him.”

[8:13]  ²⁹⁰ sn Compare the charge You testify about yourself; your testimony is not true! to Jesus’ own statement about his testimony in 5:31.

[8:14]  ²⁹¹ tn Grk “Jesus answered and said to them.”

[8:14]  ²⁹² tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to indicate that the pronoun (“you”) and verb (“do not know”) in Greek are plural.

[8:14]  ²⁹³ sn You people do not know where I came from or where I am going. The ignorance of the religious authorities regarding Jesus’ origin works on two levels at once: First, they thought Jesus came from Galilee (although he really came from Bethlehem in Judea) and second, they did not know that he came from heaven (from the Father), and this is where he would return. See further John 7:52.

[8:15]  ²⁹⁴ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to indicate that the pronoun and verb (“judge”) in Greek are plural.

[8:15]  ²⁹⁵ tn Or “judge according to external things”; Grk “according to the flesh.” These translations are given by BDAG 916 s.v. σάρξ 5.

[8:15]  ²⁹⁶ sn What is the meaning of Jesus’ statement “I do not judge anyone”? It is clear that Jesus did judge (even in the next verse). The point is that he didn’t practice the same kind of judgment that the Pharisees did. Their kind of judgment was condemnatory. They tried to condemn people. Jesus did not come to judge the world, but to save it (3:17). Nevertheless, and not contradictory to this, the coming of Jesus did bring judgment, because it forced people to make a choice. Would they accept Jesus or reject him? Would they come to the light or shrink back into the darkness? As they responded, so were they judged – just as 3:19-21 previously stated. One’s response to Jesus determines one’s eternal destiny.

[8:16]  ²⁹⁷ tn Grk “my judgment is true.”

[8:16]  ²⁹⁸ tn The phrase “when I judge” is not in the Greek text, but is implied by the context.

[8:16]  ²⁹⁹ tn The phrase “do so together” is not in the Greek text, but is implied by the context.

[8:17]  ³⁰⁰ sn An allusion to Deut 17:6.

[8:18]  ³⁰¹ tn Grk “I am the one who testifies about myself.”

[8:19]  ³⁰² tn Grk “Then they were saying to him.” The imperfect verb has been translated with ingressive force here because of the introduction of a new line of questioning by the Pharisees. Jesus had just claimed his Father as a second witness; now his opponents want to know who his father is.

[8:19]  ³⁰³ sn If you knew me you would know my Father too. Jesus’ reply is based on his identity with the Father (see also John 1:18; 14:9).

[8:20]  ³⁰⁴ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:20]  ³⁰⁵ tn The term γαζοφυλάκιον (gazofulakion) can be translated “treasury” or “treasure room” in this context. BDAG 186 s.v. 1 notes, “It can be taken in this sense J 8:20 (sing.) in (or at) the treasury.” BDAG 186 s.v. 2 argues that the occurrences of this word in the synoptic gospels also refer to the treasury: “For Mk 12:41, 43; Lk 21:1 the mng. contribution box or receptacle is attractive. Acc. to Mishnah, Shekalim 6, 5 there were in the temple 13 such receptacles in the form of trumpets. But even in these passages the general sense of ‘treasury’ is prob., for the contributions would go [into] the treasury via the receptacles.” Based upon the extra-biblical evidence (see sn following), however, the translation opts to refer to the actual receptacles and not the treasury itself.

[8:20]  sn The offering box probably refers to the receptacles in the temple forecourt by the Court of Women used to collect freewill offerings. These are mentioned by Josephus, J. W. 5.5.2 (5.200), 6.5.2 (6.282); Ant. 19.6.1 (19.294); and in 1 Macc 14:49 and 2 Macc 3:6, 24, 28, 40 (see also Mark 12:41; Luke 21:1).

[8:20]  ³⁰⁶ tn Grk “the temple.”

[8:20]  ³⁰⁷ tn Grk “his hour.”

[8:20]  ³⁰⁸ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[8:21]  ³⁰⁹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:21]  ³¹⁰ tn The expression οὖν πάλιν (oun palin) indicates some sort of break in the sequence of events, but it is not clear how long. The author does not mention the interval between 8:12-20 and this next recorded dialogue. The feast of Tabernacles is past, and the next reference to time is 10:22, where the feast of the Dedication is mentioned. The interval is two months, and these discussions could have taken place at any time within that interval, as long as one assumes something of a loose chronological framework. However, if the material in the Fourth Gospel is arranged theologically or thematically, such an assumption would not apply.

[8:21]  ³¹¹ tn Grk “you will seek me.”

[8:21]  ³¹² tn The expression ἐν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ὑμῶν ἀποθανεῖσθε (en th Jamartia Jumwn apoqaneisqe) is similar to an expression found in the LXX at Ezek 3:18, 20 and Prov 24:9. Note the singular of ἁμαρτία (the plural occurs later in v. 24). To die with one’s sin unrepented and unatoned would be the ultimate disaster to befall a person. Jesus’ warning is stern but to the point.

[8:22]  ³¹³ 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 authorities or leaders in Jerusalem. It was the Pharisees who had begun this line of questioning in John 8:13, and there has been no clear change since then in the identity of Jesus’ opponents.

[8:22]  ³¹⁴ tn The imperfect verb has been translated with ingressive force (“began to say”) because the comments that follow were occasioned by Jesus’ remarks in the preceding verse about his upcoming departure.

[8:23]  ³¹⁵ tn Grk “And he said to them.”

[8:23]  ³¹⁶ tn The word “people” is supplied in English to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.

[8:24]  ³¹⁷ tn Grk “thus I said to you.”

[8:24]  ³¹⁸ tn Grk “unless you believe that I am.” In this context there is an implied predicate nominative (“he”) following the “I am” phrase. What Jesus’ hearers had to acknowledge is that he was who he claimed to be, i.e., the Messiah (cf. 20:31). This view is also reflected in English translations like NIV (“if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be”), NLT (“unless you believe that I am who I say I am”), and CEV (“if you don’t have faith in me for who I am”). For a different view that takes this “I am” and the one in 8:28 as nonpredicated (i.e., absolute), see R. E. Brown, John (AB), 1:533-38. Such a view refers sees the nonpredicated “I am” as a reference to the divine Name revealed in Exod 3:14, and is reflected in English translations like NAB (“if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins”) and TEV (“you will die in your sins if you do not believe that ‘I Am Who I Am’”).

[8:24]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[8:25]  ³¹⁹ tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

[8:26]  ³²⁰ tn Or “I have many things to pronounce in judgment about you.” The two Greek infinitives could be understood as a hendiadys, resulting in one phrase.

[8:26]  ³²¹ tn Grk “the one”; the referent (the Father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:26]  ³²² tn Grk “true” (in the sense of one who always tells the truth).

[8:26]  ³²³ tn Grk “and what things I have heard from him, these things I speak to the world.”

[8:27]  ³²⁴ sn They did not understand…about his Father is a parenthetical note by the author. This type of comment, intended for the benefit of the reader, is typical of the “omniscient author” convention adopted by the author, who is writing from a postresurrection point of view. He writes with the benefit of later knowledge that those who originally heard Jesus’ words would not have had.

[8:28]  ³²⁵ tn Grk “Then Jesus said to them” (the words “to them” are not found in all mss).

[8:28]  ³²⁶ tn Grk “that I am.” See the note on this phrase in v. 24.

[8:28]  ³²⁷ tn Grk “I do nothing from myself.”

[8:28]  ³²⁸ tn Grk “but just as the Father taught me, these things I speak.”

[8:29]  ³²⁹ tn That is, “he has not abandoned me.”

[8:30]  ³³⁰ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied for clarity and smoothness in the translation.

[8:31]  ³³¹ tn Grk “to the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory (i.e., “Judeans”), 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; also BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e.) Here the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple and had believed his claim to be the Messiah, hence, “those Judeans who had believed him.” The term “Judeans” is preferred here to the more general “people” because the debate concerns descent from Abraham (v. 33).

[8:31]  ³³² tn Grk “If you continue in my word.”

[8:31]  ³³³ tn Or “truly.”

[8:32]  ³³⁴ tn Or “the truth will release you.” The translation “set you free” or “release you” (unlike the more traditional “make you free”) conveys more the idea that the hearers were currently in a state of slavery from which they needed to be freed. The following context supports precisely this idea.

[8:32]  sn The statement the truth will set you free is often taken as referring to truth in the philosophical (or absolute) sense, or in the intellectual sense, or even (as the Jews apparently took it) in the political sense. In the context of John’s Gospel (particularly in light of the prologue) this must refer to truth about the person and work of Jesus. It is saving truth. As L. Morris says, “it is the truth which saves men from the darkness of sin, not that which saves them from the darkness of error (though there is a sense in which men in Christ are delivered from gross error)” (John [NICNT], 457).

[8:33]  ³³⁵ tn Grk “We are the seed” (an idiom).

[8:33]  ³³⁶ tn Grk “They answered to him.”

[8:33]  ³³⁷ tn Or “How is it that you say.”

[8:34]  ³³⁸ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[8:34]  ³³⁹ tn Or “who commits.” This could simply be translated, “everyone who sins,” but the Greek is more emphatic, using the participle ποιῶν (poiwn) in a construction with πᾶς (pas), a typical Johannine construction. Here repeated, continuous action is in view. The one whose lifestyle is characterized by repeated, continuous sin is a slave to sin. That one is not free; sin has enslaved him. To break free from this bondage requires outside (divine) intervention. Although the statement is true at the general level (the person who continually practices a lifestyle of sin is enslaved to sin) the particular sin of the Jewish authorities, repeatedly emphasized in the Fourth Gospel, is the sin of unbelief. The present tense in this instance looks at the continuing refusal on the part of the Jewish leaders to acknowledge who Jesus is, in spite of mounting evidence.

[8:34]  ³⁴⁰ tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

[8:35]  ³⁴¹ tn Or “household.” The Greek work οἰκία (oikia) can denote the family as consisting of relatives by both descent and marriage, as well as slaves and servants, living in the same house (more the concept of an “extended family”).

[8:35]  ³⁴² sn Jesus’ point is that while a slave may be part of a family or household, the slave is not guaranteed a permanent place there, while a son, as a descendant or blood relative, will always be guaranteed a place in the family (remains forever).

[8:36]  ³⁴³ tn Or “Son.” The question is whether “son” is to be understood as a direct reference to Jesus himself, or as an indirect reference (a continuation of the generic illustration begun in the previous verse).

[8:37]  ³⁴⁴ tn Grk “seed” (an idiom).

[8:37]  ³⁴⁵ tn Grk “you are seeking.”

[8:37]  ³⁴⁶ tn Grk “my word.”

[8:37]  ³⁴⁷ tn Or “finds no place in you.” The basic idea seems to be something (in this case Jesus’ teaching) making headway or progress where resistance is involved. See BDAG 1094 s.v. χωρέω 2.

[8:38]  ³⁴⁸ tc The first person pronoun μου (mou, “my”) may be implied, especially if ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) follows the second mention of “father” in this verse (as it does in the majority of mss); no doubt this implication gave rise to the reading μου found in most witnesses (א D Θ Ψ 0250 Ë^1,13 33 Ï it sy). No pronoun here is read by Ì^66,75 B C L 070 pc. This problem cannot be isolated from the second in the verse, however. See that discussion below.

[8:38]  ³⁴⁹ tn Grk “The things which I have seen with the Father I speak about.”

[8:38]  ³⁵⁰ tn Grk “and you.”

[8:38]  ³⁵¹ tc A few significant witnesses lack ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) here (Ì^66,75 B L W 070 pc), while the majority have the pronoun (א C D Θ Ψ 0250 Ë^1,13 33 565 892 Ï al lat sy). However, these mss do not agree on the placement of the pronoun: τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν ποιεῖτε (tou patro" Jumwn poieite), τῷ πατρὶ ὑμῶν (tw patri Jumwn), and τῷ πατρὶ ὑμῶν ταῦτα (tw patri Jumwn tauta) all occur. If the pronoun is read, then the devil is in view and the text should be translated as “you are practicing the things you have heard from your father.” If it is not read, then the same Father mentioned in the first part of the verse is in view. In this case, ποιεῖτε should be taken as an imperative: “you [must] practice the things you have heard from the Father.” The omission is decidedly the harder reading, both because the contrast between God and the devil is now delayed until v. 41, and because ποιεῖτε could be read as an indicative, especially since the two clauses are joined by καί (kai, “and”). Thus, the pronoun looks to be a motivated reading. In light of the better external and internal evidence the omission is preferred.

[8:39]  ³⁵² tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”

[8:39]  ³⁵³ tn Or “Our father is Abraham.”

[8:39]  ³⁵⁴ tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

[8:39]  ³⁵⁵ tc Although most mss (C W Θ Ψ 0250 Ë^1,13 33 Ï) have the imperfect ἦτε (hte, “you were”) here, making this sentence a proper second class condition, the harder reading, ἐστε (este, “you are”), is found in the better witnesses (Ì^66,75 א B D L 070 pc lat).

[8:39]  ³⁵⁶ tc Some important mss (Ì⁶⁶ B* [700]) have the present imperative ποιεῖτε (poieite) here: “If you are Abraham’s children, then do,” while many others (א² C K L N Δ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 565 579 892 pm) add the contingent particle ἄν (an) to ἐποιεῖτε (epoieite) making it a more proper second class condition by Attic standards. The simple ἐποιεῖτε without the ἄν is the hardest reading, and is found in some excellent witnesses (Ì⁷⁵ א* B² D W Γ Θ 070 0250 1424 pm).

[8:39]  tn Or “you would do.”

[8:40]  ³⁵⁷ tn Grk “seeking.”

[8:40]  ³⁵⁸ tn Grk “has spoken to you.”

[8:40]  ³⁵⁹ tn The Greek word order is emphatic: “This Abraham did not do.” The emphasis is indicated in the translation by an exclamation point.

[8:41]  ³⁶⁰ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied in English to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.

[8:41]  ³⁶¹ tc ‡ Important and early witnesses (א B L W 070 it sy^s,p co) lack the conjunction here, while the earliest witnesses along with many others read οὖν (oun, “therefore”; Ì^66,75 C D Θ Ψ 0250 ˹³ 33 Ï). This conjunction occurs in John some 200 times, far more than in any other NT book. Even though the combined testimony of two early papyri for the conjunction is impressive, the reading seems to be a predictable scribal emendation. In particular, οὖν is frequently used with the plural of εἶπον (eipon, “they said”) in John (in this chapter alone, note vv. 13, 39, 48, 57, and possibly 52). On balance, it is probably best to consider the shorter reading as authentic, even though “Then” is virtually required in translation for English stylistic reasons. NA²⁷ has the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

[8:41]  ³⁶² tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:41]  ³⁶³ sn We were not born as a result of immorality! is ironic, because Jesus’ opponents implied that it was not themselves but Jesus who had been born as a result of immoral behavior. This shows they did not know Jesus’ true origin and were not aware of the supernatural events surrounding his birth. The author does not even bother to refute the opponents’ suggestion but lets it stand, assuming his readers will know the true story.

[8:42]  ³⁶⁴ tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

[8:42]  ³⁶⁵ tn Or “I came from God and have arrived.”

[8:42]  ³⁶⁶ tn Grk “For I.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

[8:42]  ³⁶⁷ tn Grk “from myself.”

[8:42]  ³⁶⁸ tn Grk “that one” (referring to God).

[8:43]  ³⁶⁹ tn Grk “you cannot hear,” but this is not a reference to deafness, but rather hearing in the sense of listening to something and responding to it.

[8:43]  ³⁷⁰ tn Grk “my word.”

[8:44]  ³⁷¹ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to clarify that the Greek pronoun and verb are plural.

[8:44]  ³⁷² tn Many translations read “You are of your father the devil” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NASB) or “You belong to your father, the devil” (NIV), but the Greek preposition ἐκ (ek) emphasizes the idea of source or origin. Jesus said his opponents were the devil’s very offspring (a statement which would certainly infuriate them).

[8:44]  ³⁷³ tn Grk “the desires of your father you want to do.”

[8:44]  ³⁷⁴ tn Grk “That one” (referring to the devil).

[8:44]  ³⁷⁵ tn Grk “he does not stand in the truth” (in the sense of maintaining, upholding, or accepting the validity of it).

[8:44]  ³⁷⁶ tn Grk “Whenever he speaks the lie.”

[8:44]  ³⁷⁷ tn Grk “he speaks from his own.”

[8:44]  ³⁷⁸ tn Grk “because he is a liar and the father of it.”

[8:45]  ³⁷⁹ tn Or “because I tell you.”

[8:46]  ³⁸⁰ tn Or “can convict me.”

[8:46]  ³⁸¹ tn Or “of having sinned”; Grk “of sin.”

[8:46]  ³⁸² tn Or “if I tell you.”

[8:47]  ³⁸³ tn Grk “who is of.”

[8:47]  ³⁸⁴ tn Grk “to God hears” (in the sense of listening to something and responding to it).

[8:47]  ³⁸⁵ tn Grk “you do not hear” (in the sense of listening to something and responding to it).

[8:47]  ³⁸⁶ tn Grk “you are not of God.”

[8:48]  ³⁸⁷ tn Grk “the Jews.” See the note on this term in v. 31. Here the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem (“Judeans”; cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e) who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple courts (8:20) and had initially believed his claim to be the Messiah (cf. 8:31). They had become increasingly hostile as Jesus continued to teach. Now they were ready to say that Jesus was demon-possessed.

[8:48]  ³⁸⁸ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[8:48]  ³⁸⁹ tn Grk “Do we not say rightly.”

[8:48]  ³⁹⁰ tn Grk “and have a demon.” It is not clear what is meant by the charge Σαμαρίτης εἶ σὺ καὶ δαιμόνιον ἔχεις (Samarith" ei su kai daimonion ecei"). The meaning could be “you are a heretic and are possessed by a demon.” Note that the dual charge gets one reply (John 8:49). Perhaps the phrases were interchangeable: Simon Magus (Acts 8:14-24) and in later traditions Dositheus, the two Samaritans who claimed to be sons of God, were regarded as mad, that is, possessed by demons.

[8:49]  ³⁹¹ tn Grk “I do not have a demon.”

[8:49]  ³⁹² tn “Yet” is supplied to show the contrastive element present in the context.

[8:50]  ³⁹³ tn Grk “I am not seeking.”

[8:50]  ³⁹⁴ tn Grk “my glory.”

[8:50]  ³⁹⁵ tn Grk “who seeks.”

[8:50]  ³⁹⁶ tn Or “will be the judge.”

[8:51]  ³⁹⁷ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[8:51]  ³⁹⁸ tn Grk “If anyone keeps.”

[8:51]  ³⁹⁹ tn Grk “my word.”

[8:51]  ⁴⁰⁰ tn Grk “he will never see death forever.” The Greek negative here is emphatic.

[8:51]  sn Those who keep Jesus’ words will not see death because they have already passed from death to life (cf. 5:24). In Johannine theology eternal life begins in the present rather than in the world to come.

[8:52]  ⁴⁰¹ tc ‡ Important and early witnesses (Ì⁶⁶ א B C W Θ 579 it) lack the conjunction here, while other witnesses read οὖν (oun, “therefore”; Ì⁷⁵ D L Ψ 070 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat). This conjunction occurs in John some 200 times, far more than in any other NT book. Even though the most important Johannine papyrus (Ì⁷⁵) has the conjunction, the combination of Ì⁶⁶ א B for the omission is even stronger. Further, the reading seems to be a predictable scribal emendation. In particular, οὖν is frequently used with the plural of εἶπον (eipon, “they said”) in John (in this chapter alone, note vv. 13, 39, 48, 57, and possibly 41). On balance, it is probably best to consider the shorter reading as authentic, even though “Then” is virtually required in translation for English stylistic reasons. NA²⁷ has the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

[8:52]  ⁴⁰² tn Grk “the Jews.” See the note on this term in v. 31. Here, as in vv. 31 and 48, the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem (“Judeans”; cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e) who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple courts (8:20) and had initially believed his claim to be the Messiah (cf. 8:31).

[8:52]  ⁴⁰³ tn Grk “said to him.”

[8:52]  ⁴⁰⁴ tn Grk “you have a demon.”

[8:52]  ⁴⁰⁵ tn “Yet” has been supplied to show the contrastive element present in the context.

[8:52]  ⁴⁰⁶ tn Grk “If anyone keeps.”

[8:52]  ⁴⁰⁷ tn Grk “my word.”

[8:52]  ⁴⁰⁸ tn Grk “will never taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).

[8:52]  ⁴⁰⁹ tn Grk “he will never taste of death forever.” The Greek negative here is emphatic.

[8:53]  ⁴¹⁰ 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 “are you?”).

[8:54]  ⁴¹¹ tn Grk “Jesus answered.”

[8:54]  ⁴¹² tn Grk “is nothing.”

[8:54]  ⁴¹³ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied in English to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.

[8:55]  ⁴¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Yet” to indicate the contrast present in the context.

[8:55]  ⁴¹⁵ tn Grk “If I say, ‘I do not know him.’”

[8:55]  ⁴¹⁶ tn Grk “I keep.”

[8:55]  ⁴¹⁷ tn Grk “his word.”

[8:56]  ⁴¹⁸ tn Or “rejoiced greatly.”

[8:56]  ⁴¹⁹ tn What is the meaning of Jesus’ statement that the patriarch Abraham “saw” his day and rejoiced? The use of past tenses would seem to refer to something that occurred during the patriarch’s lifetime. Genesis Rabbah 44:25ff, (cf. 59:6) states that Rabbi Akiba, in a debate with Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai, held that Abraham had been shown not this world only but the world to come (this would include the days of the Messiah). More realistically, it is likely that Gen 22:13-15 lies behind Jesus’ words. This passage, known to rabbis as the Akedah (“Binding”), tells of Abraham finding the ram which will replace his son Isaac on the altar of sacrifice – an occasion of certain rejoicing.

[8:57]  ⁴²⁰ tn Grk “Then the Jews.” See the note on this term in v. 31. Here, as in vv. 31, 48, and 52, the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem (“Judeans”; cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e) who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple courts (8:20) and had initially believed his claim to be the Messiah (cf. 8:31). They have now become completely hostile, as John 8:59 clearly shows.

[8:57]  ⁴²¹ tn Grk “said to him.”

[8:57]  ⁴²² tn Grk ‘You do not yet have fifty years” (an idiom).

[8:57]  ⁴²³ tn Grk “And have.”

[8:58]  ⁴²⁴ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[8:58]  ⁴²⁵ tn Grk “before Abraham was.”

[8:58]  ⁴²⁶ sn I am! is an explicit claim to deity. Although each occurrence of the phrase “I am” in the Fourth Gospel needs to be examined individually in context to see if an association with Exod 3:14 is present, it seems clear that this is the case here (as the response of the Jewish authorities in the following verse shows).

[8:59]  ⁴²⁷ tn Grk “they took up.”

[8:59]  ⁴²⁸ sn Jesus’ Jewish listeners understood his claim to deity, rejected it, and picked up stones to throw at him for what they considered blasphemy.

[8:59]  ⁴²⁹ tc Most later witnesses (A Θ^c Ë^1,13 Ï) have at the end of the verse “passing through their midst, he went away in this manner” (διελθὼν διὰ μέσου καὶ παρῆγεν οὕτως, dielqwn dia mesou kai parhgen {outw"), while many others have similar permutations (so א^1,2 C L N Ψ 070 33 579 892 1241 al). The wording is similar to two other texts: Luke 4:30 (διελθὼν διὰ μέσου; in several mss αὐτῶν ἐπορεύετο καί [autwn eporeueto kai] is found between this phrase and παρῆγεν, strengthening the parallel with Luke 4:30) and John 9:1 (παρῆγεν; cf. παράγων [paragwn] there). The effect is to signal Jesus’ departure as a miraculous cloaking. As such, the additional statement has all the earmarks of scribal amplification. Further, the best and earliest witnesses (Ì^66,75 א* B D W Θ* lat sa) lack these words, rendering the shorter text virtually certain.

[8:59]  tn Grk “from the temple.”

[12:23]  ⁴³⁰ tn Grk “Jesus answered them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.

[12:23]  ⁴³¹ tn Grk “the hour.”

[12:23]  ⁴³² sn Jesus’ reply, the time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified, is a bit puzzling. As far as the author’s account is concerned, Jesus totally ignores these Greeks and makes no further reference to them whatsoever. It appears that his words are addressed to Andrew and Philip, but in fact they must have had a wider audience, including possibly the Greeks who had wished to see him in the first place. The words the time has come recall all the previous references to “the hour” throughout the Fourth Gospel (see the note on time in 2:4). There is no doubt, in light of the following verse, that Jesus refers to his death here. On his pathway to glorification lies the cross, and it is just ahead.

[12:13]  ⁴³³ sn The Mosaic law stated (Lev 23:40) that branches of palm trees were to be used to celebrate the feast of Tabernacles. Later on they came to be used to celebrate other feasts as well (1 Macc. 13:51, 2 Macc. 10:7).

[12:13]  ⁴³⁴ tn Grk “And they were shouting.” An ingressive force for the imperfect tense (“they began to shout” or “they started shouting”) is natural in this sequence of events. The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) is left untranslated to improve the English style.

[12:13]  ⁴³⁵ tn The expression ῾Ωσαννά (Jwsanna, literally in Hebrew, “O Lord, save”) in the quotation from Ps 118:25-26 was probably by this time a familiar liturgical expression of praise, on the order of “Hail to the king,” although both the underlying Aramaic and Hebrew expressions meant “O Lord, save us.” As in Mark 11:9 the introductory ὡσαννά is followed by the words of Ps 118:25, εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου (euloghmeno" Jo ercomeno" en onomati kuriou), although in the Fourth Gospel the author adds for good measure καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ ᾿Ισραήλ (kai Jo basileu" tou Israhl). In words familiar to every Jew, the author is indicating that at this point every messianic expectation is now at the point of realization. It is clear from the words of the psalm shouted by the crowd that Jesus is being proclaimed as messianic king. See E. Lohse, TDNT 9:682-84.

[12:13]  sn Hosanna is an Aramaic expression that literally means, “help, I pray,” or “save, I pray.” By Jesus’ time it had become a strictly liturgical formula of praise, however, and was used as an exclamation of praise to God.

[12:13]  ⁴³⁶ sn A quotation from Ps 118:25-26.

[12:13]  ⁴³⁷ tn Grk “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.” The words “Blessed is” are not repeated in the Greek text, but are repeated in the translation to avoid the awkwardness in English of the ascensive καί (kai).

[1:1]  ⁴³⁸ sn In the beginning. The search for the basic “stuff” out of which things are made was the earliest one in Greek philosophy. It was attended by the related question of “What is the process by which the secondary things came out of the primary one (or ones)?,” or in Aristotelian terminology, “What is the ‘beginning’ (same Greek word as beginning, John 1:1) and what is the origin of the things that are made?” In the New Testament the word usually has a temporal sense, but even BDAG 138 s.v. ἀρχή 3 lists a major category of meaning as “the first cause.” For John, the words “In the beginning” are most likely a conscious allusion to the opening words of Genesis – “In the beginning.” Other concepts which occur prominently in Gen 1 are also found in John’s prologue: “life” (1:4) “light” (1:4) and “darkness” (1:5). Gen 1 describes the first (physical) creation; John 1 describes the new (spiritual) creation. But this is not to play off a false dichotomy between “physical” and “spiritual”; the first creation was both physical and spiritual. The new creation is really a re-creation, of the spiritual (first) but also the physical. (In spite of the common understanding of John’s “spiritual” emphasis, the “physical” re-creation should not be overlooked; this occurs in John 2 with the changing of water into wine, in John 11 with the resurrection of Lazarus, and the emphasis of John 20-21 on the aftermath of Jesus’ own resurrection.)

[1:1]  ⁴³⁹ tn The preposition πρός (pros) implies not just proximity, but intimate personal relationship. M. Dods stated, “Πρός …means more than μετά or παρά, and is regularly employed in expressing the presence of one person with another” (“The Gospel of St. John,” The Expositor’s Greek Testament, 1:684). See also Mark 6:3, Matt 13:56, Mark 9:19, Gal 1:18, 2 John 12.

[1:1]  ⁴⁴⁰ tn Or “and what God was the Word was.” Colwell’s Rule is often invoked to support the translation of θεός (qeos) as definite (“God”) rather than indefinite (“a god”) here. However, Colwell’s Rule merely permits, but does not demand, that a predicate nominative ahead of an equative verb be translated as definite rather than indefinite. Furthermore, Colwell’s Rule did not deal with a third possibility, that the anarthrous predicate noun may have more of a qualitative nuance when placed ahead of the verb. A definite meaning for the term is reflected in the traditional rendering “the word was God.” From a technical standpoint, though, it is preferable to see a qualitative aspect to anarthrous θεός in John 1:1c (ExSyn 266-69). Translations like the NEB, REB, and Moffatt are helpful in capturing the sense in John 1:1c, that the Word was fully deity in essence (just as much God as God the Father). However, in contemporary English “the Word was divine” (Moffatt) does not quite catch the meaning since “divine” as a descriptive term is not used in contemporary English exclusively of God. The translation “what God was the Word was” is perhaps the most nuanced rendering, conveying that everything God was in essence, the Word was too. This points to unity of essence between the Father and the Son without equating the persons. However, in surveying a number of native speakers of English, some of whom had formal theological training and some of whom did not, the editors concluded that the fine distinctions indicated by “what God was the Word was” would not be understood by many contemporary readers. Thus the translation “the Word was fully God” was chosen because it is more likely to convey the meaning to the average English reader that the Logos (which “became flesh and took up residence among us” in John 1:14 and is thereafter identified in the Fourth Gospel as Jesus) is one in essence with God the Father. The previous phrase, “the Word was with God,” shows that the Logos is distinct in person from God the Father.

[1:1]  sn And the Word was fully God. John’s theology consistently drives toward the conclusion that Jesus, the incarnate Word, is just as much God as God the Father. This can be seen, for example, in texts like John 10:30 (“The Father and I are one”), 17:11 (“so that they may be one just as we are one”), and 8:58 (“before Abraham came into existence, I am”). The construction in John 1:1c does not equate the Word with the person of God (this is ruled out by 1:1b, “the Word was with God”); rather it affirms that the Word and God are one in essence.

[1:2]  ⁴⁴¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the Word) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:3]  ⁴⁴² tn Or “made”; Grk “came into existence.”

[1:3]  ⁴⁴³ tn Or “made”; Grk “nothing came into existence.”

[1:3]  ⁴⁴⁴ tc There is a major punctuation problem here: Should this relative clause go with v. 3 or v. 4? The earliest mss have no punctuation (Ì^66,75* א* A B Δ al). Many of the later mss which do have punctuation place it before the phrase, thus putting it with v. 4 (Ì^75c C D L W^s 050* pc). NA²⁵ placed the phrase in v. 3; NA²⁶ moved the words to the beginning of v. 4. In a detailed article K. Aland defended the change (“Eine Untersuchung zu Johannes 1, 3-4. Über die Bedeutung eines Punktes,” ZNW 59 [1968]: 174-209). He sought to prove that the attribution of ὃ γέγονεν (}o gegonen) to v. 3 began to be carried out in the 4th century in the Greek church. This came out of the Arian controversy, and was intended as a safeguard for doctrine. The change was unknown in the West. Aland is probably correct in affirming that the phrase was attached to v. 4 by the Gnostics and the Eastern Church; only when the Arians began to use the phrase was it attached to v. 3. But this does not rule out the possibility that, by moving the words from v. 4 to v. 3, one is restoring the original reading. Understanding the words as part of v. 3 is natural and adds to the emphasis which is built up there, while it also gives a terse, forceful statement in v. 4. On the other hand, taking the phrase ὃ γέγονεν with v. 4 gives a complicated expression: C. K. Barrett says that both ways of understanding v. 4 with ὃ γέγονεν included “are almost impossibly clumsy” (St. John, 157): “That which came into being – in it the Word was life”; “That which came into being – in the Word was its life.” The following stylistic points should be noted in the solution of this problem: (1) John frequently starts sentences with ἐν (en); (2) he repeats frequently (“nothing was created that has been created”); (3) 5:26 and 6:53 both give a sense similar to v. 4 if it is understood without the phrase; (4) it makes far better Johannine sense to say that in the Word was life than to say that the created universe (what was made, ὃ γέγονεν) was life in him. In conclusion, the phrase is best taken with v. 3. Schnackenburg, Barrett, Carson, Haenchen, Morris, KJV, and NIV concur (against Brown, Beasley-Murray, and NEB). The arguments of R. Schnackenburg, St. John, 1:239-40, are particularly persuasive.

[1:3]  tn Or “made”; Grk “that has come into existence.”

[1:4]  ⁴⁴⁵ tn John uses ζωή (zwh) 37 times: 17 times it occurs with αἰώνιος (aiwnios), and in the remaining occurrences outside the prologue it is clear from context that “eternal” life is meant. The two uses in 1:4, if they do not refer to “eternal” life, would be the only exceptions. (Also 1 John uses ζωή 13 times, always of “eternal” life.)

[1:4]  sn An allusion to Ps 36:9, which gives significant OT background: “For with you is the fountain of life; In your light we see light.” In later Judaism, Bar 4:2 expresses a similar idea. Life, especially eternal life, will become one of the major themes of John’s Gospel.

[1:4]  ⁴⁴⁶ tn Or “humanity”; Grk “of men” (but ἄνθρωπος [anqrwpo"] is used in a generic sense here, not restricted to males only, thus “mankind,” “humanity”).

[1:5]  ⁴⁴⁷ 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]  ⁴⁴⁸ 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]  ⁴⁴⁹ tn Grk “and,” but the context clearly indicates a contrast, so this has been translated as an adversative use of καί (kai).

[1:5]  ⁴⁵⁰ 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]  ⁴⁵¹ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[1:7]  ⁴⁵² 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]  ⁴⁵³ tn Or “to bear witness.”

[1:7]  ⁴⁵⁴ tn Grk “all.”

[1:8]  ⁴⁵⁵ tn Or “to bear witness.”

[1:9]  ⁴⁵⁶ tn Grk “every man” (but in a generic sense, “every person,” or “every human being”).

[1:9]  ⁴⁵⁷ tn Or “He was the true light, who gives light to everyone who comes into the world.” The participle ἐρχόμενον (ercomenon) may be either (1) neuter nominative, agreeing with τὸ φῶς (to fw"), or (2) masculine accusative, agreeing with ἄνθρωπον (anqrwpon). Option (1) results in a periphrastic imperfect with ἦν (hn), ἦν τὸ φῶς… ἐρχόμενον, referring to the incarnation. Option (2) would have the participle modifying ἄνθρωπον and referring to the true light as enlightening “every man who comes into the world.” Option (2) has some rabbinic parallels: The phrase “all who come into the world” is a fairly common expression for “every man” (cf. Leviticus Rabbah 31.6). But (1) must be preferred here, because: (a) In the next verse the light is in the world; it is logical for v. 9 to speak of its entering the world; (b) in other passages Jesus is described as “coming into the world” (6:14, 9:39, 11:27, 16:28) and in 12:46 Jesus says: ἐγὼ φῶς εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἐλήλυθα (egw fw" ei" ton kosmon elhluqa); (c) use of a periphrastic participle with the imperfect tense is typical Johannine style: 1:28, 2:6, 3:23, 10:40, 11:1, 13:23, 18:18 and 25. In every one of these except 13:23 the finite verb is first and separated by one or more intervening words from the participle.

[1:9]  sn In v. 9 the world (κόσμος, kosmos) is mentioned for the first time. This is another important theme word for John. Generally, the world as a Johannine concept does not refer to the totality of creation (the universe), although there are exceptions at 11:9. 17:5, 24, 21:25, but to the world of human beings and human affairs. Even in 1:10 the world created through the Logos is a world capable of knowing (or reprehensibly not knowing) its Creator. Sometimes the world is further qualified as this world (ὁ κόσμος οὗτος, Jo kosmos Joutos) as in 8:23, 9:39, 11:9, 12:25, 31; 13:1, 16:11, 18:36. This is not merely equivalent to the rabbinic phrase “this present age” (ὁ αἰών οὗτος, Jo aiwn Joutos) and contrasted with “the world to come.” For John it is also contrasted to a world other than this one, already existing; this is the lower world, corresponding to which there is a world above (see especially 8:23, 18:36). Jesus appears not only as the Messiah by means of whom an eschatological future is anticipated (as in the synoptic gospels) but also as an envoy from the heavenly world to this world.

[1:10]  ⁴⁵⁸ tn Or “was made”; Grk “came into existence.”

[1:10]  ⁴⁵⁹ tn Grk “and,” but in context this is an adversative use of καί (kai) and is thus translated “but.”

[1:10]  ⁴⁶⁰ tn Or “know.”

[1:11]  ⁴⁶¹ tn Grk “to his own things.”

[1:11]  ⁴⁶² tn Grk “and,” but in context this is an adversative use of καί (kai) and is thus translated “but.”

[1:11]  ⁴⁶³ tn “People” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[1:11]  ⁴⁶⁴ sn His own people did not receive him. There is a subtle irony here: When the λόγος (logos) came into the world, he came to his own (τὰ ἴδια, ta idia, literally “his own things”) and his own people (οἱ ἴδιοι, Joi idioi), who should have known and received him, but they did not. This time John does not say that “his own” did not know him, but that they did not receive him (παρέλαβον, parelabon). The idea is one not of mere recognition, but of acceptance and welcome.

[1:12]  ⁴⁶⁵ tn On the use of the πιστεύω + εἰς (pisteuw + ei") construction in John: The verb πιστεύω occurs 98 times in John (compared to 11 times in Matthew, 14 times in Mark [including the longer ending], and 9 times in Luke). One of the unsolved mysteries is why the corresponding noun form πίστις (pistis) is never used at all. Many have held the noun was in use in some pre-Gnostic sects and this rendered it suspect for John. It might also be that for John, faith was an activity, something that men do (cf. W. Turner, “Believing and Everlasting Life – A Johannine Inquiry,” ExpTim 64 [1952/53]: 50-52). John uses πιστεύω in 4 major ways: (1) of believing facts, reports, etc., 12 times; (2) of believing people (or the scriptures), 19 times; (3) of believing “in” Christ” (πιστεύω + εἰς + acc.), 36 times; (4) used absolutely without any person or object specified, 30 times (the one remaining passage is 2:24, where Jesus refused to “trust” himself to certain individuals). Of these, the most significant is the use of πιστεύω with εἰς + accusative. It is not unlike the Pauline ἐν Χριστῷ (en Cristw) formula. Some have argued that this points to a Hebrew (more likely Aramaic) original behind the Fourth Gospel. But it probably indicates something else, as C. H. Dodd observed: “πιστεύειν with the dative so inevitably connoted simple credence, in the sense of an intellectual judgment, that the moral element of personal trust or reliance inherent in the Hebrew or Aramaic phrase – an element integral to the primitive Christian conception of faith in Christ – needed to be otherwise expressed” (The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel, 183).

[1:13]  ⁴⁶⁶ tn The Greek term translated “born” here also involves conception.

[1:13]  ⁴⁶⁷ tn Grk “of blood(s).” The plural αἱμάτων (Jaimatwn) has seemed a problem to many interpreters. At least some sources in antiquity imply that blood was thought of as being important in the development of the fetus during its time in the womb: thus Wis 7:1: “in the womb of a mother I was molded into flesh, within the period of 10 months, compacted with blood, from the seed of a man and the pleasure of marriage.” In John 1:13, the plural αἱμάτων may imply the action of both parents. It may also refer to the “genetic” contribution of both parents, and so be equivalent to “human descent” (see BDAG 26 s.v. αἷμα 1.a). E. C. Hoskyns thinks John could not have used the singular here because Christians are in fact ‘begotten’ by the blood of Christ (The Fourth Gospel, 143), although the context would seem to make it clear that the blood in question is something other than the blood of Christ.

[1:13]  ⁴⁶⁸ tn Or “of the will of the flesh.” The phrase οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος σαρκός (oude ek qelhmato" sarko") is more clearly a reference to sexual desire, but it should be noted that σάρξ (sarx) in John does not convey the evil sense common in Pauline usage. For John it refers to the physical nature in its weakness rather than in its sinfulness. There is no clearer confirmation of this than the immediately following verse, where the λόγος (logos) became σάρξ.

[1:13]  ⁴⁶⁹ tn Or “man’s.”

[1:13]  ⁴⁷⁰ tn The third phrase, οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος ἀνδρός (oude ek qelhmato" andros), means much the same as the second one. The word here (ἀνηρ, anhr) is often used for a husband, resulting in the translation “or a husband’s decision,” or more generally, “or of any human volition whatsoever.” L. Morris may be right when he sees here an emphasis directed at the Jewish pride in race and patriarchal ancestry, although such a specific reference is difficult to prove (John [NICNT], 101).

[1:14]  ⁴⁷¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic, the incarnation of the Word. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[1:14]  ⁴⁷² tn This looks at the Word incarnate in humility and weakness; the word σάρξ (sarx) does not carry overtones of sinfulness here as it frequently does in Pauline usage. See also John 3:6.

[1:14]  ⁴⁷³ tn Grk “and tabernacled.”

[1:14]  sn The Greek word translated took up residence (σκηνόω, skhnow) alludes to the OT tabernacle, where the Shekinah, the visible glory of God’s presence, resided. The author is suggesting that this glory can now be seen in Jesus (note the following verse). The verb used here may imply that the Shekinah glory that once was found in the tabernacle has taken up residence in the person of Jesus. Cf. also John 2:19-21. The Word became flesh. This verse constitutes the most concise statement of the incarnation in the New Testament. John 1:1 makes it clear that the Logos was fully God, but 1:14 makes it clear that he was also fully human. A Docetic interpretation is completely ruled out. Here for the first time the Logos of 1:1 is identified as Jesus of Nazareth – the two are one and the same. Thus this is the last time the word logos is used in the Fourth Gospel to refer to the second person of the Trinity. From here on it is Jesus of Nazareth who is the focus of John’s Gospel.

[1:14]  ⁴⁷⁴ tn Grk “and we saw.”

[1:14]  ⁴⁷⁵ tn Or “of the unique one.” Although this word is often translated “only begotten,” such a translation is misleading, since in English it appears to express a metaphysical relationship. The word in Greek was used of an only child (a son [Luke 7:12, 9:38] or a daughter [Luke 8:42]). It was also used of something unique (only one of its kind) such as the mythological Phoenix (1 Clem. 25:2). From here it passes easily to a description of Isaac (Heb 11:17 and Josephus, Ant., 1.13.1 [1.222]) who was not Abraham’s only son, but was one-of-a-kind because he was the child of the promise. Thus the word means “one-of-a-kind” and is reserved for Jesus in the Johannine literature of the NT. While all Christians are children of God, Jesus is God’s Son in a unique, one-of-a-kind sense. The word is used in this way in all its uses in the Gospel of John (1:14, 1:18, 3:16, and 3:18).

[1:15]  ⁴⁷⁶ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[1:15]  ⁴⁷⁷ tn Or “bore witness.”

[1:15]  ⁴⁷⁸ tn Grk “and shouted out saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant is English and has not been translated.

[1:15]  ⁴⁷⁹ tn Or “has a higher rank than I.”

[1:16]  ⁴⁸⁰ tn Grk “for from his fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” The meaning of the phrase χάριν ἀντὶ χάριτος (carin anti carito") could be: (1) love (grace) under the New Covenant in place of love (grace) under the Sinai Covenant, thus replacement; (2) grace “on top of” grace, thus accumulation; (3) grace corresponding to grace, thus correspondence. The most commonly held view is (2) in one sense or another, and this is probably the best explanation. This sense is supported by a fairly well-known use in Philo, Posterity 43 (145). Morna D. Hooker suggested that Exod 33:13 provides the background for this expression: “Now therefore, I pray you, if I have found χάρις (LXX) in your sight, let me know your ways, that I may know you, so that I may find χάρις (LXX) in your sight.” Hooker proposed that it is this idea of favor given to one who has already received favor which lies behind 1:16, and this seems very probable as a good explanation of the meaning of the phrase (“The Johannine Prologue and the Messianic Secret,” NTS 21 [1974/75]: 53).

[1:16]  sn Earlier commentators (including Origen and Luther) took the words For we have all received from his fullness one gracious gift after another to be John the Baptist’s. Most modern commentators take them as the words of the author.

[1:17]  ⁴⁸¹ tn “But” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the implied contrast between the Mosaic law and grace through Jesus Christ. John 1:17 seems to indicate clearly that the Old Covenant (Sinai) was being contrasted with the New. In Jewish sources the Law was regarded as a gift from God (Josephus, Ant. 3.8.10 [3.223]; Pirqe Avot 1.1; Sifre Deut 31:4 §305). Further information can be found in T. F. Glasson, Moses in the Fourth Gospel (SBT).

[1:18]  ⁴⁸² tc The textual problem μονογενὴς θεός (monogenh" qeo", “the only God”) versus ὁ μονογενὴς υἱός (Jo monogenh" Juio", “the only son”) is a notoriously difficult one. Only one letter would have differentiated the readings in the mss, since both words would have been contracted as nomina sacra: thus qMs or uMs. Externally, there are several variants, but they can be grouped essentially by whether they read θεός or υἱός. The majority of mss, especially the later ones (A C³ Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï lat), read ὁ μονογενὴς υἱός. Ì⁷⁵ א¹ 33 pc have ὁ μονογενὴς θεός, while the anarthrous μονογενὴς θεός is found in Ì⁶⁶ א* B C* L pc. The articular θεός is almost certainly a scribal emendation to the anarthrous θεός, for θεός without the article is a much harder reading. The external evidence thus strongly supports μονογενὴς θεός. Internally, although υἱός fits the immediate context more readily, θεός is much more difficult. As well, θεός also explains the origin of the other reading (υἱός), because it is difficult to see why a scribe who found υἱός in the text he was copying would alter it to θεός. Scribes would naturally change the wording to υἱός however, since μονογενὴς υἱός is a uniquely Johannine christological title (cf. John 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9). But θεός as the older and more difficult reading is preferred. As for translation, it makes the most sense to see the word θεός as in apposition to μονογενής, and the participle ὁ ὤν (Jo wn) as in apposition to θεός, giving in effect three descriptions of Jesus rather than only two. (B. D. Ehrman, The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture, 81, suggests that it is nearly impossible and completely unattested in the NT for an adjective followed immediately by a noun that agrees in gender, number, and case, to be a substantival adjective: “when is an adjective ever used substantivally when it immediately precedes a noun of the same inflection?” This, however, is an overstatement. First, as Ehrman admits, μονογενής in John 1:14 is substantival. And since it is an established usage for the adjective in this context, one might well expect that the author would continue to use the adjective substantivally four verses later. Indeed, μονογενής is already moving toward a crystallized substantival adjective in the NT [cf. Luke 9:38; Heb 11:17]; in patristic Greek, the process continued [cf. PGL 881 s.v. 7]. Second, there are several instances in the NT in which a substantival adjective is followed by a noun with which it has complete concord: cf., e.g., Rom 1:30; Gal 3:9; 1 Tim 1:9; 2 Pet 2:5.) The modern translations which best express this are the NEB (margin) and TEV. Several things should be noted: μονογενής alone, without υἱός, can mean “only son,” “unique son,” “unique one,” etc. (see 1:14). Furthermore, θεός is anarthrous. As such it carries qualitative force much like it does in 1:1c, where θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος (qeo" hn Jo logo") means “the Word was fully God” or “the Word was fully of the essence of deity.” Finally, ὁ ὤν occurs in Rev 1:4, 8; 4:8, 11:17; and 16:5, but even more significantly in the LXX of Exod 3:14. Putting all of this together leads to the translation given in the text.

[1:18]  tn Or “The unique one.” For the meaning of μονογενής (monogenh") see the note on “one and only” in 1:14.

[1:18]  ⁴⁸³ tn Grk “in the bosom of” (an idiom for closeness or nearness; cf. L&N 34.18; BDAG 556 s.v. κόλπος 1).

[1:18]  ⁴⁸⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:18]  ⁴⁸⁵ sn Has made God known. In this final verse of the prologue, the climactic and ultimate statement of the earthly career of the Logos, Jesus of Nazareth, is reached. The unique One (John 1:14), the One who has taken on human form and nature by becoming incarnate (became flesh, 1:14), who is himself fully God (the Word was God, 1:1c) and is to be identified with the ever-living One of the Old Testament revelation (Exod 3:14), who is in intimate relationship with the Father, this One and no other has fully revealed what God is like. As Jesus said to Philip in John 14:9, “The one who has seen me has seen the Father.”

[1:19]  ⁴⁸⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[1:19]  ⁴⁸⁷ tn Grk “is.”

[1:19]  ⁴⁸⁸ sn John’s refers to John the Baptist.

[1:19]  ⁴⁸⁹ tn Or “witness.”

[1:19]  sn John the Baptist’s testimony seems to take place over 3 days: day 1, John’s testimony about his own role is largely negative (1:19-28); day 2, John gives positive testimony about who Jesus is (1:29-34); day 3, John sends his own disciples to follow Jesus (1:35-40).

[1:19]  ⁴⁹⁰ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Iουδαῖοι (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. Here the author refers to the authorities or leaders in Jerusalem. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.)

[1:19]  ⁴⁹¹ tc ‡ Several important witnesses have πρὸς αὐτόν (pro" auton, “to him”) either here (B C* 33 892^c al it) or after “Levites” (Ì^{66c vid} A Θ Ψ Ë¹³ 579 al lat), while the earliest mss as well as the majority of mss (Ì^66*,75 א C³ L W^s ˹ Ï) lack the phrase. On the one hand, πρὸς αὐτόν could be perceived as redundant since αὐτόν is used again later in the verse, thus prompting scribes to omit the phrase. On the other hand, both the variation in placement of πρὸς αὐτόν and the fact that this phrase rather than the latter αὐτόν is lacking in certain witnesses (cf. John 11:44; 14:7; 18:31), suggests that scribes felt that the sentence needed the phrase to make the sense clearer. Although a decision is difficult, the shorter reading is slightly preferred. NA²⁷ has πρὸς αὐτόν in brackets, indicating doubt as to the phrase’s authenticity.

[1:19]  ⁴⁹² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:19]  ⁴⁹³ sn “Who are you?” No uniform Jewish expectation of a single eschatological figure existed in the 1st century. A majority expected the Messiah. But some pseudepigraphic books describe God’s intervention without mentioning the anointed Davidic king; in parts of 1 Enoch, for example, the figure of the Son of Man, not the Messiah, embodies the expectations of the author. Essenes at Qumran seem to have expected three figures: a prophet, a priestly messiah, and a royal messiah. In baptizing, John the Baptist was performing an eschatological action. It also seems to have been part of his proclamation (John 1:23, 26-27). Crowds were beginning to follow him. He was operating in an area not too far from the Essene center on the Dead Sea. No wonder the authorities were curious about who he was.

[1:20]  ⁴⁹⁴ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[1:20]  sn “I am not the Christ.” A 3rd century work, the pseudo-Clementine Recognitions (1.54 and 1.60 in the Latin text; the statement is not as clear in the Syriac version) records that John’s followers proclaimed him to be the Messiah. There is no clear evidence that they did so in the 1st century, however – but Luke 3:15 indicates some wondered. Concerning the Christ, the term χριστός (cristos) was originally an adjective (“anointed”), developing in LXX into a substantive (“an anointed one”), then developing still further into a technical generic term (“the anointed one”). In the intertestamental period it developed further into a technical term referring to the hoped-for anointed one, that is, a specific individual. In the NT the development starts there (technical-specific), is so used in the gospels, and then develops in Paul to mean virtually Jesus’ last name.

[1:21]  ⁴⁹⁵ tn Grk “What then?” (an idiom).

[1:21]  ⁴⁹⁶ sn According to the 1st century rabbinic interpretation of 2 Kgs 2:11, Elijah was still alive. In Mal 4:5 it is said that Elijah would be the precursor of Messiah. How does one reconcile John the Baptist’s denial here (“I am not”) with Jesus’ statements in Matt 11:14 (see also Mark 9:13 and Matt 17:12) that John the Baptist was Elijah? Some have attempted to remove the difficulty by a reconstruction of the text in the Gospel of John which makes the Baptist say that he was Elijah. However, external support for such emendations is lacking. According to Gregory the Great, John was not Elijah, but exercised toward Jesus the function of Elijah by preparing his way. But this avoids the real difficulty, since in John’s Gospel the question of the Jewish authorities to the Baptist concerns precisely his function. It has also been suggested that the author of the Gospel here preserves a historically correct reminiscence – that John the Baptist did not think of himself as Elijah, although Jesus said otherwise. Mark 6:14-16 and Mark 8:28 indicate the people and Herod both distinguished between John and Elijah – probably because he did not see himself as Elijah. But Jesus’ remarks in Matt 11:14, Mark 9:13, and Matt 17:12 indicate that John did perform the function of Elijah – John did for Jesus what Elijah was to have done for the coming of the Lord. C. F. D. Moule pointed out that it is too simple to see a straight contradiction between John’s account and that of the synoptic gospels: “We have to ask by whom the identification is made, and by whom refused. The synoptic gospels represent Jesus as identifying, or comparing, the Baptist with Elijah, while John represents the Baptist as rejecting the identification when it is offered him by his interviewers. Now these two, so far from being incompatible, are psychologically complementary. The Baptist humbly rejects the exalted title, but Jesus, on the contrary, bestows it on him. Why should not the two both be correct?” (The Phenomenon of the New Testament [SBT], 70).

[1:21]  ⁴⁹⁷ sn The Prophet is a reference to the “prophet like Moses” of Deut 18:15, by this time an eschatological figure in popular belief. Acts 3:22 identifies Jesus as this prophet.

[1:22]  ⁴⁹⁸ tn The words “Tell us” are not in the Greek but are implied.

[1:23]  ⁴⁹⁹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:23]  ⁵⁰⁰ sn This call to “make straight” is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance.

[1:23]  ⁵⁰¹ sn A quotation from Isa 40:3.

[1:24]  ⁵⁰² sn Pharisees were members of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.

[1:24]  ⁵⁰³ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[1:25]  ⁵⁰⁴ tn Grk “And they asked him, and said to him”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity, and the phrase has been simplified in the translation to “So they asked John.”

[1:25]  ⁵⁰⁵ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[1:25]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[1:26]  ⁵⁰⁶ tn Grk “answered them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[1:26]  ⁵⁰⁷ tn Or “know.”

[1:27]  ⁵⁰⁸ tn Grk “of whom I am not worthy.”

[1:27]  sn The humility of John is evident in the statement I am not worthy. This was considered one of the least worthy tasks of a slave, and John did not consider himself worthy to do even that for the one to come, despite the fact he himself was a prophet.

[1:27]  ⁵⁰⁹ tn The term refers to the leather strap or thong used to bind a sandal. This is often viewed as a collective singular and translated as a plural, “the straps of his sandals,” but it may be more emphatic to retain the singular here.

[1:28]  ⁵¹⁰ tc Many witnesses ([א²] C² K T Ψ^c 083 Ë^1,13 33 pm sa Or) read Βηθαβαρᾷ (Bhqabara, “Bethabara”) instead of Βηθανίᾳ (Bhqania, “Bethany”). But the reading Βηθανίᾳ is strongly supported by {Ì^66,75 A B C* L W^s Δ Θ Ψ* 565 579 700 1241 1424 pm latt bo as well as several fathers}. Since there is no known Bethany “beyond the Jordan,” it is likely that the name would have been changed to a more etymologically edifying one (Origen mistakenly thought the name Bethabara meant “house of preparation” and for this reason was appropriate in this context; see TCGNT 171 for discussion). On the other hand, both since Origen’s understanding of the Semitic etymology of Bethabara was incorrect, and because Bethany was at least a well-known location in Palestine, mentioned in the Gospels about a dozen times, one has to wonder whether scribes replaced Βηθαβαρᾷ with Βηθανίᾳ. However, if Origen’s understanding of the etymology of the name was representative, scribes may have altered the text in the direction of Bethabara. And even if most scribes were unfamiliar with what the name might signify, that a reading which did not contradict the Gospels’ statements of a Bethany near Jerusalem was already at hand may have been sufficient reason for them to adopt Bethabara. Further, in light of the very strong testimony for Βηθανίᾳ, this reading should be regarded as authentic.

[1:28]  ⁵¹¹ tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[1:29]  ⁵¹² tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:29]  ⁵¹³ sn Gen 22:8 is an important passage in the background of the title Lamb of God as applied to Jesus. In Jewish thought this was held to be a supremely important sacrifice. G. Vermès stated: “For the Palestinian Jew, all lamb sacrifice, and especially the Passover lamb and the Tamid offering, was a memorial of the Akedah with its effects of deliverance, forgiveness of sin and messianic salvation” (Scripture and Tradition in Judaism [StPB], 225).

[1:30]  ⁵¹⁴ tn Or “has a higher rank than I.”

[1:31]  ⁵¹⁵ tn Or “know.”

[1:31]  ⁵¹⁶ sn John the Baptist, who has been so reluctant to elaborate his own role, now more than willingly gives his testimony about Jesus. For the author, the emphasis is totally on John the Baptist as a witness to Jesus. No attention is given to the Baptist’s call to national repentance and very little to his baptizing. Everything is focused on what he has to say about Jesus: so that he could be revealed to Israel.

[1:32]  ⁵¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events in the narrative. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[1:32]  ⁵¹⁸ tn Grk “testified, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[1:32]  ⁵¹⁹ sn The phrase like a dove is a descriptive comparison. The Spirit is not a dove, but descended like one in some sort of bodily representation.

[1:32]  ⁵²⁰ tn Or “from the sky.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context.

[1:32]  ⁵²¹ sn John says the Spirit remained on Jesus. The Greek verb μένω (menw) is a favorite Johannine word, used 40 times in the Gospel and 27 times in the Epistles (67 together) against 118 times total in the NT. The general significance of the verb μένω for John is to express the permanency of relationship between Father and Son and Son and believer. Here the use of the word implies that Jesus permanently possesses the Holy Spirit, and because he does, he will dispense the Holy Spirit to others in baptism. Other notes on the dispensation of the Spirit occur at John 3:5 and following (at least implied by the wordplay), John 3:34, 7:38-39, numerous passages in John 14-16 (the Paraclete passages) and John 20:22. Note also the allusion to Isa 42:1 – “Behold my servant…my chosen one in whom my soul delights. I have put my Spirit on him.”

[1:34]  ⁵²² tc ‡ What did John the Baptist declare about Jesus on this occasion? Did he say, “This is the Son of God” (οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, |outo" estin Jo Juio" tou qeou), or “This is the Chosen One of God” (οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἐκλεκτὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, outo" estin Jo eklekto" tou qeou)? The majority of the witnesses, impressive because of their diversity in age and locales, read “This is the Son of God” (so {Ì^66,75 A B C L Θ Ψ 0233^vid Ë^1,13 33 1241 aur c f l g bo as well as the majority of Byzantine minuscules and many others}). Most scholars take this to be sufficient evidence to regard the issue as settled without much of a need to reflect on internal evidence. On the other hand, one of the earliest mss for this verse, {Ì⁵} (3rd century), evidently read οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἐκλεκτὸς τοῦ θεοῦ. (There is a gap in the ms at the point of the disputed words; it is too large for υἱός especially if written, as it surely would have been, as a nomen sacrum [uMs]. The term ἐκλεκτός was not a nomen sacrum and would have therefore taken up much more space [eklektos]. Given these two variants, there is hardly any question as to what Ì⁵ read.) This papyrus has many affinities with א*, which here also has ὁ ἐκλεκτός. In addition to their combined testimony Ì^106vid b e ff^2* sy^s,c also support this reading. ̹⁰⁶ is particularly impressive, for it is a second third-century papyrus in support of ὁ ἐκλεκτός. A third reading combines these two: “the elect Son” (electus filius in ff^2c sa and a [with slight variation]). Although the evidence for ἐκλεκτός is not as impressive as that for υἱός, the reading is found in early Alexandrian and Western witnesses. Turning to the internal evidence, “the Chosen One” clearly comes out ahead. “Son of God” is a favorite expression of the author (cf. 1:49; 3:18; 5:25; 10:36; 11:4, 27; 19:7; 20:31); further, there are several other references to “his Son,” “the Son,” etc. Scribes would be naturally motivated to change ἐκλεκτός to υἱός since the latter is both a Johannine expression and is, on the surface, richer theologically in 1:34. On the other hand, there is not a sufficient reason for scribes to change υἱός to ἐκλεκτός. The term never occurs in John; even its verbal cognate (ἐκλέγω, eklegw) is never affirmed of Jesus in this Gospel. ἐκλεκτός clearly best explains the rise of υἱός. Further, the third reading (“Chosen Son of God”) is patently a conflation of the other two. It has all the earmarks of adding υἱός to ἐκλεκτός. Thus, ὁ υἱός τοῦ θεοῦ is almost certainly a motivated reading. As R. E. Brown notes (John [AB], 1:57), “On the basis of theological tendency…it is difficult to imagine that Christian scribes would change ‘the Son of God’ to ‘God’s chosen one,’ while a change in the opposite direction would be quite plausible. Harmonization with the Synoptic accounts of the baptism (‘You are [This is] my beloved Son’) would also explain the introduction of ‘the Son of God’ into John; the same phenomenon occurs in vi 69. Despite the weaker textual evidence, therefore, it seems best – with Lagrange, Barrett, Boismard, and others – to accept ‘God’s chosen one’ as original.”

[1:35]  ⁵²³ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[1:35]  ⁵²⁴ tn “There” is not in the Greek text but is implied by current English idiom.

[1:36]  ⁵²⁵ sn This section (1:35-51) is joined to the preceding by the literary expedient of repeating the Baptist’s testimony about Jesus being the Lamb of God (1:36, cf. 1:29). This repeated testimony (1:36) no longer has revelatory value in itself, since it has been given before; its purpose, instead, is to institute a chain reaction which will bring John the Baptist’s disciples to Jesus and make them Jesus’ own disciples.

[1:37]  ⁵²⁶ tn Grk “his”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:37]  ⁵²⁷ tn Grk “And the two disciples heard him speaking.”

[1:37]  ⁵²⁸ sn The expression followed Jesus pictures discipleship, which means that to learn from Jesus is to follow him as the guiding priority of one’s life.

[1:38]  ⁵²⁹ tn Grk “What are you seeking?”

[1:38]  ⁵³⁰ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[1:39]  ⁵³¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:39]  ⁵³² tn Grk “said to them.”

[1:39]  ⁵³³ tn Grk “about the tenth hour.”

[1:39]  sn About four o’clock in the afternoon. What system of time reckoning is the author using? B. F. Westcott thought John, unlike the synoptic gospels, was using Roman time, which started at midnight (St. John, 282). This would make the time 10 a.m., which would fit here. But later in the Gospel’s Passover account (John 19:42, where the sixth hour is on the “eve of the Passover”) it seems clear the author had to be using Jewish reckoning, which began at 6 a.m. This would make the time here in 1:39 to be 4 p.m. This may be significant: If the hour was late, Andrew and the unnamed disciple probably spent the night in the same house where Jesus was staying, and the events of 1:41-42 took place on the next day. The evidence for Westcott’s view, that the Gospel is using Roman time, is very slim. The Roman reckoning which started at midnight was only used by authorities as legal time (for contracts, official documents, etc.). Otherwise, the Romans too reckoned time from 6 a.m. (e.g., Roman sundials are marked VI, not XII, for noon).

[1:40]  ⁵³⁴ tn Grk “who heard from John.”

[1:40]  ⁵³⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:41]  ⁵³⁶ tc Most witnesses (א* L W^s Ï) read πρῶτος (prwtos) here instead of πρῶτον (prwton). The former reading would be a predicate adjective and suggest that Andrew “was the first” person to proselytize another regarding Jesus. The reading preferred, however, is the neuter πρῶτον, used as an adverb (BDAG 893 s.v. πρῶτος 1.a.β.), and it suggests that the first thing that Andrew did was to proselytize Peter. The evidence for this reading is early and weighty: Ì^66,75 א² A B Θ Ψ 083 Ë^1,13 892 al lat.

[1:41]  ⁵³⁷ sn Naturally part of Andrew’s concept of the Messiah would have been learned from John the Baptist (v. 40). However, there were a number of different messianic expectations in 1st century Palestine (see the note on “Who are you?” in v. 19), and it would be wrong to assume that what Andrew meant here is the same thing the author means in the purpose statement at the end of the Fourth Gospel, 20:31. The issue here is not whether the disciples’ initial faith in Jesus as Messiah was genuine or not, but whether their concept of who Jesus was grew and developed progressively as they spent time following him, until finally after his resurrection it is affirmed in the climactic statement of John’s Gospel, the affirmation of Thomas in 20:28.

[1:41]  ⁵³⁸ tn Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “the one who has been anointed.”

[1:41]  sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[1:42]  ⁵³⁹ tn Grk “He brought him”; both referents (Andrew, Simon) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:42]  ⁵⁴⁰ tc The reading “Simon, son of John” is well attested in Ì^66,75,106 א B* L 33 pc it co. The majority of mss (A B² Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï) read “Simon, the son of Jonah” here instead, but that is perhaps an assimilation to Matt 16:17.

[1:42]  ⁵⁴¹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. The change of name from Simon to Cephas is indicative of the future role he will play. Only John among the gospel writers gives the Greek transliteration (Κηφᾶς, Khfas) of Simon’s new name, Qéphâ (which is Galilean Aramaic). Neither Πέτρος (Petros) in Greek nor Qéphâ in Aramaic is a normal proper name; it is more like a nickname.

[1:43]  ⁵⁴² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Jesus is best taken as the subject of εὑρίσκει (Jeuriskei), since Peter would scarcely have wanted to go to Galilee.

[1:43]  ⁵⁴³ sn No explanation is given for why Jesus wanted to set out for Galilee, but probably he wanted to go to the wedding at Cana (about a two day trip).

[1:43]  ⁵⁴⁴ tn Grk “and he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:43]  ⁵⁴⁵ tn Grk “and Jesus said.”

[1:44]  ⁵⁴⁶ sn Although the author thought of the town as in Galilee (12:21), Bethsaida technically was in Gaulanitis (Philip the Tetrarch’s territory) across from Herod’s Galilee. There may have been two places called Bethsaida, or this may merely reflect popular imprecision – locally it was considered part of Galilee, even though it was just east of the Jordan river. This territory was heavily Gentile (which may explain why Andrew and Philip both have Gentile names).

[1:44]  ⁵⁴⁷ tn Probably ἀπό (apo) indicates “originally from” in the sense of birthplace rather than current residence; Mark 1:21, 29 seems to locate the home of Andrew and Peter at Capernaum. The entire remark (v. 44) amounts to a parenthetical comment by the author.

[1:45]  ⁵⁴⁸ sn Nathanael is traditionally identified with Bartholomew (although John never describes him as such). He appears here after Philip, while in all lists of the twelve except in Acts 1:13, Bartholomew follows Philip. Also, the Aramaic Bar-tolmai means “son of Tolmai,” the surname; the man almost certainly had another name.

[1:45]  ⁵⁴⁹ tn “Also” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[1:46]  ⁵⁵⁰ tn Grk “And Nathanael.”

[1:46]  ⁵⁵¹ tn Grk “said to him.”

[1:46]  ⁵⁵² sn Can anything good come out of Nazareth? may be a local proverb expressing jealousy among the towns.

[1:46]  map For location see Map1 D3; Map2 C2; Map3 D5; Map4 C1; Map5 G3.

[1:46]  ⁵⁵³ tn Grk “And Philip said to him.”

[1:47]  ⁵⁵⁴ tn Grk “said about him.”

[1:47]  ⁵⁵⁵ tn Or “treachery.”

[1:47]  sn An allusion to Ps 32:2.

[1:48]  ⁵⁵⁶ tn Grk “answered and said to him.” This is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation to “replied.”

[1:48]  ⁵⁵⁷ sn Many have speculated about what Nathanael was doing under the fig tree. Meditating on the Messiah who was to come? A good possibility, since the fig tree was used as shade for teaching or studying by the later rabbis (Ecclesiastes Rabbah 5:11). Also, the fig tree was symbolic for messianic peace and plenty (Mic 4:4, Zech 3:10.)

[1:49]  ⁵⁵⁸ tn Although βασιλεύς (basileus) lacks the article it is definite due to contextual and syntactical considerations. See ExSyn 263.

[1:49]  ⁵⁵⁹ sn Nathanael’s confession – You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel – is best understood as a confession of Jesus’ messiahship. It has strong allusions to Ps 2:6-7, a well-known messianic psalm. What Nathanael’s exact understanding was at this point is hard to determine, but “son of God” was a designation for the Davidic king in the OT, and Nathanael parallels it with King of Israel here.

[1:50]  ⁵⁶⁰ tn Grk “answered and said to him.” This has been simplified in the translation to “said to him.”

[1:50]  ⁵⁶¹ sn What are the greater things Jesus had in mind? In the narrative this forms an excellent foreshadowing of the miraculous signs which began at Cana of Galilee.

[1:51]  ⁵⁶² tn Grk “and he said to him.”

[1:51]  ⁵⁶³ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[1:51]  ⁵⁶⁴ sn The title Son of Man appears 13 times in John’s Gospel. It is associated especially with the themes of crucifixion (3:14; 8:28), revelation (6:27; 6:53), and eschatological authority (5:27; 9:35). The title as used in John’s Gospel has for its background the son of man figure who appears in Dan 7:13-14 and is granted universal regal authority. Thus for the author, the emphasis in this title is not on Jesus’ humanity, but on his heavenly origin and divine authority.

[18:4]  ⁵⁶⁵ tn Grk “knowing all things that were coming upon him.”

[18:4]  ⁵⁶⁶ tn Grk “Whom do you seek?”