John 8

[8:1]  ¹  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]  ²  tn An ingressive sense for the imperfect fits well here following the aorist participle.

[8:3]  ³  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]  ⁴  sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[8:4]  ⁵  tn Grk “to him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:5]  ⁶  sn An allusion to Lev 20:10 and Deut 22:22-24.

[8:5]  ⁷  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]  ⁸  tn Grk “so that they could accuse.”

[8:6]  ⁹  sn This is a parenthetical note by the author of 7:53–8:11.

[8:6]  ¹⁰  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]  ¹¹  tn Or “he straightened up.”

[8:7]  ¹²  tn Grk “and said to them.”

[8:7]  ¹³  tn Or “sinless.”

[8:8]  ¹⁴  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]  ¹⁵  tn Or “beginning from the eldest.”

[8:10]  ¹⁶  tn Or “straightened up.”

[8:10]  ¹⁷  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]  ¹⁸  tc The earliest and best mss do not contain 7:53–8:11 (see note on 7:53).

[8:12]  ¹⁹  tn Grk “Then again Jesus spoke to them saying.”

[8:12]  ²⁰  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]  ²¹  tn The double negative οὐ μή (ou mh) is emphatic in 1st century Hellenistic Greek.

[8:13]  ²²  sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[8:13]  ²³  tn Grk “Then the Pharisees said to him.”

[8:13]  ²⁴  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]  ²⁵  tn Grk “Jesus answered and said to them.”

[8:14]  ²⁶  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]  ²⁷  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]  ²⁸  tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to indicate that the pronoun and verb (“judge”) in Greek are plural.

[8:15]  ²⁹  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]  ³⁰  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]  ³¹  tn Grk “my judgment is true.”

[8:16]  ³²  tn The phrase “when I judge” is not in the Greek text, but is implied by the context.

[8:16]  ³³  tn The phrase “do so together” is not in the Greek text, but is implied by the context.

[8:17]  ³⁴  sn An allusion to Deut 17:6.

[8:18]  ³⁵  tn Grk “I am the one who testifies about myself.”

[8:19]  ³⁶  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]  ³⁷  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]  ³⁸  tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:20]  ³⁹  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.

  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]  ⁴⁰  tn Grk “the temple.”

[8:20]  ⁴¹  tn Grk “his hour.”

[8:20]  ⁴²  sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[8:21]  ⁴³  tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:21]  ⁴⁴  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]  ⁴⁵  tn Grk “you will seek me.”

[8:21]  ⁴⁶  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]  ⁴⁷  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]  ⁴⁸  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]  ⁴⁹  tn Grk “And he said to them.”

[8:23]  ⁵⁰  tn The word “people” is supplied in English to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.

[8:24]  ⁵¹  tn Grk “thus I said to you.”

[8:24]  ⁵²  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’”).

  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[8:25]  ⁵³  tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

[8:26]  ⁵⁴  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]  ⁵⁵  tn Grk “the one”; the referent (the Father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:26]  ⁵⁶  tn Grk “true” (in the sense of one who always tells the truth).

[8:26]  ⁵⁷  tn Grk “and what things I have heard from him, these things I speak to the world.”

[8:27]  ⁵⁸  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]  ⁵⁹  tn Grk “Then Jesus said to them” (the words “to them” are not found in all mss).

[8:28]  ⁶⁰  tn Grk “that I am.” See the note on this phrase in v. 24.

[8:28]  ⁶¹  tn Grk “I do nothing from myself.”

[8:28]  ⁶²  tn Grk “but just as the Father taught me, these things I speak.”

[8:29]  ⁶³  tn That is, “he has not abandoned me.”

[8:30]  ⁶⁴  tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied for clarity and smoothness in the translation.

[8:31]  ⁶⁵  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]  ⁶⁶  tn Grk “If you continue in my word.”

[8:31]  ⁶⁷  tn Or “truly.”

[8:32]  ⁶⁸  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.

  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]  ⁶⁹  tn Grk “We are the seed” (an idiom).

[8:33]  ⁷⁰  tn Grk “They answered to him.”

[8:33]  ⁷¹  tn Or “How is it that you say.”

[8:34]  ⁷²  tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[8:34]  ⁷³  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]  ⁷⁴  tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

[8:35]  ⁷⁵  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]  ⁷⁶  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]  ⁷⁷  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]  ⁷⁸  tn Grk “seed” (an idiom).

[8:37]  ⁷⁹  tn Grk “you are seeking.”

[8:37]  ⁸⁰  tn Grk “my word.”

[8:37]  ⁸¹  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]  ⁸²  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]  ⁸³  tn Grk “The things which I have seen with the Father I speak about.”

[8:38]  ⁸⁴  tn Grk “and you.”

[8:38]  ⁸⁵  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]  ⁸⁶  tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”

[8:39]  ⁸⁷  tn Or “Our father is Abraham.”

[8:39]  ⁸⁸  tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

[8:39]  ⁸⁹  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]  ⁹⁰  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).

  tn Or “you would do.”

[8:40]  ⁹¹  tn Grk “seeking.”

[8:40]  ⁹²  tn Grk “has spoken to you.”

[8:40]  ⁹³  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]  ⁹⁴  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]  ⁹⁵  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]  ⁹⁶  tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:41]  ⁹⁷  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]  ⁹⁸  tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

[8:42]  ⁹⁹  tn Or “I came from God and have arrived.”

[8:42]  ¹⁰⁰  tn Grk “For I.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

[8:42]  ¹⁰¹  tn Grk “from myself.”

[8:42]  ¹⁰²  tn Grk “that one” (referring to God).

[8:43]  ¹⁰³  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]  ¹⁰⁴  tn Grk “my word.”

[8:44]  ¹⁰⁵  tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to clarify that the Greek pronoun and verb are plural.

[8:44]  ¹⁰⁶  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]  ¹⁰⁷  tn Grk “the desires of your father you want to do.”

[8:44]  ¹⁰⁸  tn Grk “That one” (referring to the devil).

[8:44]  ¹⁰⁹  tn Grk “he does not stand in the truth” (in the sense of maintaining, upholding, or accepting the validity of it).

[8:44]  ¹¹⁰  tn Grk “Whenever he speaks the lie.”

[8:44]  ¹¹¹  tn Grk “he speaks from his own.”

[8:44]  ¹¹²  tn Grk “because he is a liar and the father of it.”

[8:45]  ¹¹³  tn Or “because I tell you.”

[8:46]  ¹¹⁴  tn Or “can convict me.”

[8:46]  ¹¹⁵  tn Or “of having sinned”; Grk “of sin.”

[8:46]  ¹¹⁶  tn Or “if I tell you.”

[8:47]  ¹¹⁷  tn Grk “who is of.”

[8:47]  ¹¹⁸  tn Grk “to God hears” (in the sense of listening to something and responding to it).

[8:47]  ¹¹⁹  tn Grk “you do not hear” (in the sense of listening to something and responding to it).

[8:47]  ¹²⁰  tn Grk “you are not of God.”

[8:48]  ¹²¹  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]  ¹²²  tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[8:48]  ¹²³  tn Grk “Do we not say rightly.”

[8:48]  ¹²⁴  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]  ¹²⁵  tn Grk “I do not have a demon.”

[8:49]  ¹²⁶  tn “Yet” is supplied to show the contrastive element present in the context.

[8:50]  ¹²⁷  tn Grk “I am not seeking.”

[8:50]  ¹²⁸  tn Grk “my glory.”

[8:50]  ¹²⁹  tn Grk “who seeks.”

[8:50]  ¹³⁰  tn Or “will be the judge.”

[8:51]  ¹³¹  tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[8:51]  ¹³²  tn Grk “If anyone keeps.”

[8:51]  ¹³³  tn Grk “my word.”

[8:51]  ¹³⁴  tn Grk “he will never see death forever.” The Greek negative here is emphatic.

  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]  ¹³⁵  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]  ¹³⁶  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]  ¹³⁷  tn Grk “said to him.”

[8:52]  ¹³⁸  tn Grk “you have a demon.”

[8:52]  ¹³⁹  tn “Yet” has been supplied to show the contrastive element present in the context.

[8:52]  ¹⁴⁰  tn Grk “If anyone keeps.”

[8:52]  ¹⁴¹  tn Grk “my word.”

[8:52]  ¹⁴²  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]  ¹⁴³  tn Grk “he will never taste of death forever.” The Greek negative here is emphatic.

[8:53]  ¹⁴⁴  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]  ¹⁴⁵  tn Grk “Jesus answered.”

[8:54]  ¹⁴⁶  tn Grk “is nothing.”

[8:54]  ¹⁴⁷  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]  ¹⁴⁸  tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Yet” to indicate the contrast present in the context.

[8:55]  ¹⁴⁹  tn Grk “If I say, ‘I do not know him.’”

[8:55]  ¹⁵⁰  tn Grk “I keep.”

[8:55]  ¹⁵¹  tn Grk “his word.”

[8:56]  ¹⁵²  tn Or “rejoiced greatly.”

[8:56]  ¹⁵³  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]  ¹⁵⁴  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]  ¹⁵⁵  tn Grk “said to him.”

[8:57]  ¹⁵⁶  tn Grk ‘You do not yet have fifty years” (an idiom).

[8:57]  ¹⁵⁷  tn Grk “And have.”

[8:58]  ¹⁵⁸  tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[8:58]  ¹⁵⁹  tn Grk “before Abraham was.”

[8:58]  ¹⁶⁰  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]  ¹⁶¹  tn Grk “they took up.”

[8:59]  ¹⁶²  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]  ¹⁶³  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.

  tn Grk “from the temple.”