6:14 “To the one in despair, kindness 7 should come from his friend 8
even if 9 he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
20:15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” Because she 13 thought he was the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him.”
20:1 Now very early on the first day of the week, 14 while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene 15 came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been moved away from the entrance. 16
5:14 After this Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “Look, you have become well. Don’t sin any more, 17 lest anything worse happen to you.”
1 tn Heb “sought” or “searched for.”
2 tn Heb “and David fasted.”
3 tn The three Hebrew verbs that follow in this verse are perfects with prefixed vav. They may describe repeated past actions or actions which accompanied David’s praying and fasting.
4 tn Heb “from.”
5 tc The present translation follows the MT; a few Hebrew
6 tn Heb “and from the plunder of.”
7 tn In this context חֶסֶד (khesed) could be taken as “loyalty” (“loyalty should be shown by his friend”).
8 tn The Hebrew of this verse is extremely difficult, and while there are many suggestions, none of them has gained a consensus. The first colon simply has “to the despairing // from his friend // kindness.” Several commentators prefer to change the first word לַמָּס (lammas, “to the one in despair”) to some sort of verb; several adopt the reading “the one who withholds/he withholds mercy from his friend forsakes….” The point of the first half of the verse seems to be that one should expect kindness (or loyalty) from a friend in times of suffering.
9 tn The relationship of the second colon to the first is difficult. The line just reads literally “and the fear of the Almighty he forsakes.” The ו (vav) could be interpreted in several different ways: “else he will forsake…,” “although he forsakes…,” “even the one who forsakes…,” or “even if he forsakes…” – the reading adopted here. If the first colon receives the reading “His friend has scorned compassion,” then this clause would be simply coordinated with “and forsakes the fear of the Almighty.” The sense of the verse seems to say that kindness/loyalty should be shown to the despairing, even to the one who is forsaking the fear of the
10 tn The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here.
11 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. This occurs again in v. 15.
12 tn Grk “She said to them.”
13 tn Grk “that one” (referring to Mary Magdalene).
14 sn The first day of the week would be early Sunday morning. The Sabbath (and in this year the Passover) would have lasted from 6 p.m. Friday until 6 p.m. Saturday. Sunday would thus mark the first day of the following week.
15 sn John does not mention that Mary Magdalene was accompanied by any of the other women who had been among Jesus’ followers. The synoptic accounts all mention other women who accompanied her (although Mary Magdalene is always mentioned first). Why John does not mention the other women is not clear, but Mary probably becomes the focus of the author’s attention because it was she who came and found Peter and the beloved disciple and informed them of the empty tomb (20:2). Mary’s use of the plural in v. 2 indicates there were others present, in indirect agreement with the synoptic accounts.
16 tn Grk “from the tomb.”
17 tn Since this is a prohibition with a present imperative, the translation “stop sinning” is sometimes suggested. This is not likely, however, since the present tense is normally used in prohibitions involving a general condition (as here) while the aorist tense is normally used in specific instances. Only when used opposite the normal usage (the present tense in a specific instance, for example) would the meaning “stop doing what you are doing” be appropriate.