2:2 The Lord responded: 1
“Write down this message! 2 Record it legibly on tablets,
so the one who announces 3 it may read it easily. 4
16:25 “I have told you these things in obscure figures of speech; 5 a time 6 is coming when I will no longer speak to you in obscure figures, but will tell you 7 plainly 8 about the Father.
3:12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, 13 kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
1 tn Heb “the
2 tn Heb “[the] vision.”
3 tn Or “reads from.”
4 tn Heb “might run,” which here probably means “run [through it quickly with one’s eyes],” that is, read it easily.
5 tn Or “in parables”; or “in metaphors.” There is some difficulty in defining παροιμίαις (paroimiai") precisely: A translation like “parables” does not convey accurately the meaning. BDAG 779-80 s.v. παροιμία suggests in general “proverb, saw, maxim,” but for Johannine usage “veiled saying, figure of speech, in which esp. lofty ideas are concealed.” In the preceding context of the Farewell Discourse, Jesus has certainly used obscure language and imagery at times: John 13:8-11; 13:16; 15:1-17; and 16:21 could all be given as examples. In the LXX this word is used to translate the Hebrew mashal which covers a wide range of figurative speech, often containing obscure or enigmatic elements.
6 tn Grk “an hour.”
7 tn Or “inform you.”
8 tn Or “openly.”
9 tn Or “expel you from.”
10 sn See the note on synagogue in 6:59.
11 tn Grk “an hour.”
12 sn Jesus now refers not to the time of his return to the Father, as he has frequently done up to this point, but to the disciples’ time of persecution. They will be excommunicated from Jewish synagogues. There will even be a time when those who kill Jesus’ disciples will think that they are offering service to God by putting the disciples to death. Because of the reference to service offered to God, it is almost certain that Jewish opposition is intended here in both cases rather than Jewish opposition in the first instance (putting the disciples out of synagogues) and Roman opposition in the second (putting the disciples to death). Such opposition materializes later and is recorded in Acts: The stoning of Stephen in 7:58-60 and the slaying of James the brother of John by Herod Agrippa I in Acts 12:2-3 are notable examples.
13 tn If the genitive construct σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ (splancna oiktirmou) is a hendiadys then it would be “compassion” or “tenderheartedness.” See M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 161.