Isaiah 51:2

51:2 Look at Abraham, your father,

and Sarah, who gave you birth. 1 

When I summoned him, he was a lone individual, 2 

but I blessed him 3  and gave him numerous descendants. 4 

John 8:39

8:39 They answered him, 5  “Abraham is our father!” 6  Jesus replied, 7  “If you are 8  Abraham’s children, you would be doing 9  the deeds of Abraham.

1 sn Although Abraham and Sarah are distant ancestors of the people the prophet is addressing, they are spoken of as the immediate parents.

2 tn Heb “one”; NLT “was alone”; TEV “was childless.”

3 tn “Bless” may here carry the sense of “endue with potency, reproductive power.” See Gen 1:28.

4 tn Heb “and I made him numerous.”

5 tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”

6 tn Or “Our father is Abraham.”

7 tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

8 tc Although most mss (C W Θ Ψ 0250 Ë1,13 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 (Ì66,75 א B D L 070 pc lat).

9 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 Ë1,13 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).