John 1:47-49

1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and exclaimed, ¹  “Look, a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” ²  1:48 Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” Jesus replied, ³  “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, ⁴  I saw you.” 1:49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king ⁵  of Israel!” ⁶ 

John 2:25

2:25 He did not need anyone to testify about man, ⁷  for he knew what was in man. ⁸ 

John 21:17

21:17 Jesus ⁹  said ¹⁰  a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed ¹¹  that Jesus ¹²  asked ¹³  him a third time, “Do you love me?” and said, ¹⁴  “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus ¹⁵  replied, ¹⁶  “Feed my sheep.

Luke 16:15

16:15 But ¹⁷  Jesus ¹⁸  said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in men’s eyes, ¹⁹  but God knows your hearts. For what is highly prized ²⁰  among men is utterly detestable ²¹  in God’s sight.

Hebrews 4:12-13

4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart. 4:13 And no creature is hidden from God, ²²  but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

Revelation 2:23

2:23 Furthermore, I will strike her followers ²³  with a deadly disease, ²⁴  and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay ²⁵  each one of you ²⁶  what your deeds deserve. ²⁷ 

¹ tn Grk “said about him.”

² tn Or “treachery.”

³ tn Grk “answered and said to him.” This is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation to “replied.”

⁴ 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.)

⁵ tn Although βασιλεύς (basileus) lacks the article it is definite due to contextual and syntactical considerations. See ExSyn 263.

⁶ 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.

⁷ tn The masculine form has been retained here in the translation to maintain the connection with “a man of the Pharisees” in 3:1, with the understanding that the reference is to people of both genders.

⁸ tn See previous note on “man” in this verse.

⁹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ tn Grk “said to him.” The words “to him” are clear from the context and slightly redundant in English.

¹¹ tn Or “was sad.”

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

¹³ tn Grk “said to.”

¹⁴ tn Grk “and said to him.” The words “to him” are clear from the context and slightly redundant in English.

¹⁵ tc ‡ Most witnesses, especially later ones (A Θ Ψ Ë¹³ Ï), read ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς (Jo Ihsou", “Jesus”) here, while B C have ᾿Ιησοῦς without the article and א D W ˹ 33 565 al lat lack both. Because of the rapid verbal exchange in this pericope, “Jesus” is virtually required for clarity, providing a temptation to scribes to add the name. Further, the name normally occurs with the article. Although it is possible that B C accidentally omitted the article with the name, it is just as likely that they added the simple name to the text for clarity’s sake, while other witnesses added the article as well. The omission of ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς thus seems most likely to be authentic. NA²⁷ includes the words in brackets, indicating some doubts as to their authenticity.

¹⁶ tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”

¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

¹⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁹ tn Grk “before men.” The contrast is between outward appearance (“in people’s eyes”) and inward reality (“God knows your hearts”). Here the Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used twice in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, but “men” has been retained in the text to provide a strong verbal contrast with “God” in the second half of the verse.

²⁰ tn Or “exalted.” This refers to the pride that often comes with money and position.

²¹ tn Or “is an abomination,” “is abhorrent” (L&N 25.187).

²² tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²³ tn Grk “her children,” but in this context a reference to this woman’s followers or disciples is more likely meant.

²⁴ tn Grk “I will kill with death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).

²⁵ tn Grk “I will give.” The sense of δίδωμι (didwmi) in this context is more “repay” than “give.”

²⁶ sn This pronoun and the following one are plural in the Greek text.

²⁷ tn Grk “each one of you according to your works.”