4:27 Now at that very moment his disciples came back. 1 They were shocked 2 because he was speaking 3 with a woman. However, no one said, “What do you want?” 4 or “Why are you speaking with her?”
1 tn Or “his disciples returned”; Grk “came” (“back” is supplied in keeping with English usage). Because of the length of the Greek sentence it is better to divide here and begin a new English sentence, leaving the καί (kai) before ἐθαύμαζον (eqaumazon) untranslated.
2 tn BDAG 444 s.v. θαυμάζω 1.a.γ has “be surprised that” followed by indirect discourse. The context calls for a slightly stronger wording.
3 tn The ὅτι (Joti) could also be translated as declarative (“that he had been speaking with a woman”) but since this would probably require translating the imperfect verb as a past perfect (which is normal after a declarative ὅτι), it is preferable to take this ὅτι as causal.
4 tn Grk “seek.” See John 4:23.
5 tn Grk “The man answered and said to them.” This has been simplified in the translation to “The man replied.”
6 tn Grk “For in this is a remarkable thing.”
7 tn Grk “and he opened my eyes” (an idiom referring to restoration of sight).
9 tn Or “soul.”
10 tn Or “loses.” Although the traditional English translation of ἀπολλύει (apolluei) in John 12:25 is “loses,” the contrast with φυλάξει (fulaxei, “keeps” or “guards”) in the second half of the verse favors the meaning “destroy” here.
11 tn Or “keeps.”