John 6:70-71

6:70 Jesus replied, ¹  “Didn’t I choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is the devil?” ²  6:71 (Now he said this about Judas son of Simon Iscariot, ³  for Judas, ⁴  one of the twelve, was going to betray him.) ⁵ 

John 2:24-25

2:24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people. ⁶  2:25 He did not need anyone to testify about man, ⁷  for he knew what was in man. ⁸ 

John 13:11

13:11 (For Jesus ⁹  knew the one who was going to betray him. For this reason he said, “Not every one of you is ¹⁰  clean.”) ¹¹ 

Psalms 139:2-4

139:2 You know when I sit down and when I get up;

even from far away you understand my motives.

139:3 You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest; ¹² 

you are aware of everything I do. ¹³ 

139:4 Certainly ¹⁴  my tongue does not frame a word

without you, O Lord, being thoroughly aware of it. ¹⁵ 

Acts 15:18

15:18 known ¹⁶  from long ago. ¹⁷ 

Romans 8:29

8:29 because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son ¹⁸  would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ¹⁹ 

Romans 8:2

8:2 For the law of the life-giving Spirit ²⁰  in Christ Jesus has set you ²¹  free from the law of sin and death.

Romans 2:19

2:19 and if you are convinced ²²  that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,

Hebrews 4:13

4:13 And no creature is hidden from God, ²³  but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

¹ tn Grk “Jesus answered them.”

² tn Although most translations render this last phrase as “one of you is a devil,” such a translation presupposes that there is more than one devil. This finds roots in the KJV in which the Greek word for demon was often translated “devil.” In fact, the KJV never uses the word “demon.” (Sixty-two of the 63 NT instances of δαιμόνιον [daimonion] are translated “devil” [in Acts 17:18 the plural has been translated “gods”]. This can get confusing in places where the singular “devil” is used: Is Satan or one of the demons in view [cf. Matt 9:33 (demon); 13:39 (devil); 17:18 (demon); Mark 7:26 (demon); Luke 4:2 (devil); etc.]?) Now regarding John 6:70, both the construction in Greek and the technical use of διάβολος (diabolos) indicate that the one devil is in view. To object to the translation “the devil” because it thus equates Judas with Satan does not take into consideration that Jesus often spoke figuratively (e.g., “destroy this temple” [John 2:19]; “he [John the Baptist] is Elijah” [Matt 11:14]), even equating Peter with the devil on one occasion (Mark 8:33). According to ExSyn 249, “A curious phenomenon has occurred in the English Bible with reference to one particular monadic noun, διάβολος. The KJV translates both διάβολος and δαιμόνιον as ‘devil.’ Thus in the AV translators’ minds, ‘devil’ was not a monadic noun. Modern translations have correctly rendered δαιμόνιον as ‘demon’ and have, for the most part, recognized that διάβολος is monadic (cf., e.g., 1 Pet 5:8; Rev 20:2). But in John 6:70 modern translations have fallen into the error of the King James translators. The KJV has ‘one of you is a devil.’ So does the RSV, NRSV, ASV, NIV, NKJV, and the JB [Jerusalem Bible]. Yet there is only one devil…The legacy of the KJV still lives on, then, even in places where it ought not.”

³ sn At least six explanations for the name Iscariot have been proposed, but it is probably transliterated Hebrew with the meaning “man of Kerioth” (there are at least two villages that had that name). See D. A. Carson, John, 304.

⁴ tn Grk “this one”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ sn This parenthetical statement by the author helps the reader understand Jesus’ statement one of you is the devil in the previous verse. This is the first mention of Judas in the Fourth Gospel, and he is immediately identified (as he is in the synoptic gospels, Matt 10:4, Mark 3:19, Luke 6:16) as the one who would betray Jesus.

⁶ tn Grk “all.” The word “people” has been supplied for clarity, since the Greek word πάντας (pantas) is masculine plural (thus indicating people rather than things).

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 “Not all of you are.”

¹¹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

¹² tn Heb “my traveling and my lying down you measure.” The verb זָרָה (zarah, “to measure”) is probably here a denominative from זָרָת (zarat, “a span; a measure”), though some derive it from זָרָה (zarat, “to winnow; to sift”; see BDB 279-80 s.v. זָרָה).

¹³ tn Heb “all my ways.”

¹⁴ tn Or “for.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “look, O Lord, you know all of it.”

¹⁶ sn Who makes these things known. The remark emphasizes how God’s design of these things reaches back to the time he declared them.

¹⁷ sn An allusion to Isa 45:21.

¹⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God’s Son) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

²⁰ tn Grk “for the law of the Spirit of life.”

²¹ tc Most mss read the first person singular pronoun με (me) here (A D 1739^c 1881 Ï lat sa). The second person singular pronoun σε (se) is superior because of external support (א B {F which reads σαι} G 1506* 1739*) and internal support (it is the harder reading since ch. 7 was narrated in the first person). At the same time, it could have arisen via dittography from the final syllable of the verb preceding it (ἠλευθέρωσεν, hleuqerwsen; “has set free”). But for this to happen in such early and diverse witnesses is unlikely, especially as it depends on various scribes repeatedly overlooking either the nu or the nu-bar at the end of the verb.

²² tn This verb is parallel to the verbs in vv. 17-18a, so it shares the conditional meaning even though the word “if” is not repeated.

²³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.