7:32 The Pharisees 3 heard the crowd 4 murmuring these things about Jesus, 5 so the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers 6 to arrest him. 7
10:31 The Jewish leaders 15 picked up rocks again to stone him to death.
19:47 Jesus 25 was teaching daily in the temple courts. The chief priests and the experts in the law 26 and the prominent leaders among the people were seeking to assassinate 27 him, 19:48 but 28 they could not find a way to do it, 29 for all the people hung on his words. 30
1 tn Or “accomplishes”; Grk “does.”
2 tn Grk “seek.”
3 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
4 tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities like the Pharisees).
5 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Or “servants.” The “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. As “servants” or “officers” of the Sanhedrin their representatives should be distinguished from the Levites serving as temple police (perhaps John 7:30 and 44; also John 8:20; 10:39; 19:6; Acts 4:3). Even when performing “police” duties such as here, their “officers” are doing so only as part of their general tasks (see K. H. Rengstorf, TDNT 8:540).
7 tn Grk “to seize him.” In the context of a deliberate attempt by the servants of the chief priests and Pharisees to detain Jesus, the English verb “arrest” conveys the point more effectively.
8 tn Grk “seed” (an idiom).
9 tn Grk “you are seeking.”
10 tn Grk “my word.”
11 tn Or “finds no place in you.” The basic idea seems to be something (in this case Jesus’ teaching) making headway or progress where resistance is involved. See BDAG 1094 s.v. χωρέω 2.
12 tn Grk “they took up.”
13 sn Jesus’ Jewish listeners understood his claim to deity, rejected it, and picked up stones to throw at him for what they considered blasphemy.
14 tc Most later witnesses (A Θc Ë1,13 Ï) have at the end of the verse “passing through their midst, he went away in this manner” (διελθὼν διὰ μέσου καὶ παρῆγεν οὕτως, dielqwn dia mesou kai parhgen {outw"), while many others have similar permutations (so א1,2 C L N Ψ 070 33 579 892 1241 al). The wording is similar to two other texts: Luke 4:30 (διελθὼν διὰ μέσου; in several
15 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders. See the notes on the phrases “Jewish people” in v. 19 and “Jewish leaders” in v. 24.
16 tc It is difficult to decide between ἐζήτουν οὖν (ezhtoun oun, “then they were seeking”; Ì66 א A L W Ψ Ë1,13 33 pm lat), ἐζήτουν δέ (ezhtoun de, “now they were seeking”; Ì45 and a few versional witnesses), καὶ ἐζήτουν (kai ezhtoun, “and they were seeking”; D), and ἐζήτουν (Ì75vid B Γ Θ 700 pm). Externally, the most viable readings are ἐζήτουν οὖν and ἐζήτουν. Transcriptionally, the οὖν could have dropped out via haplography since the verb ends in the same three letters. On the other hand, it is difficult to explain the readings with δέ or καί if ἐζήτουν οὖν is original; such readings would more likely have arisen from the simple ἐζήτουν. Intrinsically, John is fond of οὖν, using it some 200 times. Further, this Gospel begins relatively few sentences without some conjunction. The minimal support for the δέ and καί readings suggests that they arose either from the lone verb reading (which would thus be prior to their respective Vorlagen but not necessarily the earliest reading) or through carelessness on the part of the scribes. Indeed, the ancestors of Ì45 and D may have committed haplography, leaving later scribes in the chain to guess at the conjunction needed. In sum, the best reading appears to be ἐζήτουν οὖν.
17 tn Grk “they were seeking.”
18 tn Grk “he departed out of their hand.”
19 tn The phrase “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive name for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26.
20 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
21 tn Or “could seize.”
22 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
23 tn Or “The chief priests and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.
24 tn Grk “how they could destroy him.”
25 tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
26 tn Grk “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.
27 tn Grk “to destroy.”
28 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
29 tn Grk “they did not find the thing that they might do.”
30 sn All the people hung on his words is an idiom for intent, eager listening. Jesus’ popularity and support made it unwise for the leadership to seize him.
31 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
32 tn Or “The scribes” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.
33 tn Grk “tried to lay hands on him.”
34 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.