John 8:13

8:13 So the Pharisees ¹  objected, ²  “You testify about yourself; your testimony is not true!” ³ 

John 8:39

8:39 They answered him, ⁴  “Abraham is our father!” ⁵  Jesus replied, ⁶  “If you are ⁷  Abraham’s children, you would be doing ⁸  the deeds of Abraham.

John 8:48

8:48 The Judeans ⁹  replied, ¹⁰  “Aren’t we correct in saying ¹¹  that you are a Samaritan and are possessed by a demon?” ¹² 

John 8:57

8:57 Then the Judeans ¹³  replied, ¹⁴  “You are not yet fifty years old! ¹⁵  Have ¹⁶  you seen Abraham?”

¹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

² tn Grk “Then the Pharisees said to him.”

³ sn Compare the charge You testify about yourself; your testimony is not true! to Jesus’ own statement about his testimony in 5:31.

⁴ tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”

⁵ tn Or “Our father is Abraham.”

⁶ tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

⁷ tc Although most mss (C W Θ Ψ 0250 Ë^1,13 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 (Ì^66,75 א B D L 070 pc lat).

⁸ 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 Ë^1,13 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).

⁹ tn Grk “the Jews.” See the note on this term in v. 31. Here the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem (“Judeans”; cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e) who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple courts (8:20) and had initially believed his claim to be the Messiah (cf. 8:31). They had become increasingly hostile as Jesus continued to teach. Now they were ready to say that Jesus was demon-possessed.

¹⁰ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

¹¹ tn Grk “Do we not say rightly.”

¹² tn Grk “and have a demon.” It is not clear what is meant by the charge Σαμαρίτης εἶ σὺ καὶ δαιμόνιον ἔχεις (Samarith" ei su kai daimonion ecei"). The meaning could be “you are a heretic and are possessed by a demon.” Note that the dual charge gets one reply (John 8:49). Perhaps the phrases were interchangeable: Simon Magus (Acts 8:14-24) and in later traditions Dositheus, the two Samaritans who claimed to be sons of God, were regarded as mad, that is, possessed by demons.

¹³ tn Grk “Then the Jews.” See the note on this term in v. 31. Here, as in vv. 31, 48, and 52, the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem (“Judeans”; cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e) who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple courts (8:20) and had initially believed his claim to be the Messiah (cf. 8:31). They have now become completely hostile, as John 8:59 clearly shows.

¹⁴ tn Grk “said to him.”

¹⁵ tn Grk ‘You do not yet have fifty years” (an idiom).

¹⁶ tn Grk “And have.”