7:20 The crowd 13 answered, “You’re possessed by a demon! 14 Who is trying to kill you?” 15
8:48 The Judeans 16 replied, 17 “Aren’t we correct in saying 18 that you are a Samaritan and are possessed by a demon?” 19
8:52 Then 20 the Judeans 21 responded, 22 “Now we know you’re possessed by a demon! 23 Both Abraham and the prophets died, and yet 24 you say, ‘If anyone obeys 25 my teaching, 26 he will never experience 27 death.’ 28
1 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
2 tn Or “prince.”
3 tc Although codex Cantabrigiensis (D), along with a few other Western versional and patristic witnesses, lacks this verse, virtually all other witnesses have it. The Western text’s reputation for free alterations as well as the heightened climax if v. 33 concludes this pericope explains why these witnesses omitted the verse.
4 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
5 tn Grk “except by Beelzebul.”
6 tn Or “prince.”
7 tn Or “The scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.
8 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
9 tn Grk “He has Beelzebul.”
10 tn Or “prince.”
11 tn Grk “By Beelzebul.”
12 tn Or “prince.”
13 tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities mentioned in 7:15).
14 tn Grk “You have a demon!”
15 tn Grk “Who is seeking to kill you?”
16 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.
17 tn Grk “answered and said to him.”
18 tn Grk “Do we not say rightly.”
19 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.
20 tc ‡ Important and early witnesses (Ì66 א B C W Θ 579 it) lack the conjunction here, while other witnesses read οὖν (oun, “therefore”; Ì75 D L Ψ 070 Ë1,13 33 Ï lat). This conjunction occurs in John some 200 times, far more than in any other NT book. Even though the most important Johannine papyrus (Ì75) has the conjunction, the combination of Ì66 א B for the omission is even stronger. Further, the reading seems to be a predictable scribal emendation. In particular, οὖν is frequently used with the plural of εἶπον (eipon, “they said”) in John (in this chapter alone, note vv. 13, 39, 48, 57, and possibly 41). On balance, it is probably best to consider the shorter reading as authentic, even though “Then” is virtually required in translation for English stylistic reasons. NA27 has the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.
21 tn Grk “the Jews.” See the note on this term in v. 31. Here, as in vv. 31 and 48, 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).
22 tn Grk “said to him.”
23 tn Grk “you have a demon.”
24 tn “Yet” has been supplied to show the contrastive element present in the context.
25 tn Grk “If anyone keeps.”
26 tn Grk “my word.”
27 tn Grk “will never taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).
28 tn Grk “he will never taste of death forever.” The Greek negative here is emphatic.
29 tn Or “is insane.” To translate simply “he is mad” (so KJV, ASV, RSV; “raving mad” NIV) could give the impression that Jesus was angry, while the actual charge was madness or insanity.