Proverbs 8:10

8:10 Receive my instruction ¹  rather than ²  silver,

and knowledge rather than choice gold.

Proverbs 19:20

19:20 Listen to advice ³  and receive discipline,

that ⁴  you may become wise ⁵  by the end of your life. ⁶ 

Job 22:22

22:22 Accept instruction ⁷  from his mouth

and store up his words ⁸  in your heart.

Jeremiah 9:20

9:20 I said, ⁹ 

“So now, ¹⁰  you wailing women, hear what the Lord says. ¹¹ 

Open your ears to the words from his mouth.

Teach your daughters this mournful song,

and each of you teach your neighbor ¹²  this lament.

John 3:32-33

3:32 He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 3:33 The one who has accepted his testimony has confirmed clearly that God is truthful. ¹³ 

John 3:1

Conversation with Nicodemus

3:1 Now a certain man, a Pharisee ¹⁴  named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council, ¹⁵ 

John 2:13

2:13 Now the Jewish feast of Passover ¹⁶  was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁷ 

John 2:1

Turning Water into Wine

2:1 Now on the third day there was a wedding at Cana ¹⁸  in Galilee. ¹⁹  Jesus’ mother ²⁰  was there,

John 1:15

1:15 John ²¹  testified ²²  about him and shouted out, ²³  “This one was the one about whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than I am, ²⁴  because he existed before me.’”

¹ tn Heb “discipline.” The term refers to instruction that trains with discipline (e.g., Prov 1:2).

² tn Heb “and not” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “in preference to.”

³ sn The advice refers in all probability to the teachings of the sages that will make one wise.

⁴ tn The proverb is one continuous thought, but the second half of the verse provides the purpose for the imperatives of the first half.

⁵ tn The imperfect tense has the nuance of a final imperfect in a purpose clause, and so is translated “that you may become wise” (cf. NAB, NRSV).

⁶ tn Heb “become wise in your latter end” (cf. KJV, ASV) which could obviously be misunderstood.

⁷ tn The Hebrew word here is תּוֹרָה (torah), its only occurrence in the book of Job.

⁸ tc M. Dahood has “write his words” (“Metaphor in Job 22:22,” Bib 47 [1966]: 108-9).

⁹ tn The words “I said” are not in the text. The text merely has “Indeed, yes.” The words are supplied in the translation to indicate that the speaker is still Jeremiah though he now is not talking about the mourning woman but is talking to them. See the notes on 9:17-18 for further explanation.

¹⁰ tn It is a little difficult to explain how the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is functioning here. W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:311) may be correct in seeing it as introducing the contents of what those who call for the mourning women are to say. In this case, Jeremiah picks up the task as representative of the people.

¹¹ tn Heb “Listen to the word of the Lord.”

¹² tn Heb “Teach…mournful song, and each woman her neighbor lady…”

¹³ tn Or “is true.”

¹⁴ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

¹⁵ tn Grk “a ruler of the Jews” (denoting a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

¹⁶ tn Grk “the Passover of the Jews.” This is first of at least three (and possibly four) Passovers mentioned in John’s Gospel. If it is assumed that the Passovers appear in the Gospel in their chronological order (and following a date of a.d. 33 for the crucifixion), this would be the Passover of the spring of a.d. 30, the first of Jesus’ public ministry. There is a clear reference to another Passover in 6:4, and another still in 11:55, 12:1, 13:1, 18:28, 39, and 19:14. The latter would be the Passover of a.d. 33. There is a possibility that 5:1 also refers to a Passover, in which case it would be the second of Jesus’ public ministry (a.d. 31), while 6:4 would refer to the third (a.d. 32) and the remaining references would refer to the final Passover at the time of the crucifixion. It is entirely possible, however, that the Passovers occurring in the Fourth Gospel are not intended to be understood as listed in chronological sequence. If the material of the Fourth Gospel originally existed in the form of homilies or sermons by the Apostle John on the life and ministry of Jesus, the present arrangement would not have to be in strict chronological order (it does not explicitly claim to be). In this case the Passover mentioned in 2:13, for example, might actually be later in Jesus’ public ministry than it might at first glance appear. This leads, however, to a discussion of an even greater problem in the passage, the relationship of the temple cleansing in John’s Gospel to the similar account in the synoptic gospels.

¹⁷ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹⁸ map For location see Map1-C3; Map2-D2; Map3-C5.

¹⁹ sn Cana in Galilee was not a very well-known place. It is mentioned only here, in 4:46, and 21:2, and nowhere else in the NT. Josephus (Life 16 [86]) says he once had his quarters there. The probable location is present day Khirbet Cana, 8 mi (14 km) north of Nazareth, or Khirbet Kenna, 4 mi (7 km) northeast of Nazareth.

²⁰ tn Grk “in Galilee, and Jesus’ mother.”

²¹ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

²² tn Or “bore witness.”

²³ tn Grk “and shouted out saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant is English and has not been translated.

²⁴ tn Or “has a higher rank than I.”