1 Corinthians 2:15

2:15 The one who is spiritual discerns ¹  all things, yet he himself is understood ²  by no one.

John 1:47-49

1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and exclaimed, ³  “Look, a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” ⁴  1:48 Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” Jesus replied, ⁵  “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, ⁶  I saw you.” 1:49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king ⁷  of Israel!” ⁸ 

John 4:29

4:29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Surely he can’t be the Messiah, ⁹  can he?” ¹⁰ 

Acts 2:37

The Response to Peter’s Address

2:37 Now when they heard this, ¹¹  they were acutely distressed ¹²  and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “What should we do, brothers?”

Hebrews 4:12-13

4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart. 4:13 And no creature is hidden from God, ¹³  but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

[2:15]  ¹ tn Or “evaluates.”

[2:15]  ² tn Or “is evaluated” (i.e., “is subject to evaluation”); Grk “he himself is discerned,” that is, the person without the Spirit does not understand the person with the Spirit, particularly in relation to the life of faith.

[1:47]  ³ tn Grk “said about him.”

[1:47]  ⁴ tn Or “treachery.”

[1:48]  ⁵ tn Grk “answered and said to him.” This is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation to “replied.”

[1:48]  ⁶ sn Many have speculated about what Nathanael was doing under the fig tree. Meditating on the Messiah who was to come? A good possibility, since the fig tree was used as shade for teaching or studying by the later rabbis (Ecclesiastes Rabbah 5:11). Also, the fig tree was symbolic for messianic peace and plenty (Mic 4:4, Zech 3:10.)

[1:49]  ⁷ tn Although βασιλεύς (basileus) lacks the article it is definite due to contextual and syntactical considerations. See ExSyn 263.

[1:49]  ⁸ sn Nathanael’s confession – You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel – is best understood as a confession of Jesus’ messiahship. It has strong allusions to Ps 2:6-7, a well-known messianic psalm. What Nathanael’s exact understanding was at this point is hard to determine, but “son of God” was a designation for the Davidic king in the OT, and Nathanael parallels it with King of Israel here.

[4:29]  ⁹ tn Grk “the Christ” (both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”). Although the Greek text reads χριστός (cristos) here, it is more consistent based on 4:25 (where Μεσσίας [Messias] is the lead term and is qualified by χριστός) to translate χριστός as “Messiah” here.

[4:29]  ¹⁰ tn The use of μήτι (mhti) normally presupposes a negative answer. This should not be taken as an indication that the woman did not believe, however. It may well be an example of “reverse psychology,” designed to gain a hearing for her testimony among those whose doubts about her background would obviate her claims.

[2:37]  ¹¹ tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[2:37]  ¹² tn Grk “they were pierced to the heart” (an idiom for acute emotional distress).

[4:13]  ¹³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.