John 1:13

1:13 – children not born ¹  by human parents ²  or by human desire ³  or a husband’s ⁴  decision, ⁵  but by God.

John 7:44

7:44 Some of them were wanting to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him. ⁶ 

John 7:50

7:50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus ⁷  before and who was one of the rulers, ⁸  said, ⁹ 

John 8:46

8:46 Who among you can prove me guilty ¹⁰  of any sin? ¹¹  If I am telling you ¹²  the truth, why don’t you believe me?

John 10:20

10:20 Many of them were saying, “He is possessed by a demon and has lost his mind! ¹³  Why do you listen to him?”

John 11:46

11:46 But some of them went to the Pharisees ¹⁴  and reported to them ¹⁵  what Jesus had done.

John 16:5

16:5 But now I am going to the one who sent me, ¹⁶  and not one of you is asking me, ‘Where are you going?’ ¹⁷ 

John 18:9

18:9 He said this ¹⁸  to fulfill the word he had spoken, ¹⁹  “I have not lost a single one of those whom you gave me.” ²⁰ 

John 19:2

19:2 The soldiers ²¹  braided ²²  a crown of thorns ²³  and put it on his head, and they clothed him in a purple robe. ²⁴ 

[1:13]  ¹ tn The Greek term translated “born” here also involves conception.

[1:13]  ² tn Grk “of blood(s).” The plural αἱμάτων (Jaimatwn) has seemed a problem to many interpreters. At least some sources in antiquity imply that blood was thought of as being important in the development of the fetus during its time in the womb: thus Wis 7:1: “in the womb of a mother I was molded into flesh, within the period of 10 months, compacted with blood, from the seed of a man and the pleasure of marriage.” In John 1:13, the plural αἱμάτων may imply the action of both parents. It may also refer to the “genetic” contribution of both parents, and so be equivalent to “human descent” (see BDAG 26 s.v. αἷμα 1.a). E. C. Hoskyns thinks John could not have used the singular here because Christians are in fact ‘begotten’ by the blood of Christ (The Fourth Gospel, 143), although the context would seem to make it clear that the blood in question is something other than the blood of Christ.

[1:13]  ³ tn Or “of the will of the flesh.” The phrase οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος σαρκός (oude ek qelhmato" sarko") is more clearly a reference to sexual desire, but it should be noted that σάρξ (sarx) in John does not convey the evil sense common in Pauline usage. For John it refers to the physical nature in its weakness rather than in its sinfulness. There is no clearer confirmation of this than the immediately following verse, where the λόγος (logos) became σάρξ.

[1:13]  ⁴ tn Or “man’s.”

[1:13]  ⁵ tn The third phrase, οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος ἀνδρός (oude ek qelhmato" andros), means much the same as the second one. The word here (ἀνηρ, anhr) is often used for a husband, resulting in the translation “or a husband’s decision,” or more generally, “or of any human volition whatsoever.” L. Morris may be right when he sees here an emphasis directed at the Jewish pride in race and patriarchal ancestry, although such a specific reference is difficult to prove (John [NICNT], 101).

[7:44]  ⁶ sn Compare John 7:30 regarding the attempt to seize Jesus.

[7:50]  ¹¹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:50]  ¹² tn Grk “who was one of them”; the referent (the rulers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:50]  ¹³ tn Grk “said to them.”

[8:46]  ¹⁶ tn Or “can convict me.”

[8:46]  ¹⁷ tn Or “of having sinned”; Grk “of sin.”

[8:46]  ¹⁸ tn Or “if I tell you.”

[10:20]  ²¹ 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.

[11:46]  ²⁶ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[11:46]  ²⁷ tn Grk “told them.”

[16:5]  ³¹ sn Now the theme of Jesus’ impending departure is resumed (I am going to the one who sent me). It will also be mentioned in 16:10, 17, and 28. Jesus had said to his opponents in 7:33 that he was going to the one who sent him; in 13:33 he had spoken of going where the disciples could not come. At that point Peter had inquired where he was going, but it appears that Peter did not understand Jesus’ reply at that time and did not persist in further questioning. In 14:5 Thomas had asked Jesus where he was going.

[16:5]  ³² sn Now none of the disciples asks Jesus where he is going, and the reason is given in the following verse: They have been overcome with sadness as a result of the predictions of coming persecution that Jesus has just spoken to them in 15:18-25 and 16:1-4a. Their shock at Jesus’ revelation of coming persecution is so great that none of them thinks to ask him where it is that he is going.

[18:9]  ³⁶ tn The words “He said this” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. There is an ellipsis in the Greek text that must be supplied for the modern English reader at this point.

[18:9]  ³⁷ sn This expression is similar to John 6:39 and John 17:12.

[18:9]  ³⁸ tn Grk “Of the ones whom you gave me, I did not lose one of them.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged to reflect contemporary English style.

[19:2]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “And the soldiers.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[19:2]  ⁴² tn Or “wove.”

[19:2]  ⁴³ sn The crown of thorns was a crown plaited of some thorny material, intended as a mockery of Jesus’ “kingship.” Traditionally it has been regarded as an additional instrument of torture, but it seems more probable the purpose of the thorns was not necessarily to inflict more physical suffering but to imitate the spikes of the “radiant corona,” a type of crown portrayed on ruler’s heads on many coins of the period; the spikes on this type of crown represented rays of light pointing outward (the best contemporary illustration is the crown on the head of the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor).

[19:2]  ⁴⁴ sn The purple color of the robe indicated royal status. This was further mockery of Jesus, along with the crown of thorns.