John 1:15

1:15 John ¹  testified ²  about him and shouted out, ³  “This one was the one about whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than I am, ⁴  because he existed before me.’”

John 8:23-24

8:23 Jesus replied, ⁵  “You people ⁶  are from below; I am from above. You people are from this world; I am not from this world. 8:24 Thus I told you ⁷  that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am he, ⁸  you will die in your sins.”

John 8:58

8:58 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, ⁹  before Abraham came into existence, ¹⁰  I am!” ¹¹ 

Isaiah 43:10

43:10 You are my witnesses,” says the Lord,

“my servant whom I have chosen,

so that you may consider ¹²  and believe in me,

and understand that I am he.

No god was formed before me,

and none will outlive me. ¹³ 

Malachi 3:1

3:1 “I am about to send my messenger, ¹⁴  who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord ¹⁵  you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger ¹⁶  of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,” says the Lord who rules over all.

Matthew 11:3

11:3 “Are you the one who is to come, ¹⁷  or should we look for another?”

Revelation 1:17-18

1:17 When ¹⁸  I saw him I fell down at his feet as though I were dead, but ¹⁹  he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid! I am the first and the last, 1:18 and the one who lives! I ²⁰  was dead, but look, now I am alive – forever and ever – and I hold the keys of death and of Hades! ²¹ 

[1:15]  ¹ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[1:15]  ² tn Or “bore witness.”

[1:15]  ³ tn Grk “and shouted out saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant is English and has not been translated.

[1:15]  ⁴ tn Or “has a higher rank than I.”

[8:23]  ⁵ tn Grk “And he said to them.”

[8:23]  ⁶ tn The word “people” is supplied in English to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.

[8:24]  ⁷ tn Grk “thus I said to you.”

[8:24]  ⁸ tn Grk “unless you believe that I am.” In this context there is an implied predicate nominative (“he”) following the “I am” phrase. What Jesus’ hearers had to acknowledge is that he was who he claimed to be, i.e., the Messiah (cf. 20:31). This view is also reflected in English translations like NIV (“if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be”), NLT (“unless you believe that I am who I say I am”), and CEV (“if you don’t have faith in me for who I am”). For a different view that takes this “I am” and the one in 8:28 as nonpredicated (i.e., absolute), see R. E. Brown, John (AB), 1:533-38. Such a view refers sees the nonpredicated “I am” as a reference to the divine Name revealed in Exod 3:14, and is reflected in English translations like NAB (“if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins”) and TEV (“you will die in your sins if you do not believe that ‘I Am Who I Am’”).

[8:58]  ⁹ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[8:58]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “before Abraham was.”

[8:58]  ¹¹ sn I am! is an explicit claim to deity. Although each occurrence of the phrase “I am” in the Fourth Gospel needs to be examined individually in context to see if an association with Exod 3:14 is present, it seems clear that this is the case here (as the response of the Jewish authorities in the following verse shows).

[43:10]  ¹² tn Or “know” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[43:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “and after me, there will not be”; NASB “there will be none after Me.”

[3:1]  ¹⁴ tn In Hebrew the phrase “my messenger” is מַלְאָכִי (mal’akhi), the same form as the prophet’s name (see note on the name “Malachi” in 1:1). However, here the messenger appears to be an eschatological figure who is about to appear, as the following context suggests. According to 4:5, this messenger is “Elijah the prophet,” whom the NT identifies as John the Baptist (Matt 11:10; Mark 1:2) because he came in the “spirit and power” of Elijah (Matt 11:14; 17:11-12; Lk 1:17).

[3:1]  ¹⁵ tn Here the Hebrew term הָאָדוֹן (ha’adon) is used, not יְהוָה (yÿhvah, typically rendered Lord). Thus the focus is not on the Lord as the covenant God, but on his role as master.

[3:1]  ¹⁶ sn This messenger of the covenant may be equated with my messenger (that is, Elijah) mentioned earlier in the verse, or with the Lord himself. In either case the messenger functions as an enforcer of the covenant. Note the following verses, which depict purifying judgment on a people that has violated the Lord’s covenant.

[11:3]  ¹⁷ sn Aspects of Jesus’ ministry may have led John to question whether Jesus was the promised stronger and greater one who is to come that he had preached about in Matt 3:1-12.

[1:17]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[1:17]  ¹⁹ tn Here the Greek conjunction καί (kai) has been translated as a contrastive (“but”) due to the contrast between the two clauses.

[1:18]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:18]  ²¹ tn Concerning “Hades” BDAG 19 s.v. ᾅδης 1 and 2 states: “Orig. proper noun, god of the nether world, ‘Hades’, then the nether world, Hades as place of the dead, Ac 2:27, 31 (Ps 15:10; Eccl 9:10; PGM 1, 179; 16, 8; Philo, Mos. 1, 195; Jos., Bell. 1, 596, Ant. 6, 332). Of Jonah’s fish ἐκ τοῦ κατωτάτου ᾅδου. In the depths, contrasted w. heaven ἕως (τοῦ) ᾅδου Mt 11:23; Lk 10:15 (PsSol 15:10; cp.; Is 14:11, 15); ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ 16:23; ἐν ῝Αιδου ApcPt Rainer. Accessible by gates (but the pl. is also used [e.g. Hom., X., Ael. Aristid. 47, 20 K.=23 p. 450 D.] when only one gate is meant), hence πύλαι ᾅδου (Il. 5, 646; Is 38:10; Wsd 16:13; 3 Macc 5:51; Pss. Sol. 16:2. – Lucian, Menipp. 6 the magicians can open τοῦ ῝Αιδου τὰς πύλας and conduct people in and out safely) Mt 16:18…locked ἔχω τὰς κλεῖς τοῦ θανάτου καὶ τοῦ ᾅδου Rv 1:18 (the genitives are either obj. [Ps.-Apollod. 3, 12, 6, 10 Aeacus, the son of Zeus holds the κλεῖς τοῦ ῝Αιδου; SEG VIII, 574, 3 (III ad) τῷ τὰς κλεῖδας ἔχοντι τῶν καθ᾿ ῝Αιδου (restored)] or possess.; in the latter case death and Hades are personif.; s. 2)…Hades personif.…w. θάνατος (cp. Is 28:15; Job 38:17…) Rv 6:8; 20:13f.”