John 1:2

1:2 The Word ¹  was with God in the beginning.

John 15:27

15:27 and you also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.

John 1:1

The Prologue to the Gospel

1:1 In the beginning ²  was the Word, and the Word was with God, ³  and the Word was fully God. ⁴ 

John 8:25

8:25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus replied, ⁵  “What I have told you from the beginning.

John 2:11

2:11 Jesus did this as the first of his miraculous signs, ⁶  in Cana ⁷  of Galilee. In this way he revealed ⁸  his glory, and his disciples believed in him. ⁹ 

John 6:64

6:64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus had already known from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) ¹⁰ 

John 16:4

16:4 But I have told you these things ¹¹  so that when their time ¹²  comes, you will remember that I told you about them. ¹³ 

“I did not tell you these things from the beginning because I was with you. ¹⁴ 

John 8:44

8:44 You people ¹⁵  are from ¹⁶  your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. ¹⁷  He ¹⁸  was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, ¹⁹  because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, ²⁰  he speaks according to his own nature, ²¹  because he is a liar and the father of lies. ²² 

[1:2]  ¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the Word) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:1]  ² sn In the beginning. The search for the basic “stuff” out of which things are made was the earliest one in Greek philosophy. It was attended by the related question of “What is the process by which the secondary things came out of the primary one (or ones)?,” or in Aristotelian terminology, “What is the ‘beginning’ (same Greek word as beginning, John 1:1) and what is the origin of the things that are made?” In the New Testament the word usually has a temporal sense, but even BDAG 138 s.v. ἀρχή 3 lists a major category of meaning as “the first cause.” For John, the words “In the beginning” are most likely a conscious allusion to the opening words of Genesis – “In the beginning.” Other concepts which occur prominently in Gen 1 are also found in John’s prologue: “life” (1:4) “light” (1:4) and “darkness” (1:5). Gen 1 describes the first (physical) creation; John 1 describes the new (spiritual) creation. But this is not to play off a false dichotomy between “physical” and “spiritual”; the first creation was both physical and spiritual. The new creation is really a re-creation, of the spiritual (first) but also the physical. (In spite of the common understanding of John’s “spiritual” emphasis, the “physical” re-creation should not be overlooked; this occurs in John 2 with the changing of water into wine, in John 11 with the resurrection of Lazarus, and the emphasis of John 20-21 on the aftermath of Jesus’ own resurrection.)

[1:1]  ³ tn The preposition πρός (pros) implies not just proximity, but intimate personal relationship. M. Dods stated, “Πρός …means more than μετά or παρά, and is regularly employed in expressing the presence of one person with another” (“The Gospel of St. John,” The Expositor’s Greek Testament, 1:684). See also Mark 6:3, Matt 13:56, Mark 9:19, Gal 1:18, 2 John 12.

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Or “and what God was the Word was.” Colwell’s Rule is often invoked to support the translation of θεός (qeos) as definite (“God”) rather than indefinite (“a god”) here. However, Colwell’s Rule merely permits, but does not demand, that a predicate nominative ahead of an equative verb be translated as definite rather than indefinite. Furthermore, Colwell’s Rule did not deal with a third possibility, that the anarthrous predicate noun may have more of a qualitative nuance when placed ahead of the verb. A definite meaning for the term is reflected in the traditional rendering “the word was God.” From a technical standpoint, though, it is preferable to see a qualitative aspect to anarthrous θεός in John 1:1c (ExSyn 266-69). Translations like the NEB, REB, and Moffatt are helpful in capturing the sense in John 1:1c, that the Word was fully deity in essence (just as much God as God the Father). However, in contemporary English “the Word was divine” (Moffatt) does not quite catch the meaning since “divine” as a descriptive term is not used in contemporary English exclusively of God. The translation “what God was the Word was” is perhaps the most nuanced rendering, conveying that everything God was in essence, the Word was too. This points to unity of essence between the Father and the Son without equating the persons. However, in surveying a number of native speakers of English, some of whom had formal theological training and some of whom did not, the editors concluded that the fine distinctions indicated by “what God was the Word was” would not be understood by many contemporary readers. Thus the translation “the Word was fully God” was chosen because it is more likely to convey the meaning to the average English reader that the Logos (which “became flesh and took up residence among us” in John 1:14 and is thereafter identified in the Fourth Gospel as Jesus) is one in essence with God the Father. The previous phrase, “the Word was with God,” shows that the Logos is distinct in person from God the Father.

[8:25]  ³ tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

[2:11]  ⁴ tn This sentence in Greek involves an object-complement construction. The force can be either “Jesus did this as,” or possibly “Jesus made this to be.” The latter translation accents not only Jesus’ power but his sovereignty too. Cf. also 4:54 where the same construction occurs.

[2:11]  ⁵ map For location see Map1 C3; Map2 D2; Map3 C5.

[2:11]  ⁶ tn Grk “in Cana of Galilee, and he revealed.”

[2:11]  ⁷ tn Or “his disciples trusted in him,” or “his disciples put their faith in him.”

[6:64]  ⁵ sn This is a parenthetical comment by the author.

[16:4]  ⁶ tn The first half of v. 4 resumes the statement of 16:1, ταῦτα λελάληκα ὑμῖν (tauta lelalhka Jumin), in a somewhat more positive fashion, omitting the reference to the disciples being caused to stumble.

[16:4]  ⁷ tn Grk “their hour.”

[16:4]  ⁸ tn The words “about them” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[16:4]  ⁹ sn This verse serves as a transition between the preceding discussion of the persecutions the disciples will face in the world after the departure of Jesus, and the following discussion concerning the departure of Jesus and the coming of the Spirit-Paraclete. Jesus had not told the disciples these things from the beginning because he was with them.

[8:44]  ⁷ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to clarify that the Greek pronoun and verb are plural.

[8:44]  ⁸ tn Many translations read “You are of your father the devil” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NASB) or “You belong to your father, the devil” (NIV), but the Greek preposition ἐκ (ek) emphasizes the idea of source or origin. Jesus said his opponents were the devil’s very offspring (a statement which would certainly infuriate them).

[8:44]  ⁹ tn Grk “the desires of your father you want to do.”

[8:44]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “That one” (referring to the devil).

[8:44]  ¹¹ tn Grk “he does not stand in the truth” (in the sense of maintaining, upholding, or accepting the validity of it).

[8:44]  ¹² tn Grk “Whenever he speaks the lie.”

[8:44]  ¹³ tn Grk “he speaks from his own.”

[8:44]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “because he is a liar and the father of it.”