John 1:32

1:32 Then ¹  John testified, ²  “I saw the Spirit descending like a dove ³  from heaven, ⁴  and it remained on him. ⁵ 

John 2:25

2:25 He did not need anyone to testify about man, ⁶  for he knew what was in man. ⁷ 

John 3:11

3:11 I tell you the solemn truth, ⁸  we speak about what we know and testify about what we have seen, but ⁹  you people ¹⁰  do not accept our testimony. ¹¹ 

John 3:28

3:28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ ¹²  but rather, ‘I have been sent before him.’

John 5:37

5:37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified about me. You people ¹³  have never heard his voice nor seen his form at any time, ¹⁴ 

John 5:39

5:39 You study the scriptures thoroughly ¹⁵  because you think in them you possess eternal life, ¹⁶  and it is these same scriptures ¹⁷  that testify about me,

John 7:7

7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I am testifying about it that its deeds are evil.

John 12:17

12:17 So the crowd who had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead were continuing to testify about it. ¹⁸ 

John 13:21

13:21 When he had said these things, Jesus was greatly distressed ¹⁹  in spirit, and testified, ²⁰  “I tell you the solemn truth, ²¹  one of you will betray me.” ²² 

John 19:35

19:35 And the person who saw it ²³  has testified (and his testimony is true, and he ²⁴  knows that he is telling the truth), ²⁵  so that you also may believe.

John 21:24

A Final Note

21:24 This is the disciple who testifies about these things and has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.

[1:32]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events in the narrative. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[1:32]  ² tn Grk “testified, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[1:32]  ³ sn The phrase like a dove is a descriptive comparison. The Spirit is not a dove, but descended like one in some sort of bodily representation.

[1:32]  ⁴ tn Or “from the sky.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context.

[1:32]  ⁵ sn John says the Spirit remained on Jesus. The Greek verb μένω (menw) is a favorite Johannine word, used 40 times in the Gospel and 27 times in the Epistles (67 together) against 118 times total in the NT. The general significance of the verb μένω for John is to express the permanency of relationship between Father and Son and Son and believer. Here the use of the word implies that Jesus permanently possesses the Holy Spirit, and because he does, he will dispense the Holy Spirit to others in baptism. Other notes on the dispensation of the Spirit occur at John 3:5 and following (at least implied by the wordplay), John 3:34, 7:38-39, numerous passages in John 14-16 (the Paraclete passages) and John 20:22. Note also the allusion to Isa 42:1 – “Behold my servant…my chosen one in whom my soul delights. I have put my Spirit on him.”

[2:25]  ⁶ tn The masculine form has been retained here in the translation to maintain the connection with “a man of the Pharisees” in 3:1, with the understanding that the reference is to people of both genders.

[2:25]  ⁷ tn See previous note on “man” in this verse.

[3:11]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[3:11]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to show the contrast present in the context.

[3:11]  ¹³ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied in the translation to indicate that the verb is second person plural (referring to more than Nicodemus alone).

[3:11]  ¹⁴ sn Note the remarkable similarity of Jesus’ testimony to the later testimony of the Apostle John himself in 1 John 1:2: “And we have seen and testify and report to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was revealed to us.” This is only one example of how thoroughly the author’s own thoughts were saturated with the words of Jesus (and also how difficult it is to distinguish the words of Jesus from the words of the author in the Fourth Gospel).

[3:28]  ¹⁶ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[5:37]  ²¹ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to clarify that the following verbs (“heard,” “seen,” “have residing,” “do not believe”) are second person plural.

[5:37]  ²² sn You people have never heard his voice nor seen his form at any time. Compare Deut 4:12. Also see Deut 5:24 ff., where the Israelites begged to hear the voice no longer – their request (ironically) has by this time been granted. How ironic this would be if the feast is Pentecost, where by the 1st century a.d. the giving of the law at Sinai was being celebrated.

[5:39]  ²⁶ tn Or “Study the scriptures thoroughly” (an imperative). For the meaning of the verb see G. Delling, TDNT 2:655-57.

[5:39]  ²⁷ sn In them you possess eternal life. Note the following examples from the rabbinic tractate Pirqe Avot (“The Sayings of the Fathers”): Pirqe Avot 2:8, “He who has acquired the words of the law has acquired for himself the life of the world to come”; Pirqe Avot 6:7, “Great is the law for it gives to those who practice it life in this world and in the world to come.”

[5:39]  ²⁸ tn The words “same scriptures” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to clarify the referent (“these”).

[12:17]  ³¹ tn The word “it” is not included in the Greek text. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

[13:21]  ³⁶ tn Or “greatly troubled.”

[13:21]  ³⁷ tn Grk “and testified and said.”

[13:21]  ³⁸ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[13:21]  ³⁹ tn Or “will hand me over.”

[19:35]  ⁴¹ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[19:35]  ⁴² tn Grk “and that one.”

[19:35]  ⁴³ sn A parenthetical note by the author.