John 1:4

1:4 In him was life, ¹  and the life was the light of mankind. ² 

John 4:10

4:10 Jesus answered ³  her, “If you had known ⁴  the gift of God and who it is who said to you, ‘Give me some water ⁵  to drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” ⁶ 

John 7:37-38

Teaching About the Spirit

7:37 On the last day of the feast, the greatest day, ⁷  Jesus stood up and shouted out, ⁸  “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and 7:38 let the one who believes in me drink. ⁹  Just as the scripture says, ‘From within him ¹⁰  will flow rivers of living water.’” ¹¹ 

John 8:51

8:51 I tell you the solemn truth, ¹²  if anyone obeys ¹³  my teaching, ¹⁴  he will never see death.” ¹⁵ 

John 11:26

11:26 and the one who lives and believes in me will never die. ¹⁶  Do you believe this?”

John 14:6

14:6 Jesus replied, ¹⁷  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. ¹⁸  No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:19

14:19 In a little while ¹⁹  the world will not see me any longer, but you will see me; because I live, you will live too.

John 17:2-3

17:2 just as you have given him authority over all humanity, ²⁰  so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him. ²¹  17:3 Now this ²²  is eternal life ²³  – that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, ²⁴  whom you sent.

John 17:1

Jesus Prays for the Father to Glorify Him

17:1 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he looked upward ²⁵  to heaven ²⁶  and said, “Father, the time ²⁷  has come. Glorify your Son, so that your ²⁸  Son may glorify you –

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ²⁹  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 3:3-4

3:3 for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 3:4 When Christ (who is your ³⁰  life) appears, then you too will be revealed in glory with him.

Colossians 3:1

Exhortations to Seek the Things Above

3:1 Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Colossians 1:1-3

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ³¹  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 1:2 to the saints, the faithful ³²  brothers and sisters ³³  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ³⁴  from God our Father! ³⁵ 

Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Church

1:3 We always ³⁶  give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

Revelation 7:17

7:17 because the Lamb in the middle of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” ³⁷ 

Revelation 21:6

21:6 He also said to me, “It is done! ³⁸  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the one who is thirsty I will give water ³⁹  free of charge ⁴⁰  from the spring of the water of life.

Revelation 22:1

22:1 Then ⁴¹  the angel ⁴²  showed me the river of the water of life – water as clear as crystal – pouring out ⁴³  from the throne of God and of the Lamb,

Revelation 22:17

22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say: “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wants it take the water of life free of charge.

[1:4]  ¹ tn John uses ζωή (zwh) 37 times: 17 times it occurs with αἰώνιος (aiwnios), and in the remaining occurrences outside the prologue it is clear from context that “eternal” life is meant. The two uses in 1:4, if they do not refer to “eternal” life, would be the only exceptions. (Also 1 John uses ζωή 13 times, always of “eternal” life.)

[1:4]  ² tn Or “humanity”; Grk “of men” (but ἄνθρωπος [anqrwpo"] is used in a generic sense here, not restricted to males only, thus “mankind,” “humanity”).

[4:10]  ³ tn Grk “answered and said to her.”

[4:10]  ⁴ tn Or “if you knew.”

[4:10]  ⁵ tn The phrase “some water” is supplied as the understood direct object of the infinitive πεῖν (pein).

[4:10]  ⁶ tn This is a second class conditional sentence in Greek.

[7:37]  ⁷ sn There is a problem with the identification of this reference to the last day of the feast, the greatest day: It appears from Deut 16:13 that the feast went for seven days. Lev 23:36, however, makes it plain that there was an eighth day, though it was mentioned separately from the seven. It is not completely clear whether the seventh or eighth day was the climax of the feast, called here by the author the “last great day of the feast.” Since according to the Mishnah (m. Sukkah 4.1) the ceremonies with water and lights did not continue after the seventh day, it seems more probable that this is the day the author mentions.

[7:37]  ⁸ tn Grk “Jesus stood up and cried out, saying.”

[7:38]  ⁹ tn An alternate way of punctuating the Greek text of vv. 37-38 results in this translation: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. The one who believes in me, just as the scripture says, ‘From within him will flow rivers of living water.’” John 7:37-38 has been the subject of considerable scholarly debate. Certainly Jesus picks up on the literal water used in the ceremony and uses it figuratively. But what does the figure mean? According to popular understanding, it refers to the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell in the believer. There is some difficulty in locating an OT text which speaks of rivers of water flowing from within such a person, but Isa 58:11 is often suggested: “The Lord will continually lead you, he will feed you even in parched regions. He will give you renewed strength, and you will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring that continually produces water.” Other passages which have been suggested are Prov 4:23 and 5:15; Isa 44:3 and 55:1; Ezek 47:1 ff.; Joel 3:18; and Zech 13:1 and 14:8. The meaning in this case is that when anyone comes to believe in Jesus the scriptures referring to the activity of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life are fulfilled. “When the believer comes to Christ and drinks he not only slakes his thirst but receives such an abundant supply that veritable rivers flow from him” (L. Morris, John [NICNT], 424-25). In other words, with this view, the believer himself becomes the source of the living water. This is the traditional understanding of the passage, often called the “Eastern interpretation” following Origen, Athanasius, and the Greek Fathers. It is supported by such modern scholars as Barrett, Behm, Bernard, Cadman, Carson, R. H. Lightfoot, Lindars, Michaelis, Morris, Odeberg, Schlatter, Schweizer, C. H. Turner, M. M. B. Turner, Westcott, and Zahn. In addition it is represented by the following Greek texts and translations: KJV, RSV, NASB, NA²⁷, and UBS⁴. D. A. Carson, John, 322-29, has a thorough discussion of the issues and evidence although he opts for the previous interpretation. There is another interpretation possible, however, called the “Western interpretation” because of patristic support by Justin, Hippolytus, Tertullian, and Irenaeus. Modern scholars who favor this view are Abbott, Beasley-Murray, Bishop, Boismard, Braun, Brown, Bullinger, Bultmann, Burney, Dodd, Dunn, Guilding, R. Harris, Hoskyns, Jeremias, Loisy, D. M. Stanley, Thüsing, N. Turner, and Zerwick. This view is represented by the translation in the RSV margin and by the NEB. It is also sometimes called the “christological interpretation” because it makes Jesus himself the source of the living water in v. 38, by punctuating as follows: (37b) ἐάν τι διψᾷ ἐρχέσθω πρός με, καὶ πινέτω (38) ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμέ. Καθὼς εἶπεν ἡ γραφή, ποταμοὶ ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας αὐτοῦ ῥεύσουσιν ὕδατος ζῶντος. Three crucial questions are involved in the solution of this problem: (1) punctuation; (2) determining the antecedent of αὐτοῦ (autou); and (3) the source of the scripture quotation. With regard to (1) Ì⁶⁶ does place a full stop after πινέτω (pinetw), but this may be theologically motivated and could have been added later. Grammatical and stylistic arguments are inconclusive. More important is (2) the determination of the antecedent of αὐτοῦ. Can any other Johannine parallels be found which make the believer the source of the living water? John 4:14 is often mentioned in this regard, but unlike 4:14 the water here becomes a source for others also. Neither does 14:12 provide a parallel. Furthermore, such an interpretation becomes even more problematic in light of the explanation given in v. 39 that the water refers to the Holy Spirit, since it is extremely difficult to see the individual believer becoming the ‘source’ of the Spirit for others. On the other hand, the Gospel of John repeatedly places Jesus himself in this role as source of the living water: 4:10, of course, for the water itself; but according to 20:22 Jesus provides the Spirit (cf. 14:16). Furthermore, the symbolism of 19:34 is difficult to explain as anything other than a deliberate allusion to what is predicted here. This also explains why the Spirit cannot come to the disciples unless Jesus “departs” (16:7). As to (3) the source of the scripture quotation, M. E. Boismard has argued that John is using a targumic rendering of Ps 78:15-16 which describes the water brought forth from the rock in the wilderness by Moses (“Les citations targumiques dans le quatrième évangile,” RB 66 [1959]: 374-78). The frequency of Exodus motifs in the Fourth Gospel (paschal lamb, bronze serpent, manna from heaven) leads quite naturally to the supposition that the author is here drawing on the account of Moses striking the rock in the wilderness to bring forth water (Num 20:8 ff.). That such imagery was readily identified with Jesus in the early church is demonstrated by Paul’s understanding of the event in 1 Cor 10:4. Jesus is the Rock from which the living water – the Spirit – will flow. Carson (see note above) discusses this imagery although he favors the traditional or “Eastern” interpretation. In summary, the latter or “Western” interpretation is to be preferred.

[7:38]  ¹⁰ tn Or “out of the innermost part of his person”; Grk “out of his belly.”

[7:38]  ¹¹ sn An OT quotation whose source is difficult to determine; Isa 44:3, 55:1, 58:11, and Zech 14:8 have all been suggested.

[8:51]  ¹² tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[8:51]  ¹³ tn Grk “If anyone keeps.”

[8:51]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “my word.”

[8:51]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “he will never see death forever.” The Greek negative here is emphatic.

[11:26]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “will never die forever.”

[14:6]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”

[14:6]  ¹⁸ tn Or “I am the way, even the truth and the life.”

[14:19]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “Yet a little while, and.”

[17:2]  ²⁰ tn Or “all people”; Grk “all flesh.”

[17:2]  ²¹ tn Grk “so that to everyone whom you have given to him, he may give to them eternal life.”

[17:3]  ²² tn Using αὕτη δέ (Jauth de) to introduce an explanation is typical Johannine style; it was used before in John 1:19, 3:19, and 15:12.

[17:3]  ²³ sn This is eternal life. The author here defines eternal life for the readers, although it is worked into the prayer in such a way that many interpreters do not regard it as another of the author’s parenthetical comments. It is not just unending life in the sense of prolonged duration. Rather it is a quality of life, with its quality derived from a relationship with God. Having eternal life is here defined as being in relationship with the Father, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom the Father sent. Christ (Χριστός, Cristos) is not characteristically attached to Jesus’ name in John’s Gospel; it occurs elsewhere primarily as a title and is used with Jesus’ name only in 1:17. But that is connected to its use here: The statement here in 17:3 enables us to correlate the statement made in 1:18 of the prologue, that Jesus has fully revealed what God is like, with Jesus’ statement in 10:10 that he has come that people might have life, and have it abundantly. These two purposes are really one, according to 17:3, because (abundant) eternal life is defined as knowing (being in relationship with) the Father and the Son. The only way to gain this eternal life, that is, to obtain this knowledge of the Father, is through the Son (cf. 14:6). Although some have pointed to the use of know (γινώσκω, ginwskw) here as evidence of Gnostic influence in the Fourth Gospel, there is a crucial difference: For John this knowledge is not intellectual, but relational. It involves being in relationship.

[17:3]  ²⁴ tn Or “and Jesus the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[17:1]  ²⁵ tn Grk “he raised his eyes” (an idiom).

[17:1]  ²⁶ tn Or “to the sky.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven” depending on the context.

[17:1]  ²⁷ tn Grk “the hour.”

[17:1]  ²⁸ tc The better witnesses (א B C* W 0109 0301) have “the Son” (ὁ υἱός, Jo Juios) here, while the majority (C³ L Ψ Ë¹³ 33 Ï) read “your Son also” (καὶ ὁ υἱὸς σου, kai Jo Juio" sou), or “your Son” (ὁ υἱὸς σου; A D Θ 0250 1 579 pc lat sy); the second corrector of C has καὶ ὁ υἱός (“the Son also”). The longer readings appear to be predictable scribal expansions and as such should be considered secondary.

[1:1]  ²⁹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[3:4]  ³⁰ tc Certain mss (B^[*^] D¹ H 0278 1739 Ï sy sa) read ἡμῶν (Jhmwn, “our”), while others (Ì⁴⁶ א C D* F G P Ψ 075 33 81 1881 al latt bo) read ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”). Internally, it is possible that the second person pronoun arose through scribal conformity to the second person pronoun used previously in v. 3 (i.e., ὑμῶν) and following in v. 4 (ὑμεῖς, Jumeis). But in terms of external criteria, the second person pronoun has superior ms support (though there is an Alexandrian split) and ἡμῶν may have arisen through accident (error of sight) or scribal attempt to universalize the statement since all Christians have Jesus as their life. See TCGNT 557.

[1:1]  ³¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:2]  ³² tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ³³ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:2]  ³⁴ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ³⁵ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[1:3]  ³⁶ tn The adverb πάντοτε (pantote) is understood to modify the indicative εὐχαριστοῦμεν (eucaristoumen) because it precedes περὶ ὑμῶν (peri Jumwn) which probably modifies the indicative and not the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi). But see 1:9 where the same expression occurs and περὶ ὑμῶν modifies the participle “praying” (προσευχόμενοι).

[7:17]  ³⁷ sn An allusion to Isa 25:8.

[21:6]  ³⁸ tn Or “It has happened.”

[21:6]  ³⁹ tn The word “water” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[21:6]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “as a free gift” (see L&N 57.85).

[22:1]  ⁴¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[22:1]  ⁴² tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel mentioned in 21:9, 15) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:1]  ⁴³ tn Grk “proceeding.” Water is more naturally thought to pour out or flow out in English idiom.