John 12:40

12:40 “He has blinded their eyes

and hardened their heart, ¹ 

so that they would not see with their eyes

and understand with their heart, ² 

and turn to me, ³  and I would heal them.” ⁴ 

John 16:4

16:4 But I have told you these things ⁵  so that when their time ⁶  comes, you will remember that I told you about them. ⁷ 

“I did not tell you these things from the beginning because I was with you. ⁸ 

John 17:12

17:12 When I was with them I kept them safe ⁹  and watched over them ¹⁰  in your name ¹¹  that you have given me. Not one ¹²  of them was lost except the one destined for destruction, ¹³  so that the scripture could be fulfilled. ¹⁴ 

[12:40]  ¹ tn Or “closed their mind.”

[12:40]  ² tn Or “their mind.”

[12:40]  ³ tn One could also translate στραφῶσιν (strafwsin) as “repent” or “change their ways,” but both of these terms would be subject to misinterpretation by the modern English reader. The idea is one of turning back to God, however. The words “to me” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[12:40]  ⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 6:10.

[16:4]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Grk “their hour.”

[16:4]  ⁷ tn The words “about them” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[16:4]  ⁸ 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.

[17:12]  ⁹ tn Or “I protected them”; Grk “I kept them.”

[17:12]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “and guarded them.”

[17:12]  ¹¹ tn Or “by your name.”

[17:12]  ¹² tn Grk And not one.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[17:12]  ¹³ tn Grk “the son of destruction” (a Semitic idiom for one appointed for destruction; here it is a reference to Judas).

[17:12]  ¹⁴ sn A possible allusion to Ps 41:9 or Prov 24:22 LXX. The exact passage is not specified here, but in John 13:18, Ps 41:9 is explicitly quoted by Jesus with reference to the traitor, suggesting that this is the passage to which Jesus refers here. The previous mention of Ps 41:9 in John 13:18 probably explains why the author felt no need for an explanatory parenthetical note here. It is also possible that the passage referred to here is Prov 24:22 LXX, where in the Greek text the phrase “son of destruction” appears.