John 18:20

18:20 Jesus replied, ¹  “I have spoken publicly to the world. I always taught in the synagogues ²  and in the temple courts, ³  where all the Jewish people ⁴  assemble together. I ⁵  have said nothing in secret.

John 18:1

Betrayal and Arrest

18:1 When he had said these things, ⁶  Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley. ⁷  There was an orchard ⁸  there, and he and his disciples went into it.

John 1:13

1:13 – children not born ⁹  by human parents ¹⁰  or by human desire ¹¹  or a husband’s ¹²  decision, ¹³  but by God.

Matthew 4:6

4:6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ ¹⁴  and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” ¹⁵ 

Acts 2:4-12

2:4 All ¹⁶  of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other languages ¹⁷  as the Spirit enabled them. ¹⁸ 

2:5 Now there were devout Jews ¹⁹  from every nation under heaven residing in Jerusalem. ²⁰  2:6 When this sound ²¹  occurred, a crowd gathered and was in confusion, ²²  because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 2:7 Completely baffled, they said, ²³  “Aren’t ²⁴  all these who are speaking Galileans? 2:8 And how is it that each one of us hears them ²⁵  in our own native language? ²⁶  2:9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and the province of Asia, ²⁷  2:10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene, ²⁸  and visitors from Rome, ²⁹  2:11 both Jews and proselytes, ³⁰  Cretans and Arabs – we hear them speaking in our own languages about the great deeds God has done!” ³¹  2:12 All were astounded and greatly confused, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

[18:20]  ¹ tn Grk “Jesus answered him.”

[18:20]  ² sn See the note on synagogue in 6:59.

[18:20]  ³ tn Grk “in the temple.”

[18:20]  ⁴ tn Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish people generally, for whom the synagogues and the temple courts in Jerusalem were important public gathering places. See also the note on the phrase “Jewish religious leaders” in v. 12.

[18:20]  ⁵ tn Grk “And I.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[18:1]  ⁶ sn When he had said these things appears to be a natural transition at the end of the Farewell Discourse (the farewell speech of Jesus to his disciples in John 13:31-17:26, including the final prayer in 17:1-26). The author states that Jesus went out with his disciples, a probable reference to their leaving the upper room where the meal and discourse described in chaps. 13-17 took place (although some have seen this only as a reference to their leaving the city, with the understanding that some of the Farewell Discourse, including the concluding prayer, was given en route, cf. 14:31). They crossed the Kidron Valley and came to a garden, or olive orchard, identified in Matt 26:36 and Mark 14:32 as Gethsemane. The name is not given in Luke’s or John’s Gospel, but the garden must have been located somewhere on the lower slopes of the Mount of Olives.

[18:1]  ⁷ tn Grk “the wadi of the Kidron,” or “the ravine of the Kidron” (a wadi is a stream that flows only during the rainy season and is dry during the dry season).

[18:1]  ⁸ tn Or “a garden.”

[1:13]  ⁹ tn The Greek term translated “born” here also involves conception.

[1:13]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “of blood(s).” The plural αἱμάτων (Jaimatwn) has seemed a problem to many interpreters. At least some sources in antiquity imply that blood was thought of as being important in the development of the fetus during its time in the womb: thus Wis 7:1: “in the womb of a mother I was molded into flesh, within the period of 10 months, compacted with blood, from the seed of a man and the pleasure of marriage.” In John 1:13, the plural αἱμάτων may imply the action of both parents. It may also refer to the “genetic” contribution of both parents, and so be equivalent to “human descent” (see BDAG 26 s.v. αἷμα 1.a). E. C. Hoskyns thinks John could not have used the singular here because Christians are in fact ‘begotten’ by the blood of Christ (The Fourth Gospel, 143), although the context would seem to make it clear that the blood in question is something other than the blood of Christ.

[1:13]  ¹¹ tn Or “of the will of the flesh.” The phrase οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος σαρκός (oude ek qelhmato" sarko") is more clearly a reference to sexual desire, but it should be noted that σάρξ (sarx) in John does not convey the evil sense common in Pauline usage. For John it refers to the physical nature in its weakness rather than in its sinfulness. There is no clearer confirmation of this than the immediately following verse, where the λόγος (logos) became σάρξ.

[1:13]  ¹² tn Or “man’s.”

[1:13]  ¹³ tn The third phrase, οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος ἀνδρός (oude ek qelhmato" andros), means much the same as the second one. The word here (ἀνηρ, anhr) is often used for a husband, resulting in the translation “or a husband’s decision,” or more generally, “or of any human volition whatsoever.” L. Morris may be right when he sees here an emphasis directed at the Jewish pride in race and patriarchal ancestry, although such a specific reference is difficult to prove (John [NICNT], 101).

[4:6]  ¹⁴ sn A quotation from Ps 91:11. This was not so much an incorrect citation as a use in a wrong context (a misapplication of the passage).

[4:6]  ¹⁵ sn A quotation from Ps 91:12.

[2:4]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And all.” 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.

[2:4]  ¹⁷ tn The Greek term is γλώσσαις (glwssai"), the same word used for the tongues of fire.

[2:4]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “just as the spirit gave them to utter.” The verb ἀποφθέγγομαι (apofqengomai) was used of special utterances in Classical Greek (BDAG 125 s.v.).

[2:5]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “Jews, devout men.” It is possible that only men are in view here in light of OT commands for Jewish men to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem at various times during the year (cf. Exod 23:17, 34:23; Deut 16:16). However, other evidence seems to indicate that both men and women might be in view. Luke 2:41-52 shows that whole families would make the temporary trip to Jerusalem. In addition, it is probable that the audience consisted of families who had taken up permanent residence in Jerusalem. The verb κατοικέω (katoikew) normally means “reside” or “dwell,” and archaeological evidence from tombs in Jerusalem does indicate that many families immigrated to Jerusalem permanently (see B. Witherington, Acts, 135); this would naturally include women. Also, the word ἀνήρ (ajnhr), which usually does mean “male” or “man” (as opposed to woman), sometimes is used generically to mean “a person” (BDAG 79 s.v. 2; cf. Matt 12:41). Given this evidence, then, it is conceivable that the audience in view here is not individual male pilgrims but a mixed group of men and women.

[2:5]  ²⁰ tn Grk “Now there were residing in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.”

[2:6]  ²¹ tn Or “this noise.”

[2:6]  ²² tn Or “was bewildered.”

[2:7]  ²³ tn Grk “They were astounded and amazed, saying.” The two imperfect verbs, ἐξίσταντο (existanto) and ἐθαύμαζον (eqaumazon), show both the surprise and the confusion on the part of the hearers. The verb ἐξίσταντο (from ἐξίστημι, existhmi) often implies an illogical perception or response (BDAG 350 s.v. ἐξίστημι): “to be so astonished as to almost fail to comprehend what one has experienced” (L&N 25.218).

[2:7]  ²⁴ tn Grk “Behold, aren’t all these.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[2:8]  ²⁵ tn Grk “we hear them, each one of us.”

[2:8]  ²⁶ tn Grk “in our own language in which we were born.”

[2:9]  ²⁷ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[2:10]  ²⁸ tn According to BDAG 595 s.v. Λιβύη, the western part of Libya, Libya Cyrenaica, is referred to here (see also Josephus, Ant. 16.6.1 [16.160] for a similar phrase).

[2:10]  ²⁹ map For location see JP4 A1.

[2:11]  ³⁰ sn Proselytes refers to Gentile (i.e., non-Jewish) converts to Judaism.

[2:11]  ³¹ tn Or “God’s mighty works.” Here the genitive τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou) has been translated as a subjective genitive.