Discovery BoxJohn 3:15-18
Context3:15 so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” 1
3:16 For this is the way 2 God loved the world: He gave his one and only 3 Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish 4 but have eternal life. 5 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, 6 but that the world should be saved through him. 3:18 The one who believes in him is not condemned. 7 The one who does not believe has been condemned 8 already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only 9 Son of God.
John 4:14
Context4:14 But whoever drinks some of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again, 10 but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain 11 of water springing up 12 to eternal life.”
John 5:24
Context5:24 “I tell you the solemn truth, 13 the one who hears 14 my message 15 and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, 16 but has crossed over from death to life.
John 6:50
Context6:50 This 17 is the bread that has come down from heaven, so that a person 18 may eat from it and not die.
John 6:54-58
Context6:54 The one who eats 19 my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 20 6:55 For my flesh is true 21 food, and my blood is true 22 drink. 6:56 The one who eats 23 my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me, and I in him. 24 6:57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so the one who consumes 25 me will live because of me. 6:58 This 26 is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread your ancestors 27 ate, but then later died. 28 The one who eats 29 this bread will live forever.”
John 8:52-53
Context8:52 Then 30 the Judeans 31 responded, 32 “Now we know you’re possessed by a demon! 33 Both Abraham and the prophets died, and yet 34 you say, ‘If anyone obeys 35 my teaching, 36 he will never experience 37 death.’ 38 8:53 You aren’t greater than our father Abraham who died, are you? 39 And the prophets died too! Who do you claim to be?”
John 10:28
Context10:28 I give 40 them eternal life, and they will never perish; 41 no one will snatch 42 them from my hand.
Romans 8:13
Context8:13 (for if you live according to the flesh, you will 43 die), 44 but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.
Romans 8:1
Context8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 45
Romans 5:10-12
Context5:10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled, will we be saved by his life? 5:11 Not 46 only this, but we also rejoice 47 in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.
5:12 So then, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all people 48 because 49 all sinned –
[3:15] 1 tn This is the first use of the term ζωὴν αἰώνιον (zwhn aiwnion) in the Gospel, although ζωή (zwh) in chap. 1 is to be understood in the same way without the qualifying αἰώνιος (aiwnios).
[3:16] 2 tn Or “this is how much”; or “in this way.” The Greek adverb οὕτως (Joutws) can refer (1) to the degree to which God loved the world, that is, to such an extent or so much that he gave his own Son (see R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:133-34; D. A. Carson, John, 204) or (2) simply to the manner in which God loved the world, i.e., by sending his own son (see R. H. Gundry and R. W. Howell, “The Sense and Syntax of John 3:14-17 with Special Reference to the Use of Οὕτως…ὥστε in John 3:16,” NovT 41 [1999]: 24-39). Though the term more frequently refers to the manner in which something is done (see BDAG 741-42 s.v. οὕτω/οὕτως), the following clause involving ὥστε (Jwste) plus the indicative (which stresses actual, but [usually] unexpected result) emphasizes the greatness of the gift God has given. With this in mind, then, it is likely (3) that John is emphasizing both the degree to which God loved the world as well as the manner in which He chose to express that love. This is in keeping with John’s style of using double entendre or double meaning. Thus, the focus of the Greek construction here is on the nature of God's love, addressing its mode, intensity, and extent.
[3:16] 3 tn Although this word is often translated “only begotten,” such a translation is misleading, since in English it appears to express a metaphysical relationship. The word in Greek was used of an only child (a son [Luke 7:12, 9:38] or a daughter [Luke 8:42]). It was also used of something unique (only one of its kind) such as the mythological Phoenix (1 Clement 25:2). From here it passes easily to a description of Isaac (Heb 11:17 and Josephus, Ant. 1.13.1 [1.222]) who was not Abraham’s only son, but was one-of-a-kind because he was the child of the promise. Thus the word means “one-of-a-kind” and is reserved for Jesus in the Johannine literature of the NT. While all Christians are children of God (τέκνα θεοῦ, tekna qeou), Jesus is God’s Son in a unique, one-of-a-kind sense. The word is used in this way in all its uses in the Gospel of John (1:14, 1:18, 3:16, and 3:18).
[3:16] 4 tn In John the word ἀπόλλυμι (apollumi) can mean either (1) to be lost (2) to perish or be destroyed, depending on the context.
[3:16] 5 sn The alternatives presented are only two (again, it is typical of Johannine thought for this to be presented in terms of polar opposites): perish or have eternal life.
[3:17] 6 sn That is, “to judge the world to be guilty and liable to punishment.”
[3:18] 9 tn See the note on the term “one and only” in 3:16.
[4:14] 10 tn Grk “will never be thirsty forever.” The possibility of a later thirst is emphatically denied.
[4:14] 11 tn Or “well.” “Fountain” is used as the translation for πηγή (phgh) here since the idea is that of an artesian well that flows freely, but the term “artesian well” is not common in contemporary English.
[4:14] 12 tn The verb ἁλλομένου (Jallomenou) is used of quick movement (like jumping) on the part of living beings. This is the only instance of its being applied to the action of water. However, in the LXX it is used to describe the “Spirit of God” as it falls on Samson and Saul. See Judg 14:6, 19; 15:14; 1 Kgdms 10:2, 10 LXX (= 1 Sam 10:6, 10 ET); and Isa 35:6 (note context).
[5:24] 13 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
[5:24] 16 tn Grk “and does not come into judgment.”
[6:50] 18 tn Grk “someone” (τις, tis).
[6:54] 19 tn Or “who chews”; Grk ὁ τρώγων (Jo trwgwn). The alternation between ἐσθίω (esqiw, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trwgw, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) may simply reflect a preference for one form over the other on the author’s part, rather than an attempt to express a slightly more graphic meaning. If there is a difference, however, the word used here (τρώγω) is the more graphic and vivid of the two (“gnaw” or “chew”).
[6:54] 20 sn Notice that here the result (has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day) is produced by eating (Jesus’) flesh and drinking his blood. Compare John 6:40 where the same result is produced by “looking on the Son and believing in him.” This suggests that the phrase here (eats my flesh and drinks my blood) is to be understood by the phrase in 6:40 (looks on the Son and believes in him).
[6:56] 23 tn Or “who chews.” On the alternation between ἐσθίω (esqiw, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trwgw, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) see the note on “eats” in v. 54.
[6:56] 24 sn Resides in me, and I in him. Note how in John 6:54 eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood produces eternal life and the promise of resurrection at the last day. Here the same process of eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood leads to a relationship of mutual indwelling (resides in me, and I in him). This suggests strongly that for the author (and for Jesus) the concepts of ‘possessing eternal life’ and of ‘residing in Jesus’ are virtually interchangeable.
[6:57] 25 tn Or “who chews”; Grk “who eats.” Here the translation “consumes” is more appropriate than simply “eats,” because it is the internalization of Jesus by the individual that is in view. On the alternation between ἐσθίω (esqiw, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trwgw, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) see the note on “eats” in v. 54.
[6:58] 27 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
[6:58] 28 tn Grk “This is the bread that came down from heaven, not just like your ancestors ate and died.” The cryptic Greek expression has been filled out in the translation for clarity.
[6:58] 29 tn Or “who chews.” On the alternation between ἐσθίω (esqiw, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trwgw, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) see the note on “eats” in v. 54.
[8:52] 30 tc ‡ Important and early witnesses (Ì66 א B C W Θ 579 it) lack the conjunction here, while other witnesses read οὖν (oun, “therefore”; Ì75 D L Ψ 070 Ë1,13 33 Ï lat). This conjunction occurs in John some 200 times, far more than in any other NT book. Even though the most important Johannine papyrus (Ì75) has the conjunction, the combination of Ì66 א B for the omission is even stronger. Further, the reading seems to be a predictable scribal emendation. In particular, οὖν is frequently used with the plural of εἶπον (eipon, “they said”) in John (in this chapter alone, note vv. 13, 39, 48, 57, and possibly 41). On balance, it is probably best to consider the shorter reading as authentic, even though “Then” is virtually required in translation for English stylistic reasons. NA27 has the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.
[8:52] 31 tn Grk “the Jews.” See the note on this term in v. 31. Here, as in vv. 31 and 48, the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem (“Judeans”; cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e) who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple courts (8:20) and had initially believed his claim to be the Messiah (cf. 8:31).
[8:52] 32 tn Grk “said to him.”
[8:52] 33 tn Grk “you have a demon.”
[8:52] 34 tn “Yet” has been supplied to show the contrastive element present in the context.
[8:52] 35 tn Grk “If anyone keeps.”
[8:52] 37 tn Grk “will never taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).
[8:52] 38 tn Grk “he will never taste of death forever.” The Greek negative here is emphatic.
[8:53] 39 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “are you?”).
[10:28] 40 tn Grk “And I give.”
[10:28] 41 tn Or “will never die” or “will never be lost.”
[10:28] 42 tn Or “no one will seize.”
[8:13] 43 tn Grk “are about to, are certainly going to.”
[8:13] 44 sn This remark is parenthetical to Paul’s argument.
[8:1] 45 tc The earliest and best witnesses of the Alexandrian and Western texts, as well as a few others (א* B D* F G 6 1506 1739 1881 pc co), have no additional words for v. 1. Later scribes (A D1 Ψ 81 365 629 pc vg) added the words μὴ κατὰ σάρκα περιπατοῦσιν (mh kata sarka peripatousin, “who do not walk according to the flesh”), while even later ones (א2 D2 33vid Ï) added ἀλλὰ κατὰ πνεῦμα (alla kata pneuma, “but [who do walk] according to the Spirit”). Both the external evidence and the internal evidence are compelling for the shortest reading. The scribes were evidently motivated to add such qualifications (interpolated from v. 4) to insulate Paul’s gospel from charges that it was characterized too much by grace. The KJV follows the longest reading found in Ï.
[5:11] 46 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
[5:11] 47 tn Or “exult, boast.”
[5:12] 48 tn Here ἀνθρώπους (anqrwpou") has been translated as a generic (“people”) since both men and women are clearly intended in this context.
[5:12] 49 tn The translation of the phrase ἐφ᾿ ᾧ (ef Jw) has been heavily debated. For a discussion of all the possibilities, see C. E. B. Cranfield, “On Some of the Problems in the Interpretation of Romans 5.12,” SJT 22 (1969): 324-41. Only a few of the major options can be mentioned here: (1) the phrase can be taken as a relative clause in which the pronoun refers to Adam, “death spread to all people in whom [Adam] all sinned.” (2) The phrase can be taken with consecutive (resultative) force, meaning “death spread to all people with the result that all sinned.” (3) Others take the phrase as causal in force: “death spread to all people because all sinned.”
