John 3:25

3:25 Now a dispute came about between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew ¹  concerning ceremonial washing. ² 

John 2:6

2:6 Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washing, ³  each holding twenty or thirty gallons. ⁴ 

[3:25]  ¹ tc Was this dispute between the Baptist’s disciples and an individual Judean (᾿Ιουδαίου, Ioudaiou) or representatives of the Jewish authorities (᾿Ιουδαίων, Ioudaiwn)? There is good external support for the plural ᾿Ιουδαίων (Ì⁶⁶ א* Θ Ë^1,13 565 al latt), but the external evidence for the singular ᾿Ιουδαίου is slightly stronger ({Ì⁷⁵ א² A B L Ψ 33 1241 the majority of Byzantine minuscules and others}).

[3:25]  ² tn Or “ceremonial cleansing,” or “purification.”

[2:6]  ³ tn Grk “for the purification of the Jews.”

[2:6]  ⁴ tn Grk “holding two or three metretes” (about 75 to 115 liters). Each of the pots held 2 or 3 μετρηταί (metrhtai). A μετρητῆς (metrhths) was about 9 gallons (40 liters); thus each jar held 18-27 gallons (80-120 liters) and the total volume of liquid involved was 108-162 gallons (480-720 liters).