John 4:27

The Disciples Return

4:27 Now at that very moment his disciples came back. ¹  They were shocked ²  because he was speaking ³  with a woman. However, no one said, “What do you want?” ⁴  or “Why are you speaking with her?”

[4:27]  ¹ tn Or “his disciples returned”; Grk “came” (“back” is supplied in keeping with English usage). Because of the length of the Greek sentence it is better to divide here and begin a new English sentence, leaving the καί (kai) before ἐθαύμαζον (eqaumazon) untranslated.

[4:27]  ² tn BDAG 444 s.v. θαυμάζω 1.a.γ has “be surprised that” followed by indirect discourse. The context calls for a slightly stronger wording.

[4:27]  ³ tn The ὅτι (Joti) could also be translated as declarative (“that he had been speaking with a woman”) but since this would probably require translating the imperfect verb as a past perfect (which is normal after a declarative ὅτι), it is preferable to take this ὅτι as causal.

[4:27]  ⁴ tn Grk “seek.” See John 4:23.