John 4:47

4:47 When he heard that Jesus had come back from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and begged him ¹  to come down and heal his son, who was about to die.

John 6:58

6:58 This ²  is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread your ancestors ³  ate, but then later died. ⁴  The one who eats ⁵  this bread will live forever.”

John 8:21

Where Jesus Came From and Where He is Going

8:21 Then Jesus ⁶  said to them again, ⁷  “I am going away, and you will look for me ⁸  but will die in your sin. ⁹  Where I am going you cannot come.”

John 8:52

8:52 Then ¹⁰  the Judeans ¹¹  responded, ¹²  “Now we know you’re possessed by a demon! ¹³  Both Abraham and the prophets died, and yet ¹⁴  you say, ‘If anyone obeys ¹⁵  my teaching, ¹⁶  he will never experience ¹⁷  death.’ ¹⁸ 

John 11:32

11:32 Now when Mary came to the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

[4:47]  ¹ tn The direct object of ἠρώτα (hrwta) is supplied from context. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[6:58]  ² tn Or “This one.”

[6:58]  ³ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[6:58]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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.

[8:21]  ³ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:21]  ⁴ tn The expression οὖν πάλιν (oun palin) indicates some sort of break in the sequence of events, but it is not clear how long. The author does not mention the interval between 8:12-20 and this next recorded dialogue. The feast of Tabernacles is past, and the next reference to time is 10:22, where the feast of the Dedication is mentioned. The interval is two months, and these discussions could have taken place at any time within that interval, as long as one assumes something of a loose chronological framework. However, if the material in the Fourth Gospel is arranged theologically or thematically, such an assumption would not apply.

[8:21]  ⁵ tn Grk “you will seek me.”

[8:21]  ⁶ tn The expression ἐν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ὑμῶν ἀποθανεῖσθε (en th Jamartia Jumwn apoqaneisqe) is similar to an expression found in the LXX at Ezek 3:18, 20 and Prov 24:9. Note the singular of ἁμαρτία (the plural occurs later in v. 24). To die with one’s sin unrepented and unatoned would be the ultimate disaster to befall a person. Jesus’ warning is stern but to the point.

[8:52]  ⁴ 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 Ë^1,13 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Grk “said to him.”

[8:52]  ⁷ tn Grk “you have a demon.”

[8:52]  ⁸ tn “Yet” has been supplied to show the contrastive element present in the context.

[8:52]  ⁹ tn Grk “If anyone keeps.”

[8:52]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “my word.”

[8:52]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Grk “he will never taste of death forever.” The Greek negative here is emphatic.