John 5:1--10:42

Healing a Paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda

5:1 After this ¹  there was a Jewish feast, ²  and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ³  5:2 Now there is ⁴  in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate ⁵  a pool called Bethzatha ⁶  in Aramaic, ⁷  which has five covered walkways. ⁸  5:3 A great number of sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed people were lying in these walkways. 5:4 [[EMPTY]] ⁹  5:5 Now a man was there who had been disabled for thirty-eight years. ¹⁰  5:6 When Jesus saw him lying there and when he realized ¹¹  that the man ¹²  had been disabled a long time already, he said to him, “Do you want to become well?” 5:7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, ¹³  I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I am trying to get into the water, ¹⁴  someone else ¹⁵  goes down there ¹⁶  before me.” 5:8 Jesus said to him, “Stand up! Pick up your mat ¹⁷  and walk.” 5:9 Immediately the man was healed, ¹⁸  and he picked up his mat ¹⁹  and started walking. (Now that day was a Sabbath.) ²⁰ 

5:10 So the Jewish leaders ²¹  said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and you are not permitted to carry your mat.” ²²  5:11 But he answered them, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat ²³  and walk.’” 5:12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your mat ²⁴  and walk’?” ²⁵  5:13 But the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped out, since there was a crowd in that place.

5:14 After this Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “Look, you have become well. Don’t sin any more, ²⁶  lest anything worse happen to you.” 5:15 The man went away and informed the Jewish leaders ²⁷  that Jesus was the one who had made him well.

Responding to Jewish Leaders

5:16 Now because Jesus was doing these things ²⁸  on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders ²⁹  began persecuting ³⁰  him. 5:17 So he ³¹  told ³²  them, “My Father is working until now, and I too am working.” ³³  5:18 For this reason the Jewish leaders ³⁴  were trying even harder to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was also calling God his own Father, thus making himself equal with God.

5:19 So Jesus answered them, ³⁵  “I tell you the solemn truth, ³⁶  the Son can do nothing on his own initiative, ³⁷  but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father ³⁸  does, the Son does likewise. ³⁹  5:20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does, and will show him greater deeds than these, so that you will be amazed. 5:21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, ⁴⁰  so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes. ⁴¹  5:22 Furthermore, the Father does not judge ⁴²  anyone, but has assigned ⁴³  all judgment to the Son, 5:23 so that all people ⁴⁴  will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

5:24 “I tell you the solemn truth, ⁴⁵  the one who hears ⁴⁶  my message ⁴⁷  and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, ⁴⁸  but has crossed over from death to life. 5:25 I tell you the solemn truth, ⁴⁹  a time ⁵⁰  is coming – and is now here – when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 5:26 For just as the Father has life in himself, thus he has granted the Son to have life in himself, 5:27 and he has granted the Son ⁵¹  authority to execute judgment, ⁵²  because he is the Son of Man.

5:28 “Do not be amazed at this, because a time ⁵³  is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 5:29 and will come out – the ones who have done what is good to the resurrection resulting in life, and the ones who have done what is evil to the resurrection resulting in condemnation. ⁵⁴  5:30 I can do nothing on my own initiative. ⁵⁵  Just as I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, ⁵⁶  because I do not seek my own will, but the will of the one who sent me. ⁵⁷ 

More Testimony About Jesus

5:31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 5:32 There is another ⁵⁸  who testifies about me, and I know the testimony he testifies about me is true. 5:33 You have sent to John, ⁵⁹  and he has testified to the truth. 5:34 (I do not accept ⁶⁰  human testimony, but I say this so that you may be saved.) 5:35 He was a lamp that was burning and shining, ⁶¹  and you wanted to rejoice greatly for a short time ⁶²  in his light.

5:36 “But I have a testimony greater than that from John. For the deeds ⁶³  that the Father has assigned me to complete – the deeds ⁶⁴  I am now doing – testify about me that the Father has sent me. 5:37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified about me. You people ⁶⁵  have never heard his voice nor seen his form at any time, ⁶⁶  5:38 nor do you have his word residing in you, because you do not believe the one whom he sent. 5:39 You study the scriptures thoroughly ⁶⁷  because you think in them you possess eternal life, ⁶⁸  and it is these same scriptures ⁶⁹  that testify about me, 5:40 but you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life.

5:41 “I do not accept ⁷⁰  praise ⁷¹  from people, ⁷²  5:42 but I know you, that you do not have the love of God ⁷³  within you. 5:43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept ⁷⁴  me. If someone else comes in his own name, you will accept ⁷⁵  him. 5:44 How can you believe, if you accept praise ⁷⁶  from one another and don’t seek the praise ⁷⁷  that comes from the only God? ⁷⁸ 

5:45 “Do not suppose that I will accuse you before the Father. The one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. ⁷⁹  5:46 If ⁸⁰  you believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. 5:47 But if you do not believe what Moses ⁸¹  wrote, how will you believe my words?”

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

6:1 After this ⁸²  Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (also called the Sea of Tiberias). ⁸³  6:2 A large crowd was following him because they were observing the miraculous signs he was performing on the sick. 6:3 So Jesus went on up the mountainside ⁸⁴  and sat down there with his disciples. 6:4 (Now the Jewish feast of the Passover ⁸⁵  was near.) ⁸⁶  6:5 Then Jesus, when he looked up ⁸⁷  and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread so that these people may eat?” 6:6 (Now Jesus ⁸⁸  said this to test him, for he knew what he was going to do.) ⁸⁹  6:7 Philip replied, ⁹⁰  “Two hundred silver coins worth ⁹¹  of bread would not be enough for them, for each one to get a little.” 6:8 One of Jesus’ disciples, ⁹²  Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 6:9 “Here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what good ⁹³  are these for so many people?”

6:10 Jesus said, “Have ⁹⁴  the people sit down.” (Now there was a lot of grass in that place.) ⁹⁵  So the men ⁹⁶  sat down, about five thousand in number. 6:11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed the bread to those who were seated. He then did the same with the fish, ⁹⁷  as much as they wanted. 6:12 When they were all satisfied, Jesus ⁹⁸  said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces that are left over, so that nothing is wasted.” 6:13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves ⁹⁹  left over by the people who had eaten.

6:14 Now when the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus ¹⁰⁰  performed, they began to say to one another, “This is certainly the Prophet ¹⁰¹  who is to come into the world.” ¹⁰²  6:15 Then Jesus, because he knew they were going to come and seize him by force to make him king, withdrew again up the mountainside alone. ¹⁰³ 

Walking on Water

6:16 Now when evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, ¹⁰⁴  6:17 got into a boat, and started to cross the lake ¹⁰⁵  to Capernaum. ¹⁰⁶  (It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.) ¹⁰⁷  6:18 By now a strong wind was blowing and the sea was getting rough. 6:19 Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, ¹⁰⁸  they caught sight of Jesus walking on the lake, ¹⁰⁹  approaching the boat, and they were frightened. 6:20 But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” 6:21 Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat came to the land where they had been heading.

6:22 The next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the lake ¹¹⁰  realized that only one small boat ¹¹¹  had been there, and that Jesus had not boarded ¹¹²  it with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 6:23 But some boats from Tiberias ¹¹³  came to shore ¹¹⁴  near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. ¹¹⁵  6:24 So when the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats ¹¹⁶  and came to Capernaum ¹¹⁷  looking for Jesus.

Jesus’ Discourse About the Bread of Life

6:25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, ¹¹⁸  they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” ¹¹⁹  6:26 Jesus replied, ¹²⁰  “I tell you the solemn truth, ¹²¹  you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate all the loaves of bread you wanted. ¹²²  6:27 Do not work for the food that disappears, ¹²³  but for the food that remains to eternal life – the food ¹²⁴  which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has put his seal of approval on him.” ¹²⁵ 

6:28 So then they said to him, “What must we do to accomplish the deeds ¹²⁶  God requires?” ¹²⁷  6:29 Jesus replied, ¹²⁸  “This is the deed ¹²⁹  God requires ¹³⁰  – to believe in the one whom he ¹³¹  sent.” 6:30 So they said to him, “Then what miraculous sign will you perform, so that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 6:31 Our ancestors ¹³²  ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” ¹³³ 

6:32 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the solemn truth, ¹³⁴  it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but my Father is giving you the true bread from heaven. 6:33 For the bread of God is the one who ¹³⁵  comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 6:34 So they said to him, “Sir, ¹³⁶  give us this bread all the time!”

6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never go hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty. ¹³⁷  6:36 But I told you ¹³⁸  that you have seen me ¹³⁹  and still do not believe. 6:37 Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never send away. ¹⁴⁰  6:38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. 6:39 Now this is the will of the one who sent me – that I should not lose one person of every one he has given me, but raise them all up ¹⁴¹  at the last day. 6:40 For this is the will of my Father – for everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him to have eternal life, and I will raise him up ¹⁴²  at the last day.” ¹⁴³ 

6:41 Then the Jews who were hostile to Jesus ¹⁴⁴  began complaining about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” 6:42 and they said, “Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 6:43 Jesus replied, ¹⁴⁵  “Do not complain about me to one another. ¹⁴⁶  6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, ¹⁴⁷  and I will raise him up at the last day. 6:45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ ¹⁴⁸  Everyone who hears and learns from the Father ¹⁴⁹  comes to me. 6:46 (Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God – he ¹⁵⁰  has seen the Father.) ¹⁵¹  6:47 I tell you the solemn truth, ¹⁵²  the one who believes ¹⁵³  has eternal life. ¹⁵⁴  6:48 I am the bread of life. ¹⁵⁵  6:49 Your ancestors ¹⁵⁶  ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 6:50 This ¹⁵⁷  is the bread that has come down from heaven, so that a person ¹⁵⁸  may eat from it and not die. 6:51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread he will live forever. The bread ¹⁵⁹  that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

6:52 Then the Jews who were hostile to Jesus ¹⁶⁰  began to argue with one another, ¹⁶¹  “How can this man ¹⁶²  give us his flesh to eat?” 6:53 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, ¹⁶³  unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, ¹⁶⁴  you have no life ¹⁶⁵  in yourselves. 6:54 The one who eats ¹⁶⁶  my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. ¹⁶⁷  6:55 For my flesh is true ¹⁶⁸  food, and my blood is true ¹⁶⁹  drink. 6:56 The one who eats ¹⁷⁰  my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me, and I in him. ¹⁷¹  6:57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so the one who consumes ¹⁷²  me will live because of me. 6:58 This ¹⁷³  is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread your ancestors ¹⁷⁴  ate, but then later died. ¹⁷⁵  The one who eats ¹⁷⁶  this bread will live forever.”

Many Followers Depart

6:59 Jesus ¹⁷⁷  said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue ¹⁷⁸  in Capernaum. ¹⁷⁹  6:60 Then many of his disciples, when they heard these things, ¹⁸⁰  said, “This is a difficult ¹⁸¹  saying! ¹⁸²  Who can understand it?” ¹⁸³  6:61 When Jesus was aware ¹⁸⁴  that his disciples were complaining ¹⁸⁵  about this, he said to them, “Does this cause you to be offended? ¹⁸⁶  6:62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascending where he was before? ¹⁸⁷  6:63 The Spirit is the one who gives life; human nature is of no help! ¹⁸⁸  The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. ¹⁸⁹  6:64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus had already known from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) ¹⁹⁰  6:65 So Jesus added, ¹⁹¹  “Because of this I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has allowed him to come.” ¹⁹² 

Peter’s Confession

6:66 After this many of his disciples quit following him ¹⁹³  and did not accompany him ¹⁹⁴  any longer. 6:67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “You don’t want to go away too, do you?” ¹⁹⁵  6:68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. 6:69 We ¹⁹⁶  have come to believe and to know ¹⁹⁷  that you are the Holy One of God!” ¹⁹⁸  6:70 Jesus replied, ¹⁹⁹  “Didn’t I choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is the devil?” ²⁰⁰  6:71 (Now he said this about Judas son of Simon Iscariot, ²⁰¹  for Judas, ²⁰²  one of the twelve, was going to betray him.) ²⁰³ 

The Feast of Tabernacles

7:1 After this ²⁰⁴  Jesus traveled throughout Galilee. ²⁰⁵  He ²⁰⁶  stayed out of Judea ²⁰⁷  because the Jewish leaders ²⁰⁸  wanted ²⁰⁹  to kill him. 7:2 Now the Jewish feast of Tabernacles ²¹⁰  was near. ²¹¹  7:3 So Jesus’ brothers ²¹²  advised him, “Leave here and go to Judea so your disciples may see your miracles that you are performing. ²¹³  7:4 For no one who seeks to make a reputation for himself ²¹⁴  does anything in secret. ²¹⁵  If you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” 7:5 (For not even his own brothers believed in him.) ²¹⁶ 

7:6 So Jesus replied, ²¹⁷  “My time ²¹⁸  has not yet arrived, ²¹⁹  but you are ready at any opportunity! ²²⁰  7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I am testifying about it that its deeds are evil. 7:8 You go up ²²¹  to the feast yourselves. I am not going up to this feast ²²²  because my time ²²³  has not yet fully arrived.” ²²⁴  7:9 When he had said this, he remained in Galilee.

7:10 But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, then Jesus ²²⁵  himself also went up, not openly but in secret. 7:11 So the Jewish leaders ²²⁶  were looking for him at the feast, asking, “Where is he?” ²²⁷  7:12 There was ²²⁸  a lot of grumbling ²²⁹  about him among the crowds. ²³⁰  Some were saying, “He is a good man,” but others, “He deceives the common people.” ²³¹  7:13 However, no one spoke openly about him for fear of the Jewish leaders. ²³² 

Teaching in the Temple

7:14 When the feast was half over, Jesus went up to the temple courts ²³³  and began to teach. ²³⁴  7:15 Then the Jewish leaders ²³⁵  were astonished ²³⁶  and said, “How does this man know so much when he has never had formal instruction?” ²³⁷  7:16 So Jesus replied, ²³⁸  “My teaching is not from me, but from the one who sent me. ²³⁹  7:17 If anyone wants to do God’s will, ²⁴⁰  he will know about my teaching, whether it is from God or whether I speak from my own authority. ²⁴¹  7:18 The person who speaks on his own authority ²⁴²  desires ²⁴³  to receive honor ²⁴⁴  for himself; the one who desires ²⁴⁵  the honor ²⁴⁶  of the one who sent him is a man of integrity, ²⁴⁷  and there is no unrighteousness in him. 7:19 Hasn’t Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps ²⁴⁸  the law! Why do you want ²⁴⁹  to kill me?”

7:20 The crowd ²⁵⁰  answered, “You’re possessed by a demon! ²⁵¹  Who is trying to kill you?” ²⁵²  7:21 Jesus replied, ²⁵³  “I performed one miracle ²⁵⁴  and you are all amazed. ²⁵⁵  7:22 However, because Moses gave you the practice of circumcision ²⁵⁶  (not that it came from Moses, but from the forefathers), you circumcise a male child ²⁵⁷  on the Sabbath. 7:23 But if a male child ²⁵⁸  is circumcised ²⁵⁹  on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses is not broken, ²⁶⁰  why are you angry with me because I made a man completely well ²⁶¹  on the Sabbath? 7:24 Do not judge according to external appearance, ²⁶²  but judge with proper ²⁶³  judgment.”

Questions About Jesus’ Identity

7:25 Then some of the residents of Jerusalem ²⁶⁴  began to say, “Isn’t this the man ²⁶⁵  they are trying ²⁶⁶  to kill? 7:26 Yet here he is, speaking publicly, ²⁶⁷  and they are saying nothing to him. ²⁶⁸  Do the rulers really know that this man ²⁶⁹  is the Christ? ²⁷⁰  7:27 But we know where this man ²⁷¹  comes from. ²⁷²  Whenever the Christ ²⁷³  comes, no one will know where he comes from.” ²⁷⁴ 

7:28 Then Jesus, while teaching in the temple courts, ²⁷⁵  cried out, ²⁷⁶  “You both know me and know where I come from! ²⁷⁷  And I have not come on my own initiative, ²⁷⁸  but the one who sent me ²⁷⁹  is true. You do not know him, ²⁸⁰  7:29 but ²⁸¹  I know him, because I have come from him ²⁸²  and he ²⁸³  sent me.”

7:30 So then they tried to seize Jesus, ²⁸⁴  but no one laid a hand on him, because his time ²⁸⁵  had not yet come. 7:31 Yet many of the crowd ²⁸⁶  believed in him and said, “Whenever the Christ ²⁸⁷  comes, he won’t perform more miraculous signs than this man did, will he?” ²⁸⁸ 

7:32 The Pharisees ²⁸⁹  heard the crowd ²⁹⁰  murmuring these things about Jesus, ²⁹¹  so the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers ²⁹²  to arrest him. ²⁹³  7:33 Then Jesus said, “I will be with you for only a little while longer, ²⁹⁴  and then ²⁹⁵  I am going to the one who sent me. 7:34 You will look for me ²⁹⁶  but will not find me, and where I am you cannot come.”

7:35 Then the Jewish leaders ²⁹⁷  said to one another, “Where is he ²⁹⁸  going to go that we cannot find him? ²⁹⁹  He is not going to go to the Jewish people dispersed ³⁰⁰  among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, is he? ³⁰¹  7:36 What did he mean by saying, ³⁰²  ‘You will look for me ³⁰³  but will not find me, and where I am you cannot come’?”

Teaching About the Spirit

7:37 On the last day of the feast, the greatest day, ³⁰⁴  Jesus stood up and shouted out, ³⁰⁵  “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and 7:38 let the one who believes in me drink. ³⁰⁶  Just as the scripture says, ‘From within him ³⁰⁷  will flow rivers of living water.’” ³⁰⁸  7:39 (Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were going to receive, for the Spirit had not yet been given, ³⁰⁹  because Jesus was not yet glorified.) ³¹⁰ 

Differing Opinions About Jesus

7:40 When they heard these words, some of the crowd ³¹¹  began to say, “This really ³¹²  is the Prophet!” ³¹³  7:41 Others said, “This is the Christ!” ³¹⁴  But still others said, “No, ³¹⁵  for the Christ doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? ³¹⁶  7:42 Don’t the scriptures say that the Christ is a descendant ³¹⁷  of David ³¹⁸  and comes from Bethlehem, ³¹⁹  the village where David lived?” ³²⁰  7:43 So there was a division in the crowd ³²¹  because of Jesus. ³²²  7:44 Some of them were wanting to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him. ³²³ 

Lack of Belief

7:45 Then the officers ³²⁴  returned ³²⁵  to the chief priests and Pharisees, ³²⁶  who said to them, “Why didn’t you bring him back with you?” ³²⁷  7:46 The officers replied, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 7:47 Then the Pharisees answered, ³²⁸  “You haven’t been deceived too, have you? ³²⁹  7:48 None of the rulers ³³⁰  or the Pharisees have believed in him, have they? ³³¹  7:49 But this rabble ³³²  who do not know the law are accursed!”

7:50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus ³³³  before and who was one of the rulers, ³³⁴  said, ³³⁵  7:51 “Our law doesn’t condemn ³³⁶  a man unless it first hears from him and learns ³³⁷  what he is doing, does it?” ³³⁸  7:52 They replied, ³³⁹  “You aren’t from Galilee too, are you? ³⁴⁰  Investigate carefully and you will see that no prophet ³⁴¹  comes from Galilee!”

A Woman Caught in Adultery

7:53 ³⁴² [[And each one departed to his own house. 8:1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ³⁴³  8:2 Early in the morning he came to the temple courts again. All the people came to him, and he sat down and began to teach ³⁴⁴  them. 8:3 The experts in the law ³⁴⁵  and the Pharisees ³⁴⁶  brought a woman who had been caught committing adultery. They made her stand in front of them 8:4 and said to Jesus, ³⁴⁷  “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of adultery. 8:5 In the law Moses commanded us to stone to death ³⁴⁸  such women. ³⁴⁹  What then do you say?” 8:6 (Now they were asking this in an attempt to trap him, so that they could bring charges against ³⁵⁰  him.) ³⁵¹  Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground with his finger. ³⁵²  8:7 When they persisted in asking him, he stood up straight ³⁵³  and replied, ³⁵⁴  “Whoever among you is guiltless ³⁵⁵  may be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8:8 Then ³⁵⁶  he bent over again and wrote on the ground.

8:9 Now when they heard this, they began to drift away one at a time, starting with the older ones, ³⁵⁷  until Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 8:10 Jesus stood up straight ³⁵⁸  and said to her, “Woman, ³⁵⁹  where are they? Did no one condemn you?” 8:11 She replied, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”]] ³⁶⁰ 

Jesus as the Light of the World

8:12 Then Jesus spoke out again, ³⁶¹  “I am the light of the world. ³⁶²  The one who follows me will never ³⁶³  walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 8:13 So the Pharisees ³⁶⁴  objected, ³⁶⁵  “You testify about yourself; your testimony is not true!” ³⁶⁶  8:14 Jesus answered, ³⁶⁷  “Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you people ³⁶⁸  do not know where I came from or where I am going. ³⁶⁹  8:15 You people ³⁷⁰  judge by outward appearances; ³⁷¹  I do not judge anyone. ³⁷²  8:16 But if I judge, my evaluation is accurate, ³⁷³  because I am not alone when I judge, ³⁷⁴  but I and the Father who sent me do so together. ³⁷⁵  8:17 It is written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. ³⁷⁶  8:18 I testify about myself ³⁷⁷  and the Father who sent me testifies about me.”

8:19 Then they began asking ³⁷⁸  him, “Who is your father?” Jesus answered, “You do not know either me or my Father. If you knew me you would know my Father too.” ³⁷⁹  8:20 (Jesus ³⁸⁰  spoke these words near the offering box ³⁸¹  while he was teaching in the temple courts. ³⁸²  No one seized him because his time ³⁸³  had not yet come.) ³⁸⁴ 

Where Jesus Came From and Where He is Going

8:21 Then Jesus ³⁸⁵  said to them again, ³⁸⁶  “I am going away, and you will look for me ³⁸⁷  but will die in your sin. ³⁸⁸  Where I am going you cannot come.” 8:22 So the Jewish leaders ³⁸⁹  began to say, ³⁹⁰  “Perhaps he is going to kill himself, because he says, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’” 8:23 Jesus replied, ³⁹¹  “You people ³⁹²  are from below; I am from above. You people are from this world; I am not from this world. 8:24 Thus I told you ³⁹³  that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am he, ³⁹⁴  you will die in your sins.”

8:25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus replied, ³⁹⁵  “What I have told you from the beginning. 8:26 I have many things to say and to judge ³⁹⁶  about you, but the Father ³⁹⁷  who sent me is truthful, ³⁹⁸  and the things I have heard from him I speak to the world.” ³⁹⁹  8:27 (They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father.) ⁴⁰⁰ 

8:28 Then Jesus said, ⁴⁰¹  “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, ⁴⁰²  and I do nothing on my own initiative, ⁴⁰³  but I speak just what the Father taught me. ⁴⁰⁴  8:29 And the one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, ⁴⁰⁵  because I always do those things that please him.” 8:30 While he was saying these things, many people ⁴⁰⁶  believed in him.

Abraham’s Children and the Devil’s Children

8:31 Then Jesus said to those Judeans ⁴⁰⁷  who had believed him, “If you continue to follow my teaching, ⁴⁰⁸  you are really ⁴⁰⁹  my disciples 8:32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ⁴¹⁰  8:33 “We are descendants ⁴¹¹  of Abraham,” they replied, ⁴¹²  “and have never been anyone’s slaves! How can you say, ⁴¹³  ‘You will become free’?” 8:34 Jesus answered them, “I tell you the solemn truth, ⁴¹⁴  everyone who practices ⁴¹⁵  sin is a slave ⁴¹⁶  of sin. 8:35 The slave does not remain in the family ⁴¹⁷  forever, but the son remains forever. ⁴¹⁸  8:36 So if the son ⁴¹⁹  sets you free, you will be really free. 8:37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. ⁴²⁰  But you want ⁴²¹  to kill me, because my teaching ⁴²²  makes no progress among you. ⁴²³  8:38 I am telling you the things I have seen while with the ⁴²⁴  Father; ⁴²⁵  as for you, ⁴²⁶  practice the things you have heard from the ⁴²⁷  Father!”

8:39 They answered him, ⁴²⁸  “Abraham is our father!” ⁴²⁹  Jesus replied, ⁴³⁰  “If you are ⁴³¹  Abraham’s children, you would be doing ⁴³²  the deeds of Abraham. 8:40 But now you are trying ⁴³³  to kill me, a man who has told you ⁴³⁴  the truth I heard from God. Abraham did not do this! ⁴³⁵  8:41 You people ⁴³⁶  are doing the deeds of your father.”

Then ⁴³⁷  they said to Jesus, ⁴³⁸  “We were not born as a result of immorality! ⁴³⁹  We have only one Father, God himself.” 8:42 Jesus replied, ⁴⁴⁰  “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come from God and am now here. ⁴⁴¹  I ⁴⁴²  have not come on my own initiative, ⁴⁴³  but he ⁴⁴⁴  sent me. 8:43 Why don’t you understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot accept ⁴⁴⁵  my teaching. ⁴⁴⁶  8:44 You people ⁴⁴⁷  are from ⁴⁴⁸  your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. ⁴⁴⁹  He ⁴⁵⁰  was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, ⁴⁵¹  because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, ⁴⁵²  he speaks according to his own nature, ⁴⁵³  because he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵⁴  8:45 But because I am telling you ⁴⁵⁵  the truth, you do not believe me. 8:46 Who among you can prove me guilty ⁴⁵⁶  of any sin? ⁴⁵⁷  If I am telling you ⁴⁵⁸  the truth, why don’t you believe me? 8:47 The one who belongs to ⁴⁵⁹  God listens and responds ⁴⁶⁰  to God’s words. You don’t listen and respond, ⁴⁶¹  because you don’t belong to God.” ⁴⁶² 

8:48 The Judeans ⁴⁶³  replied, ⁴⁶⁴  “Aren’t we correct in saying ⁴⁶⁵  that you are a Samaritan and are possessed by a demon?” ⁴⁶⁶  8:49 Jesus answered, “I am not possessed by a demon, ⁴⁶⁷  but I honor my Father – and yet ⁴⁶⁸  you dishonor me. 8:50 I am not trying to get ⁴⁶⁹  praise for myself. ⁴⁷⁰  There is one who demands ⁴⁷¹  it, and he also judges. ⁴⁷²  8:51 I tell you the solemn truth, ⁴⁷³  if anyone obeys ⁴⁷⁴  my teaching, ⁴⁷⁵  he will never see death.” ⁴⁷⁶ 

8:52 Then ⁴⁷⁷  the Judeans ⁴⁷⁸  responded, ⁴⁷⁹  “Now we know you’re possessed by a demon! ⁴⁸⁰  Both Abraham and the prophets died, and yet ⁴⁸¹  you say, ‘If anyone obeys ⁴⁸²  my teaching, ⁴⁸³  he will never experience ⁴⁸⁴  death.’ ⁴⁸⁵  8:53 You aren’t greater than our father Abraham who died, are you? ⁴⁸⁶  And the prophets died too! Who do you claim to be?” 8:54 Jesus replied, ⁴⁸⁷  “If I glorify myself, my glory is worthless. ⁴⁸⁸  The one who glorifies me is my Father, about whom you people ⁴⁸⁹  say, ‘He is our God.’ 8:55 Yet ⁴⁹⁰  you do not know him, but I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, ⁴⁹¹  I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I obey ⁴⁹²  his teaching. ⁴⁹³  8:56 Your father Abraham was overjoyed ⁴⁹⁴  to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.” ⁴⁹⁵ 

8:57 Then the Judeans ⁴⁹⁶  replied, ⁴⁹⁷  “You are not yet fifty years old! ⁴⁹⁸  Have ⁴⁹⁹  you seen Abraham?” 8:58 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, ⁵⁰⁰  before Abraham came into existence, ⁵⁰¹  I am!” ⁵⁰²  8:59 Then they picked up ⁵⁰³  stones to throw at him, ⁵⁰⁴  but Jesus hid himself and went out from the temple area. ⁵⁰⁵ 

Healing a Man Born Blind

9:1 Now as Jesus was passing by, ⁵⁰⁶  he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 9:2 His disciples asked him, ⁵⁰⁷  “Rabbi, who committed the sin that caused him to be born blind, this man ⁵⁰⁸  or his parents?” ⁵⁰⁹  9:3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man ⁵¹⁰  nor his parents sinned, but he was born blind so that ⁵¹¹  the acts ⁵¹²  of God may be revealed ⁵¹³  through what happens to him. ⁵¹⁴  9:4 We must perform the deeds ⁵¹⁵  of the one who sent me ⁵¹⁶  as long as ⁵¹⁷  it is daytime. Night is coming when no one can work. 9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ⁵¹⁸  9:6 Having said this, ⁵¹⁹  he spat on the ground and made some mud ⁵²⁰  with the saliva. He ⁵²¹  smeared the mud on the blind man’s ⁵²²  eyes 9:7 and said to him, “Go wash in the pool of Siloam” ⁵²³  (which is translated “sent”). ⁵²⁴  So the blind man ⁵²⁵  went away and washed, and came back seeing.

9:8 Then the neighbors and the people who had seen him previously ⁵²⁶  as a beggar began saying, ⁵²⁷  “Is this not the man ⁵²⁸  who used to sit and beg?” 9:9 Some people said, ⁵²⁹  “This is the man!” ⁵³⁰  while others said, “No, but he looks like him.” ⁵³¹  The man himself ⁵³²  kept insisting, “I am the one!” ⁵³³  9:10 So they asked him, ⁵³⁴  “How then were you made to see?” ⁵³⁵  9:11 He replied, ⁵³⁶  “The man called Jesus made mud, ⁵³⁷  smeared it ⁵³⁸  on my eyes and told me, ⁵³⁹  ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and was able to see.” ⁵⁴⁰  9:12 They said ⁵⁴¹  to him, “Where is that man?” ⁵⁴²  He replied, ⁵⁴³  “I don’t know.”

The Pharisees’ Reaction to the Healing

9:13 They brought the man who used to be blind ⁵⁴⁴  to the Pharisees. ⁵⁴⁵  9:14 (Now the day on which Jesus made the mud ⁵⁴⁶  and caused him to see ⁵⁴⁷  was a Sabbath.) ⁵⁴⁸  9:15 So the Pharisees asked him again how he had gained his sight. ⁵⁴⁹  He replied, ⁵⁵⁰  “He put mud ⁵⁵¹  on my eyes and I washed, and now ⁵⁵²  I am able to see.”

9:16 Then some of the Pharisees began to say, ⁵⁵³  “This man is not from God, because he does not observe ⁵⁵⁴  the Sabbath.” ⁵⁵⁵  But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform ⁵⁵⁶  such miraculous signs?” Thus there was a division ⁵⁵⁷  among them. 9:17 So again they asked the man who used to be blind, ⁵⁵⁸  “What do you say about him, since he caused you to see?” ⁵⁵⁹  “He is a prophet,” the man replied. ⁵⁶⁰ 

9:18 Now the Jewish religious leaders ⁵⁶¹  refused to believe ⁵⁶²  that he had really been blind and had gained his sight until at last they summoned ⁵⁶³  the parents of the man who had become able to see. ⁵⁶⁴  9:19 They asked the parents, ⁵⁶⁵  “Is this your son, whom you say ⁵⁶⁶  was born blind? Then how does he now see?” 9:20 So his parents replied, ⁵⁶⁷  “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 9:21 But we do not know how he is now able to see, nor do we know who caused him to see. ⁵⁶⁸  Ask him, he is a mature adult. ⁵⁶⁹  He will speak for himself.” 9:22 (His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jewish religious leaders. ⁵⁷⁰  For the Jewish leaders had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus ⁵⁷¹  to be the Christ ⁵⁷²  would be put out ⁵⁷³  of the synagogue. ⁵⁷⁴  9:23 For this reason his parents said, “He is a mature adult, ⁵⁷⁵  ask him.”) ⁵⁷⁶ 

9:24 Then they summoned ⁵⁷⁷  the man who used to be blind ⁵⁷⁸  a second time and said to him, “Promise before God to tell the truth. ⁵⁷⁹  We know that this man ⁵⁸⁰  is a sinner.” 9:25 He replied, ⁵⁸¹  “I do not know whether he is a sinner. I do know one thing – that although I was blind, now I can see.” 9:26 Then they said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he cause you to see?” ⁵⁸²  9:27 He answered, ⁵⁸³  “I told you already and you didn’t listen. ⁵⁸⁴  Why do you want to hear it ⁵⁸⁵  again? You people ⁵⁸⁶  don’t want to become his disciples too, do you?”

9:28 They ⁵⁸⁷  heaped insults ⁵⁸⁸  on him, saying, ⁵⁸⁹  “You are his disciple! ⁵⁹⁰  We are disciples of Moses! 9:29 We know that God has spoken to Moses! We do not know where this man ⁵⁹¹  comes from!” 9:30 The man replied, ⁵⁹²  “This is a remarkable thing, ⁵⁹³  that you don’t know where he comes from, and yet he caused me to see! ⁵⁹⁴  9:31 We know that God doesn’t listen to ⁵⁹⁵  sinners, but if anyone is devout ⁵⁹⁶  and does his will, God ⁵⁹⁷  listens to ⁵⁹⁸  him. ⁵⁹⁹  9:32 Never before ⁶⁰⁰  has anyone heard of someone causing a man born blind to see. ⁶⁰¹  9:33 If this man ⁶⁰²  were not from God, he could do nothing.” 9:34 They replied, ⁶⁰³  “You were born completely in sinfulness, ⁶⁰⁴  and yet you presume to teach us?” ⁶⁰⁵  So they threw him out.

The Man’s Response to Jesus

9:35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, so he found the man ⁶⁰⁶  and said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” ⁶⁰⁷  9:36 The man ⁶⁰⁸  replied, ⁶⁰⁹  “And who is he, sir, that ⁶¹⁰  I may believe in him?” 9:37 Jesus told him, “You have seen him; he ⁶¹¹  is the one speaking with you.” ⁶¹²  9:38 [He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. ⁶¹³  9:39 Jesus ⁶¹⁴  said,] ⁶¹⁵  “For judgment I have come into this world, so that those who do not see may gain their sight, ⁶¹⁶  and the ones who see may become blind.”

9:40 Some of the Pharisees ⁶¹⁷  who were with him heard this ⁶¹⁸  and asked him, ⁶¹⁹  “We are not blind too, are we?” ⁶²⁰  9:41 Jesus replied, ⁶²¹  “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin, ⁶²²  but now because you claim that you can see, ⁶²³  your guilt ⁶²⁴  remains.” ⁶²⁵ 

Jesus as the Good Shepherd

10:1 “I tell you the solemn truth, ⁶²⁶  the one who does not enter the sheepfold ⁶²⁷  by the door, ⁶²⁸  but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. 10:2 The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 10:3 The doorkeeper ⁶²⁹  opens the door ⁶³⁰  for him, ⁶³¹  and the sheep hear his voice. He ⁶³²  calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁶³³  10:4 When he has brought all his own sheep ⁶³⁴  out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize ⁶³⁵  his voice. 10:5 They will never follow a stranger, ⁶³⁶  but will run away from him, because they do not recognize ⁶³⁷  the stranger’s voice.” ⁶³⁸  10:6 Jesus told them this parable, ⁶³⁹  but they ⁶⁴⁰  did not understand ⁶⁴¹  what he was saying to them.

10:7 So Jesus said to them again, “I tell you the solemn truth, ⁶⁴²  I am the door for the sheep. ⁶⁴³  10:8 All who came before me were ⁶⁴⁴  thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁶⁴⁵  10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out, ⁶⁴⁶  and find pasture. ⁶⁴⁷  10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill ⁶⁴⁸  and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. ⁶⁴⁹ 

10:11 “I am the good ⁶⁵⁰  shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life ⁶⁵¹  for the sheep. 10:12 The hired hand, ⁶⁵²  who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons ⁶⁵³  the sheep and runs away. ⁶⁵⁴  So the wolf attacks ⁶⁵⁵  the sheep and scatters them. 10:13 Because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep, ⁶⁵⁶  he runs away. ⁶⁵⁷ 

10:14 “I am the good shepherd. I ⁶⁵⁸  know my own ⁶⁵⁹  and my own know me – 10:15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life ⁶⁶⁰  for ⁶⁶¹  the sheep. 10:16 I have ⁶⁶²  other sheep that do not come from ⁶⁶³  this sheepfold. ⁶⁶⁴  I must bring them too, and they will listen to my voice, ⁶⁶⁵  so that ⁶⁶⁶  there will be one flock and ⁶⁶⁷  one shepherd. 10:17 This is why the Father loves me ⁶⁶⁸  – because I lay down my life, ⁶⁶⁹  so that I may take it back again. 10:18 No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down ⁶⁷⁰  of my own free will. ⁶⁷¹  I have the authority ⁶⁷²  to lay it down, and I have the authority ⁶⁷³  to take it back again. This commandment ⁶⁷⁴  I received from my Father.”

10:19 Another sharp division took place among the Jewish people ⁶⁷⁵  because of these words. 10:20 Many of them were saying, “He is possessed by a demon and has lost his mind! ⁶⁷⁶  Why do you listen to him?” 10:21 Others said, “These are not the words ⁶⁷⁷  of someone possessed by a demon. A demon cannot cause the blind to see, ⁶⁷⁸  can it?” ⁶⁷⁹ 

Jesus at the Feast of Dedication

10:22 Then came the feast of the Dedication ⁶⁸⁰  in Jerusalem. ⁶⁸¹  10:23 It was winter, ⁶⁸²  and Jesus was walking in the temple area ⁶⁸³  in Solomon’s Portico. ⁶⁸⁴  10:24 The Jewish leaders ⁶⁸⁵  surrounded him and asked, ⁶⁸⁶  “How long will you keep us in suspense? ⁶⁸⁷  If you are the Christ, ⁶⁸⁸  tell us plainly.” ⁶⁸⁹  10:25 Jesus replied, ⁶⁹⁰  “I told you and you do not believe. The deeds ⁶⁹¹  I do in my Father’s name testify about me. 10:26 But you refuse to believe because you are not my sheep. 10:27 My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 10:28 I give ⁶⁹²  them eternal life, and they will never perish; ⁶⁹³  no one will snatch ⁶⁹⁴  them from my hand. 10:29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, ⁶⁹⁵  and no one can snatch ⁶⁹⁶  them from my Father’s hand. 10:30 The Father and I ⁶⁹⁷  are one.” ⁶⁹⁸ 

10:31 The Jewish leaders ⁶⁹⁹  picked up rocks again to stone him to death. 10:32 Jesus said to them, ⁷⁰⁰  “I have shown you many good deeds ⁷⁰¹  from the Father. For which one of them are you going to stone me?” 10:33 The Jewish leaders ⁷⁰²  replied, ⁷⁰³  “We are not going to stone you for a good deed ⁷⁰⁴  but for blasphemy, ⁷⁰⁵  because ⁷⁰⁶  you, a man, are claiming to be God.” ⁷⁰⁷ 

10:34 Jesus answered, ⁷⁰⁸  “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? ⁷⁰⁹  10:35 If those people to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’ (and the scripture cannot be broken), ⁷¹⁰  10:36 do you say about the one whom the Father set apart ⁷¹¹  and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 10:37 If I do not perform ⁷¹²  the deeds ⁷¹³  of my Father, do not believe me. 10:38 But if I do them, even if you do not believe me, believe the deeds, ⁷¹⁴  so that you may come to know ⁷¹⁵  and understand that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” 10:39 Then ⁷¹⁶  they attempted ⁷¹⁷  again to seize him, but he escaped their clutches. ⁷¹⁸ 

10:40 Jesus ⁷¹⁹  went back across the Jordan River ⁷²⁰  again to the place where John ⁷²¹  had been baptizing at an earlier time, ⁷²²  and he stayed there. 10:41 Many ⁷²³  came to him and began to say, “John ⁷²⁴  performed ⁷²⁵  no miraculous sign, but everything John said about this man ⁷²⁶  was true!” 10:42 And many believed in Jesus ⁷²⁷  there.

[5:1]  ¹ sn The temporal indicator After this is not specific, so it is uncertain how long after the incidents at Cana this occurred.

[5:1]  ² tc The textual variants ἑορτή or ἡ ἑορτή (Jeorth or Jh Jeorth, “a feast” or “the feast”) may not appear significant at first, but to read ἑορτή with the article would almost certainly demand a reference to the Jewish Passover. The article is found in א C L Δ Ψ Ë¹ 33 892 1424 pm, but is lacking in {Ì^66,75 A B D T W^s Θ Ë¹³ 565 579 700 1241 pm}. Overall, the shorter reading has somewhat better support. Internally, the known proclivity of scribes to make the text more explicit argues compellingly for the shorter reading. Thus, the verse refers to a feast other than the Passover. The incidental note in 5:3, that the sick were lying outside in the porticoes of the pool, makes Passover an unlikely time because it fell toward the end of winter and the weather would not have been warm. L. Morris (John [NICNT], 299, n. 6) thinks it impossible to identify the feast with certainty.

[5:1]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[5:2]  ⁴ tn Regarding the use of the present tense ἐστιν (estin) and its implications for the dating of the Gospel of John, see the article by D. B. Wallace, “John 5,2 and the Date of the Fourth Gospel,” Bib 71 (1990): 177-205.

[5:2]  ⁵ tn The site of the miracle is also something of a problem: προβατικῇ (probatikh) is usually taken as a reference to the Sheep Gate near the temple. Some (R. E. Brown and others) would place the word κολυμβήθρα (kolumbhqra) with προβατικῇ to read “in Jerusalem, by the Sheep Pool, there is (another pool) with the Hebrew name.” This would imply that there is reference to two pools in the context rather than only one. This does not seem necessary (although it is a grammatical possibility). The gender of the words does not help since both are feminine (as is the participle ἐπιλεγομένη [epilegomenh]). Note however that Brown’s suggestion would require a feminine word to be supplied (for the participle ἐπιλεγομένη to modify). The traditional understanding of the phrase as a reference to the Sheep Gate near the temple appears more probably correct.

[5:2]  ⁶ tc Some mss (א [L] 33 it) read Bethzatha, while others read Bethsaida (Ì^[66],75 B T W^s [Ψ] pc vg); codex D has Belzetha. A lot of controversy has surrounded the name of the pool itself: The reading of the Byzantine (or majority) text (A C Θ 078 Ë^1,13 Ï), Bethesda, has been virtually discarded by scholars in favor of what is thought to be the more primitive Bethzatha, even though many recent translations continue to employ Bethesda, the traditional reading. The latter is attested by Josephus as the name of a quarter of the city near the northeast corner of the temple area. He reports that the Syrian Legate Cestius burned this suburb in his attack on Jerusalem in October a.d. 68 (J. W. 2.19.4 [2.530]). However, there is some new archaeological evidence for this problem. 3Q15 (Copper Scroll) from Qumran seems to indicate that in the general area of the temple, on the eastern hill of Jerusalem, a treasure was buried in Bet áEsdatayin, in the pool at the entrance to the smaller basin. The name of the region or pool itself seems then to have been Bet ᾿Esda, “house of the flowing.” It appears with the dual ending in the scroll because there were two basins. Bethesda seems to be an accurate Greek rendition of the name, while J. T. Milik suggests Bethzatha is a rendition of the Aramaic intensive plural Bet áEsdata (DJDJ 3, 271). As for the text of John 5:2, the fundamental problems with the Bethesda reading are that it looks motivated (with an edifying Semitic etymology, meaning “House of Mercy” [TCGNT 178]), and is minimally attested. Apart from the Copper Scroll, the evidence for Bethesda is almost entirely shut up to the Byzantine text (C being the most notable exception, but it often has Byzantine encroachments). On the one hand, this argues the Byzantine reading here had ancient, semitic roots; on the other hand, since both readings are attested as historically accurate, a decision has to be based on the better witnesses. The fact that there are multiple readings here suggests that the original was not well understood. Which reading best explains the rise of the others? It seems that Bethzatha is the best choice.

[5:2]  ⁷ tn Grk “in Hebrew.”

[5:2]  ⁸ tn Or “porticoes,” or “colonnades”; Grk “stoas.”

[5:4]  ⁹ tc The majority of later mss (C³ Θ Ψ 078 Ë^1,13 Ï) add the following to 5:3: “waiting for the moving of the water. 5:4 For an angel of the Lord went down and stirred up the water at certain times. Whoever first stepped in after the stirring of the water was healed from whatever disease which he suffered.” Other mss include only v. 3b (A^c D 33 lat) or v. 4 (A L it). Few textual scholars today would accept the authenticity of any portion of vv. 3b-4, for they are not found in the earliest and best witnesses (Ì^66,75 א B C* T pc co), they include un-Johannine vocabulary and syntax, several of the mss that include the verses mark them as spurious (with an asterisk or obelisk), and because there is a great amount of textual diversity among the witnesses that do include the verses. The present translation follows NA²⁷ in omitting the verse number, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations.

[5:5]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “who had had thirty-eight years in his disability.”

[5:6]  ¹¹ tn Or “knew.”

[5:6]  ¹² tn Grk “he.” The referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:7]  ¹³ tn Or “Lord.” The Greek κύριος (kurios) means both “Sir” and “Lord.” In this passage the paralytic who was healed by Jesus never acknowledges Jesus as Lord – he rather reports Jesus to the authorities.

[5:7]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “while I am going.”

[5:7]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “another.”

[5:7]  ¹⁶ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[5:8]  ¹⁷ tn Or “pallet,” “mattress,” “cot,” or “stretcher.” Some of these items, however, are rather substantial (e.g., “mattress”) and would probably give the modern English reader a false impression.

[5:9]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “became well.”

[5:9]  ¹⁹ tn Or “pallet,” “mattress,” “cot,” or “stretcher.” See the note on “mat” in the previous verse.

[5:9]  ²⁰ tn Grk “Now it was Sabbath on that day.”

[5:10]  ²¹ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. Here the author refers to the Jewish authorities or leaders in Jerusalem. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9).

[5:10]  ²² tn Or “pallet,” “mattress,” “cot,” or “stretcher.” See the note on “mat” in v. 8.

[5:11]  ²³ tn Or “pallet,” “mattress,” “cot,” or “stretcher.” See the note on “mat” in v. 8.

[5:12]  ²⁴ tc While a number of mss, especially the later ones (A^c C³ D Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt sy), include the words τον κραβ(β)ατ(τ)ον σου (ton krab(b)at(t)on sou, “your mat”) here, the earliest and best (Ì^66,75 א B C* L) do not. Nevertheless, in the translation, it is necessary to supply the words due to the demands of English style, which does not typically allow for understood or implied direct objects as Greek does.

[5:12]  ²⁵ tn Grk “Pick up and walk”; the object (the mat) is implied but not repeated.

[5:14]  ²⁶ tn Since this is a prohibition with a present imperative, the translation “stop sinning” is sometimes suggested. This is not likely, however, since the present tense is normally used in prohibitions involving a general condition (as here) while the aorist tense is normally used in specific instances. Only when used opposite the normal usage (the present tense in a specific instance, for example) would the meaning “stop doing what you are doing” be appropriate.

[5:15]  ²⁷ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 10.

[5:16]  ²⁸ sn Note the plural phrase these things which seems to indicate that Jesus healed on the Sabbath more than once (cf. John 20:30). The synoptic gospels show this to be true; the incident in 5:1-15 has thus been chosen by the author as representative.

[5:16]  ²⁹ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 10.

[5:16]  ³⁰ tn Or “harassing.”

[5:17]  ³¹ tc ‡ Most witnesses (Ì⁶⁶ A D L Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt co) have ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsou", “Jesus”) here, while generally better witnesses (Ì⁷⁵ א B W {0141} 892 1241 pbo) lack the name. Although it is possible that Alexandrian scribes deleted the name due to proclivities to prune, this is not as likely as other witnesses adding it for clarification, especially since multiple strands of the Alexandrian text are represented in the shorter reading. NA²⁷ places the word in brackets, indicating some doubts as to authenticity.

[5:17]  ³² tn Grk “answered.”

[5:17]  ³³ sn “My Father is working until now, and I too am working.” What is the significance of Jesus’ claim? A preliminary understanding can be obtained from John 5:18, noting the Jewish authorities’ response and the author’s comment. They sought to kill Jesus, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was also calling God his own Father, thus making himself equal with God. This must be seen in the context of the relation of God to the Sabbath rest. In the commandment (Exod 20:11) it is explained that “In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth…and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Philo, based on the LXX translation of Exod 20:11, denied outright that God had ever ceased his creative activity. And when Rabban Gamaliel II, R. Joshua, R. Eleazar ben Azariah, and R. Akiba were in Rome, ca. a.d. 95, they gave as a rebuttal to sectarian arguments evidence that God might do as he willed in the world without breaking the Sabbath because the entire world was his private residence. So even the rabbis realized that God did not really cease to work on the Sabbath: Divine providence remained active on the Sabbath, otherwise, all nature and life would cease to exist. As regards men, divine activity was visible in two ways: Men were born and men died on the Sabbath. Since only God could give life and only God could deal with the fate of the dead in judgment, this meant God was active on the Sabbath. This seems to be the background for Jesus’ words in 5:17. He justified his work of healing on the Sabbath by reminding the Jewish authorities that they admitted God worked on the Sabbath. This explains the violence of the reaction. The Sabbath privilege was peculiar to God, and no one was equal to God. In claiming the right to work even as his Father worked, Jesus was claiming a divine prerogative. He was literally making himself equal to God, as 5:18 goes on to state explicitly for the benefit of the reader who might not have made the connection.

[5:18]  ³⁴ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 10.

[5:19]  ³⁵ tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[5:19]  ³⁶ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[5:19]  ³⁷ tn Grk “nothing from himself.”

[5:19]  ³⁸ tn Grk “that one”; the referent (the Father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:19]  ³⁹ sn What works does the Son do likewise? The same that the Father does – and the same that the rabbis recognized as legitimate works of God on the Sabbath (see note on working in v. 17). (1) Jesus grants life (just as the Father grants life) on the Sabbath. But as the Father gives physical life on the Sabbath, so the Son grants spiritual life (John 5:21; note the “greater things” mentioned in v. 20). (2) Jesus judges (determines the destiny of people) on the Sabbath, just as the Father judges those who die on the Sabbath, because the Father has granted authority to the Son to judge (John 5:22-23). But this is not all. Not only has this power been granted to Jesus in the present; it will be his in the future as well. In v. 28 there is a reference not to spiritually dead (only) but also physically dead. At their resurrection they respond to the Son as well.

[5:21]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “and makes them live.”

[5:21]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “the Son makes whomever he wants to live.”

[5:22]  ⁴² tn Or “condemn.”

[5:22]  ⁴³ tn Or “given,” or “handed over.”

[5:23]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “all.” The word “people” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for stylistic reasons and for clarity (cf. KJV “all men”).

[5:24]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[5:24]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “obeys.”

[5:24]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “word.”

[5:24]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “and does not come into judgment.”

[5:25]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[5:25]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “an hour.”

[5:27]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “him.”

[5:27]  ⁵² tn Grk “authority to judge.”

[5:28]  ⁵³ tn Grk “an hour.”

[5:29]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “a resurrection resulting in judgment.”

[5:30]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “nothing from myself.”

[5:30]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “righteous,” or “proper.”

[5:30]  ⁵⁷ tn That is, “the will of the Father who sent me.”

[5:32]  ⁵⁸ sn To whom does another refer? To John the Baptist or to the Father? In the nearer context, v. 33, it would seem to be John the Baptist. But v. 34 seems to indicate that Jesus does not receive testimony from men. Probably it is better to view v. 32 as identical to v. 37, with the comments about the Baptist as a parenthetical digression.

[5:33]  ⁵⁹ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[5:34]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “I do not receive.”

[5:35]  ⁶¹ sn He was a lamp that was burning and shining. Sir 48:1 states that the word of Elijah was “a flame like a torch.” Because of the connection of John the Baptist with Elijah (see John 1:21 and the note on John’s reply, “I am not”), it was natural for Jesus to apply this description to John.

[5:35]  ⁶² tn Grk “for an hour.”

[5:36]  ⁶³ tn Or “works.”

[5:36]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “complete, which I am now doing”; the referent of the relative pronoun has been specified by repeating “deeds” from the previous clause.

[5:37]  ⁶⁵ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to clarify that the following verbs (“heard,” “seen,” “have residing,” “do not believe”) are second person plural.

[5:37]  ⁶⁶ sn You people have never heard his voice nor seen his form at any time. Compare Deut 4:12. Also see Deut 5:24 ff., where the Israelites begged to hear the voice no longer – their request (ironically) has by this time been granted. How ironic this would be if the feast is Pentecost, where by the 1st century a.d. the giving of the law at Sinai was being celebrated.

[5:39]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “Study the scriptures thoroughly” (an imperative). For the meaning of the verb see G. Delling, TDNT 2:655-57.

[5:39]  ⁶⁸ sn In them you possess eternal life. Note the following examples from the rabbinic tractate Pirqe Avot (“The Sayings of the Fathers”): Pirqe Avot 2:8, “He who has acquired the words of the law has acquired for himself the life of the world to come”; Pirqe Avot 6:7, “Great is the law for it gives to those who practice it life in this world and in the world to come.”

[5:39]  ⁶⁹ tn The words “same scriptures” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to clarify the referent (“these”).

[5:41]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “I do not receive.”

[5:41]  ⁷¹ tn Or “honor” (Grk “glory,” in the sense of respect or honor accorded to a person because of their status).

[5:41]  ⁷² tn Grk “from men,” but in a generic sense; both men and women are implied here.

[5:42]  ⁷³ tn The genitive in the phrase τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ θεοῦ (thn agaphn tou qeou, “the love of God”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“God’s love”) or an objective genitive (“love for God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, the emphasis would be on the love God gives which in turn produces love for him, but Jesus’ opponents are lacking any such love inside them.

[5:43]  ⁷⁴ tn Or “you do not receive.”

[5:43]  ⁷⁵ tn Or “you will receive.”

[5:44]  ⁷⁶ tn Or “honor” (Grk “glory,” in the sense of respect or honor accorded to a person because of their status).

[5:44]  ⁷⁷ tn Or “honor” (Grk “glory,” in the sense of respect or honor accorded to a person because of their status).

[5:44]  ⁷⁸ tc Several early and important witnesses (Ì^66,75 B W a b sa) lack θεοῦ (qeou, “God”) here, thus reading “the only one,” while most of the rest of the tradition, including some important mss, has the name ({א A D L Θ Ψ 33 Ï}). Internally, it could be argued that the name of God was not used here, in keeping with the NT practice of suppressing the name of God at times for rhetorical effect, drawing the reader inexorably to the conclusion that the one being spoken of is God himself. On the other hand, never is ὁ μόνος (Jo mono") used absolutely in the NT (i.e., without a noun or substantive with it), and always the subject of the adjunct is God (cf. Matt 24:36; John 17:3; 1 Tim 6:16). What then is to explain the shorter reading? In uncial script, with θεοῦ written as a nomen sacrum, envisioning accidental omission of the name by way of homoioteleuton requires little imagination, largely because of the succession of words ending in -ου: toumonouqMuou. It is thus preferable to retain the word in the text.

[5:45]  ⁷⁹ sn The final condemnation will come from Moses himself – again ironic, since Moses is the very one the Jewish authorities have trusted in (placed your hope). This is again ironic if it is occurring at Pentecost, which at this time was being celebrated as the occasion of the giving of the Torah to Moses on Mt. Sinai. There is evidence that some Jews of the 1st century looked on Moses as their intercessor at the final judgment (see W. A. Meeks, The Prophet King [NovTSup], 161). This would mean the statement Moses, in whom you have placed your hope should be taken literally and relates directly to Jesus’ statements about the final judgment in John 5:28-29.

[5:46]  ⁸⁰ tn Grk “For if.”

[5:47]  ⁸¹ tn Grk “that one” (“he”); the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:1]  ⁸² tn Again, μετὰ ταῦτα (meta tauta) is a vague temporal reference. How Jesus got from Jerusalem to Galilee is not explained, which has led many scholars (e.g., Bernard, Bultmann, and Schnackenburg) to posit either editorial redaction or some sort of rearrangement or dislocation of material (such as reversing the order of chaps. 5 and 6, for example). Such a rearrangement of the material would give a simple and consistent connection of events, but in the absence of all external evidence it does not seem to be supportable. R. E. Brown (John [AB], 1:236) says that such an arrangement is attractive in some ways but not compelling, and that no rearrangement can solve all the geographical and chronological problems in John.

[6:1]  ⁸³ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. Only John in the New Testament refers to the Sea of Galilee by the name Sea of Tiberias (see also John 21:1), but this is correct local usage. In the mid-20’s Herod completed the building of the town of Tiberias on the southwestern shore of the lake; after this time the name came into use for the lake itself.

[6:3]  ⁸⁴ sn Up on the mountainside does not necessarily refer to a particular mountain or hillside, but may simply mean “the hill country” or “the high ground,” referring to the high country east of the Sea of Galilee (known today as the Golan Heights).

[6:4]  ⁸⁵ sn Passover. According to John’s sequence of material, considerable time has elapsed since the feast of 5:1. If the feast in 5:1 was Pentecost of a.d. 31, then this feast would be the Passover of a.d. 32, just one year before Jesus’ crucifixion.

[6:4]  ⁸⁶ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[6:5]  ⁸⁷ tn Grk “when he lifted up his eyes” (an idiom).

[6:6]  ⁸⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:6]  ⁸⁹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[6:7]  ⁹⁰ tn Grk “Philip answered him.”

[6:7]  ⁹¹ tn Grk “two hundred denarii.” The denarius was a silver coin worth about a day’s wage for a laborer; this would be an amount worth about eight months’ pay.

[6:8]  ⁹² tn Grk “one of his disciples.”

[6:9]  ⁹³ tn Grk “but what are these”; the word “good” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[6:10]  ⁹⁴ tn Grk “Make.”

[6:10]  ⁹⁵ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author (suggesting an eyewitness recollection).

[6:10]  ⁹⁶ tn Here “men” has been used in the translation because the following number, 5,000, probably included only adult males (see the parallel in Matt 14:21).

[6:11]  ⁹⁷ tn Grk “likewise also (he distributed) from the fish.”

[6:12]  ⁹⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:13]  ⁹⁹ sn Note that the fish mentioned previously (in John 6:9) are not emphasized here, only the five barley loaves. This is easy to understand, however, because the bread is of primary importance for the author in view of Jesus’ upcoming discourse on the Bread of Life.

[6:14]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:14]  ¹⁰¹ sn The Prophet is a reference to the “prophet like Moses” of Deut 18:15, by this time an eschatological figure in popular belief.

[6:14]  ¹⁰² sn An allusion to Deut 18:15.

[6:15]  ¹⁰³ sn Jesus, knowing that his “hour” had not yet come (and would not, in this fashion) withdrew again up the mountainside alone. The ministry of miracles in Galilee, ending with this, the multiplication of the bread (the last public miracle in Galilee recorded by John) aroused such a popular response that there was danger of an uprising. This would have given the authorities a legal excuse to arrest Jesus. The nature of Jesus’ kingship will become an issue again in the passion narrative of the Fourth Gospel (John 18:33ff.). Furthermore, the volatile reaction of the Galileans to the signs prepares for and foreshadows the misunderstanding of the miracle itself, and even the misunderstanding of Jesus’ explanation of it (John 6:22-71).

[6:16]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Or “sea.” The Greek word indicates a rather large body of water, but the English word “sea” normally indicates very large bodies of water, so the word “lake” in English is a closer approximation.

[6:17]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in the previous verse.

[6:17]  ¹⁰⁶ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.

[6:17]  ¹⁰⁷ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[6:19]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Grk “about twenty-five or thirty stades” (a stade as a unit of linear measure is about 607 feet or 187 meters).

[6:19]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in v. 16. John uses the phrase ἐπί (epi, “on”) followed by the genitive (as in Mark, instead of Matthew’s ἐπί followed by the accusative) to describe Jesus walking “on the lake.”

[6:22]  ¹¹⁰ tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in v. 16.

[6:22]  ¹¹¹ tc Most witnesses have after “one” the phrase “which his disciples had entered” (ἐκεῖνο εἰς ὃ ἐνέβησαν οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ, ekeino ei" }o enebhsan Joi maqhtai autou) although there are several permutations of this clause ([א* D] Θ [˹³ 33] Ï [sa]). The witnesses that lack this expression are, however, significant and diffused (Ì⁷⁵ א² A B L N W Ψ 1 565 579 1241 al lat). The clarifying nature of the longer reading, the multiple variants from it, and the weighty testimony for the shorter reading all argue against the authenticity of the longer text in any of its variations.

[6:22]  ¹¹² tn Grk “entered.”

[6:23]  ¹¹³ map For location see Map1 E2; Map2 C2; Map3 C3; Map4 D1; Map5 G4.

[6:23]  ¹¹⁴ tn Or “boats from Tiberias landed”; Grk “came.”

[6:23]  ¹¹⁵ tc D 091 a e sy^s,c lack the phrase “after the Lord had given thanks” (εὐχαριστήσαντος τοῦ κυρίου, eucaristhsanto" tou kuriou), while almost all the rest of the witnesses ({Ì⁷⁵ א A B L W Θ Ψ 0141 [˹] ˹³ 33 Ï as well as several versions and fathers}) have the words (though {l672 l950 sy^p pbo} read ᾿Ιησοῦ [Ihsou, “Jesus”] instead of κυρίου). Although the shorter reading has minimal support, it is significant that this Gospel speaks of Jesus as Lord in the evangelist’s narrative descriptions only in 11:2; 20:18, 20; 21:12; and possibly 4:1 (but see tc note on “Jesus” there). There is thus but one undisputed preresurrection text in which the narrator calls Jesus “Lord.” This fact can be utilized on behalf of either reading: The participial phrase could be seen as a scribal addition harking back to 6:11 but which does not fit Johannine style, or it could be viewed as truly authentic and in line with what John indisputably does elsewhere even if rarely. On balance, in light of the overwhelming support for these words it is probably best to retain them in the text.

[6:24]  ¹¹⁶ tn Or “embarked in the boats.”

[6:24]  ¹¹⁷ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.

[6:25]  ¹¹⁸ tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in v. 16.

[6:25]  ¹¹⁹ sn John 6:25-31. The previous miracle of the multiplication of the bread had taken place near the town of Tiberias (cf. John 6:23). Jesus’ disciples set sail for Capernaum (6:17) and were joined by the Lord in the middle of the sea. The next day boats from Tiberias picked up a few of those who had seen the multiplication (certainly not the whole 5,000) and brought them to Capernaum. It was to this group that Jesus spoke in 6:26-27. But there were also people from Capernaum who had gathered to see Jesus, who had not witnessed the multiplication, and it was this group that asked Jesus for a miraculous sign like the manna (6:30-31). This would have seemed superfluous if it were the same crowd that had already seen the multiplication of the bread. But some from Capernaum had heard about it and wanted to see a similar miracle repeated.

[6:26]  ¹²⁰ tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[6:26]  ¹²¹ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[6:26]  ¹²² tn Grk “because you ate of the loaves of bread and were filled.”

[6:27]  ¹²³ tn Or “perishes” (this might refer to spoiling, but is more focused on the temporary nature of this kind of food).

[6:27]  ¹²⁴ tn The referent (the food) has been specified for clarity by repeating the word “food” from the previous clause.

[6:27]  ¹²⁵ tn Grk “on this one.”

[6:28]  ¹²⁶ tn Grk “the works.”

[6:28]  ¹²⁷ tn Grk “What must we do to work the works of God?”

[6:29]  ¹²⁸ tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[6:29]  ¹²⁹ tn Grk “the work.”

[6:29]  ¹³⁰ tn Grk “This is the work of God.”

[6:29]  ¹³¹ tn Grk “that one” (i.e., God).

[6:31]  ¹³² tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[6:31]  ¹³³ sn A quotation from Ps 78:24 (referring to the events of Exod 16:4-36).

[6:32]  ¹³⁴ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[6:33]  ¹³⁵ tn Or “he who.”

[6:34]  ¹³⁶ tn Or “Lord.” The Greek κύριος (kurios) means both “Sir” and “Lord.” In this passage it is not at all clear at this point that the crowd is acknowledging Jesus as Lord. More likely this is simply a form of polite address (“sir”).

[6:35]  ¹³⁷ tn Grk “the one who believes in me will not possibly thirst, ever.”

[6:36]  ¹³⁸ tn Grk “But I said to you.”

[6:36]  ¹³⁹ tc A few witnesses lack με (me, “me”; א A a b e q sy^s,c), while the rest of the tradition has the word (Ì^66,75vid rell). It is possible that the mss that lack the pronoun preserve the original wording here, with the rest of the witnesses adding the pronoun for clarity’s sake. This likelihood increases since the object is not required in Greek. Without it, however, ambiguity increases: The referent could be “me” or it could be “signs,” reaching back to vv. 26 and 30. However, the oblique form of ἐγώ (egw, the first person personal pronoun) occurs some two dozen times in this chapter alone, yet it vacillates between the emphatic form and the unemphatic form. Although generally the unemphatic form is used with verbs, there are several exceptions to this in John (cf. 8:12; 12:26, 45, 48; 13:20; 14:9). If the pronoun is a later addition here, one wonders why it is so consistently the unemphatic form in the mss. Further, that two unrelated Greek witnesses lack this small word could easily be due to accidental deletion. Finally, the date and diversity of the witnesses for the pronoun are so weighty that it is likely to be authentic and should thus be retained in the text.

[6:37]  ¹⁴⁰ tn Or “drive away”; Grk “cast out.”

[6:39]  ¹⁴¹ tn Or “resurrect them all,” or “make them all live again”; Grk “raise it up.” The word “all” is supplied to bring out the collective nature of the neuter singular pronoun αὐτό (auto) in Greek. The plural pronoun “them” is used rather than neuter singular “it” because this is clearer in English, which does not use neuter collective singulars in the same way Greek does.

[6:40]  ¹⁴² tn Or “resurrect him,” or “make him live again.”

[6:40]  ¹⁴³ sn Notice that here the result (having eternal life and being raised up at the last day) is produced by looking on the Son and believing in him. Compare John 6:54 where the same result is produced by eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood. This suggests that the phrase in 6:54 (eats my flesh and drinks my blood) is to be understood in terms of the phrase here (looks on the Son and believes in him).

[6:41]  ¹⁴⁴ tn Grk “Then the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the translation restricts the phrase to those Jews who were hostile to Jesus (cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e.β), since the “crowd” mentioned in 6:22-24 was almost all Jewish (as suggested by their addressing Jesus as “Rabbi” (6:25). Likewise, the designation “Judeans” does not fit here because the location is Galilee rather than Judea.

[6:43]  ¹⁴⁵ tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[6:43]  ¹⁴⁶ tn Or “Do not grumble among yourselves.” The words “about me” are supplied to clarify the translation “complain to one another” (otherwise the Jewish opponents could be understood to be complaining about one another, rather than complaining to one another about Jesus).

[6:44]  ¹⁴⁷ tn Or “attracts him,” or “pulls him.” The word is used of pulling or dragging, often by force. It is even used once of magnetic attraction (A. Oepke, TDNT 2:503).

[6:45]  ¹⁴⁸ sn A quotation from Isa 54:13.

[6:45]  ¹⁴⁹ tn Or “listens to the Father and learns.”

[6:46]  ¹⁵⁰ tn Grk “this one.”

[6:46]  ¹⁵¹ sn This is best taken as a parenthetical note by the author. Although some would attribute these words to Jesus himself, the switch from first person in Jesus’ preceding and following remarks to third person in v. 46 suggests that the author has added a clarifying comment here.

[6:47]  ¹⁵² tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[6:47]  ¹⁵³ tc Most witnesses (A C² D Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat and other versions) have “in me” (εἰς ἐμέ, eis eme) here, while the Sinaitic and Curetonian Syriac versions read “in God.” These clarifying readings are predictable variants, being motivated by the scribal tendency toward greater explicitness. That the earliest and best witnesses (Ì^66,75vid א B C* L T W Θ 892 pc) lack any object is solid testimony to the shorter text’s authenticity.

[6:47]  ¹⁵⁴ tn Compare John 6:40.

[6:48]  ¹⁵⁵ tn That is, “the bread that produces (eternal) life.”

[6:49]  ¹⁵⁶ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[6:50]  ¹⁵⁷ tn Or “Here.”

[6:50]  ¹⁵⁸ tn Grk “someone” (τις, tis).

[6:51]  ¹⁵⁹ tn Grk “And the bread.”

[6:52]  ¹⁶⁰ tn Grk “Then the Jews began to argue.” Here the translation restricts the phrase to those Jews who were hostile to Jesus (cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e.β), since the “crowd” mentioned in 6:22-24 was almost all Jewish (as suggested by their addressing Jesus as “Rabbi” (6:25). See also the note on the phrase “the Jews who were hostile to Jesus” in v. 41.

[6:52]  ¹⁶¹ tn Grk “with one another, saying.”

[6:52]  ¹⁶² tn Grk “this one,” “this person.”

[6:53]  ¹⁶³ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[6:53]  ¹⁶⁴ sn Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood. These words are at the heart of the discourse on the Bread of Life, and have created great misunderstanding among interpreters. Anyone who is inclined toward a sacramental viewpoint will almost certainly want to take these words as a reference to the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, or the Eucharist, because of the reference to eating and drinking. But this does not automatically follow: By anyone’s definition there must be a symbolic element to the eating which Jesus speaks of in the discourse, and once this is admitted, it is better to understand it here, as in the previous references in the passage, to a personal receiving of (or appropriation of) Christ and his work.

[6:53]  ¹⁶⁵ tn That is, “no eternal life” (as opposed to physical life).

[6:54]  ¹⁶⁶ 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]  ¹⁶⁷ 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).

[6:55]  ¹⁶⁸ tn Or “real.”

[6:55]  ¹⁶⁹ tn Or “real.”

[6:56]  ¹⁷⁰ 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]  ¹⁷¹ 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]  ¹⁷² 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]  ¹⁷³ tn Or “This one.”

[6:58]  ¹⁷⁴ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[6:58]  ¹⁷⁵ 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]  ¹⁷⁶ 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.

[6:59]  ¹⁷⁷ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:59]  ¹⁷⁸ sn A synagogue was a place for Jewish prayer and worship, with recognized leadership (cf. Luke 8:41). Though the origin of the synagogue is not entirely clear, it seems to have arisen in the postexilic community during the intertestamental period. A town could establish a synagogue if there were at least ten men. In normative Judaism of the NT period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present (see the Mishnah, m. Megillah 3-4; m. Berakhot 2).

[6:59]  ¹⁷⁹ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.

[6:60]  ¹⁸⁰ tn The words “these things” are not present in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, and must be supplied for the English reader.

[6:60]  ¹⁸¹ tn Or “hard,” “demanding.”

[6:60]  ¹⁸² tn Or “teaching”; Grk “word.”

[6:60]  ¹⁸³ tn Or “obey it”; Grk “hear it.” The Greek word ἀκούω (akouw) could imply hearing with obedience here, in the sense of “obey.” It could also point to the acceptance of what Jesus had just said, (i.e., “who can accept what he said?” However, since the context contains several replies by those in the crowd of hearers that suggest uncertainty or confusion over the meaning of what Jesus had said (6:42; 6:52), the meaning “understand” is preferred here.

[6:61]  ¹⁸⁴ tn Grk “When Jesus knew within himself.”

[6:61]  ¹⁸⁵ tn Or “were grumbling.”

[6:61]  ¹⁸⁶ tn Or “Does this cause you to no longer believe?” (Grk “cause you to stumble?”)

[6:62]  ¹⁸⁷ tn Or “he was formerly?”

[6:63]  ¹⁸⁸ tn Grk “the flesh counts for nothing.”

[6:63]  ¹⁸⁹ tn Or “are spirit-giving and life-producing.”

[6:64]  ¹⁹⁰ sn This is a parenthetical comment by the author.

[6:65]  ¹⁹¹ tn Grk “And he said”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:65]  ¹⁹² tn Grk “unless it has been permitted to him by the Father.”

[6:66]  ¹⁹³ tn Grk “many of his disciples went back to what lay behind.”

[6:66]  ¹⁹⁴ tn Grk “were not walking with him.”

[6:67]  ¹⁹⁵ 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 it is “do you?”).

[6:69]  ¹⁹⁶ tn Grk “And we.”

[6:69]  ¹⁹⁷ sn See 1 John 4:16.

[6:69]  ¹⁹⁸ tc The witnesses display a bewildering array of variants here. Instead of “the Holy One of God” (ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ, Jo {agio" tou qeou), Tertullian has ὁ Χριστός (Jo Cristo", “the Christ”); C³ Θ* ˹ 33 565 lat read ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ (Jo Cristo" Jo Juio" tou qeou, “the Christ, the Son of God”); two versional witnesses (b sy^c) have ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ (“the Son of God”); the Byzantine text as well as many others (Ψ 0250 ˹³ 33 Ï) read ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος (Jo Cristo" Jo Juio" tou qeou tou zwnto", “the Christ, the Son of the living God”); and Ì⁶⁶ as well as a few versions have ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ (“the Christ, the Holy One of God”). The reading ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ is, however, well supported by Ì⁷⁵ א B C* D L W as well as versional witnesses. It appears that Peter’s confession in the Synoptic Gospels (especially Matt 16:16) supplied the motivation for the variations. Although the witnesses in Matt 16:16; Mark 8:29; and Luke 9:20 vary considerably, the readings are all intra-synoptic, that is, they do not pull in “the Holy One of God” but reflect various permutations of “Christ”/“Christ of God”/“Christ, the Son of God”/“Christ, the Son of the living God.” The wording “the Holy One of God” (without “Christ”) in important witnesses here is thus unique among Peter’s confessions, and best explains the rise of the other readings.

[6:70]  ¹⁹⁹ tn Grk “Jesus answered them.”

[6:70]  ²⁰⁰ tn Although most translations render this last phrase as “one of you is a devil,” such a translation presupposes that there is more than one devil. This finds roots in the KJV in which the Greek word for demon was often translated “devil.” In fact, the KJV never uses the word “demon.” (Sixty-two of the 63 NT instances of δαιμόνιον [daimonion] are translated “devil” [in Acts 17:18 the plural has been translated “gods”]. This can get confusing in places where the singular “devil” is used: Is Satan or one of the demons in view [cf. Matt 9:33 (demon); 13:39 (devil); 17:18 (demon); Mark 7:26 (demon); Luke 4:2 (devil); etc.]?) Now regarding John 6:70, both the construction in Greek and the technical use of διάβολος (diabolos) indicate that the one devil is in view. To object to the translation “the devil” because it thus equates Judas with Satan does not take into consideration that Jesus often spoke figuratively (e.g., “destroy this temple” [John 2:19]; “he [John the Baptist] is Elijah” [Matt 11:14]), even equating Peter with the devil on one occasion (Mark 8:33). According to ExSyn 249, “A curious phenomenon has occurred in the English Bible with reference to one particular monadic noun, διάβολος. The KJV translates both διάβολος and δαιμόνιον as ‘devil.’ Thus in the AV translators’ minds, ‘devil’ was not a monadic noun. Modern translations have correctly rendered δαιμόνιον as ‘demon’ and have, for the most part, recognized that διάβολος is monadic (cf., e.g., 1 Pet 5:8; Rev 20:2). But in John 6:70 modern translations have fallen into the error of the King James translators. The KJV has ‘one of you is a devil.’ So does the RSV, NRSV, ASV, NIV, NKJV, and the JB [Jerusalem Bible]. Yet there is only one devil…The legacy of the KJV still lives on, then, even in places where it ought not.”

[6:71]  ²⁰¹ sn At least six explanations for the name Iscariot have been proposed, but it is probably transliterated Hebrew with the meaning “man of Kerioth” (there are at least two villages that had that name). See D. A. Carson, John, 304.

[6:71]  ²⁰² tn Grk “this one”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:71]  ²⁰³ sn This parenthetical statement by the author helps the reader understand Jesus’ statement one of you is the devil in the previous verse. This is the first mention of Judas in the Fourth Gospel, and he is immediately identified (as he is in the synoptic gospels, Matt 10:4, Mark 3:19, Luke 6:16) as the one who would betray Jesus.

[7:1]  ²⁰⁴ sn Again, the transition is indicated by the imprecise temporal indicator After this. Clearly, though, the author has left out much of the events of Jesus’ ministry, because chap. 6 took place near the Passover (6:4). This would have been the Passover between winter/spring of a.d. 32, just one year before Jesus’ crucifixion (assuming a date of a.d. 33 for the crucifixion), or the Passover of winter/spring a.d. 29, assuming a date of a.d. 30 for the crucifixion.

[7:1]  ²⁰⁵ tn Grk “Jesus was traveling around in Galilee.”

[7:1]  ²⁰⁶ tn Grk “For he.” Here γάρ (gar, “for”) has not been translated.

[7:1]  ²⁰⁷ tn Grk “he did not want to travel around in Judea.”

[7:1]  ²⁰⁸ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase should be restricted to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents.

[7:1]  ²⁰⁹ tn Grk “were seeking.”

[7:2]  ²¹⁰ tn Or “feast of the Tents” (the feast where people lived in tents or shelters, which was celebrated in the autumn after harvest). John’s use of σκηνοπηγία (skhnophgia) for the feast of Tabernacles constitutes the only use of this term in the New Testament.

[7:2]  ²¹¹ sn Since the present verse places these incidents at the feast of Tabernacles (a.d. 29 or 32, depending on whether one dates the crucifixion in a.d. 30 or 33) there would have been a 6-month interval during which no events are recorded. The author is obviously selective in his approach; he is not recording an exhaustive history (as he will later tell the reader in John 21:25). After healing the paralytic on the Sabbath in Jerusalem (John 5:1-47), Jesus withdrew again to Galilee because of mounting opposition. In Galilee the feeding of the 5,000 took place, which marked the end of the Galilean ministry for all practical purposes. John 7:1-9 thus marks Jesus’ final departure from Galilee.

[7:3]  ²¹² tn Grk “his brothers.”

[7:3]  ²¹³ tn Grk “your deeds that you are doing.”

[7:4]  ²¹⁴ tn Or “seeks to be well known.”

[7:4]  ²¹⁵ sn No one who seeks to make a reputation for himself does anything in secret means, in effect: “if you’re going to perform signs to authenticate yourself as Messiah, you should do them at Jerusalem.” (Jerusalem is where mainstream Jewish apocalyptic tradition held that Messiah would appear.)

[7:5]  ²¹⁶ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[7:6]  ²¹⁷ tn Grk “Then Jesus said to them.”

[7:6]  ²¹⁸ tn Or “my opportunity.”

[7:6]  ²¹⁹ tn Or “is not yet here.”

[7:6]  ²²⁰ tn Grk “your time is always ready.”

[7:8]  ²²¹ sn One always speaks of “going up” to Jerusalem in Jewish idiom, even though in western thought it is more common to speak of south as “down” (Jerusalem lies south of Galilee). The reason for the idiom is that Jerusalem was identified with Mount Zion in the OT, so that altitude was the issue.

[7:8]  ²²² tc Most mss (Ì^66,75 B L T W Θ Ψ 070 0105 0250 Ë^1,13 Ï sa), including most of the better witnesses, have “not yet” (οὔπω, oupw) here. Those with the reading οὐκ are not as impressive (א D K 1241 al lat), but οὐκ is the more difficult reading here, especially because it stands in tension with v. 10. On the one hand, it is possible that οὐκ arose because of homoioarcton: A copyist who saw oupw wrote ouk. However, it is more likely that οὔπω was introduced early on to harmonize with what is said two verses later. As for Jesus’ refusal to go up to the feast in v. 8, the statement does not preclude action of a different kind at a later point. Jesus may simply have been refusing to accompany his brothers with the rest of the group of pilgrims, preferring to travel separately and “in secret” (v. 10) with his disciples.

[7:8]  ²²³ tn Although the word is καιρός (kairos) here, it parallels John’s use of ὥρα (Jwra) elsewhere as a reference to the time appointed for Jesus by the Father – the time of his return to the Father, characterized by his death, resurrection, and ascension (glorification). In the Johannine literature, synonyms are often interchanged for no apparent reason other than stylistic variation.

[7:8]  ²²⁴ tn Or “my time has not yet come to an end” (a possible hint of Jesus’ death at Jerusalem); Grk “my time is not yet fulfilled.”

[7:10]  ²²⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:11]  ²²⁶ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents. See the note on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 1.

[7:11]  ²²⁷ tn Grk “Where is that one?”

[7:12]  ²²⁸ tn Grk “And there was.”

[7:12]  ²²⁹ tn Or “complaining.”

[7:12]  ²³⁰ tn Or “among the common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities mentioned in the previous verse).

[7:12]  ²³¹ tn Or “the crowd.”

[7:13]  ²³² tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents. See also the note on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 1.

[7:14]  ²³³ tn Grk “to the temple.”

[7:14]  ²³⁴ tn Or “started teaching.” An ingressive sense for the imperfect verb (“began to teach” or “started teaching”) fits well here, since the context implies that Jesus did not start his teaching at the beginning of the festival, but began when it was about half over.

[7:15]  ²³⁵ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents. See the note on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 1.

[7:15]  ²³⁶ tn Or “began to be astonished.” This imperfect verb could also be translated ingressively (“began to be astonished”), but for English stylistic reasons it is rendered as a simple past.

[7:15]  ²³⁷ tn Grk “How does this man know learning since he has not been taught?” The implication here is not that Jesus never went to school (in all probability he did attend a local synagogue school while a youth), but that he was not the disciple of a particular rabbi and had not had formal or advanced instruction under a recognized rabbi (compare Acts 4:13 where a similar charge is made against Peter and John; see also Paul’s comment in Acts 22:3).

[7:16]  ²³⁸ tn Grk “So Jesus answered and said to them.”

[7:16]  ²³⁹ tn The phrase “the one who sent me” refers to God.

[7:17]  ²⁴⁰ tn Grk “his will.”

[7:17]  ²⁴¹ tn Grk “or whether I speak from myself.”

[7:18]  ²⁴² tn Grk “who speaks from himself.”

[7:18]  ²⁴³ tn Or “seeks.”

[7:18]  ²⁴⁴ tn Or “praise”; Grk “glory.”

[7:18]  ²⁴⁵ tn Or “seeks.”

[7:18]  ²⁴⁶ tn Or “praise”; Grk “glory.”

[7:18]  ²⁴⁷ tn Or “is truthful”; Grk “is true.”

[7:19]  ²⁴⁸ tn Or “accomplishes”; Grk “does.”

[7:19]  ²⁴⁹ tn Grk “seek.”

[7:20]  ²⁵⁰ tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities mentioned in 7:15).

[7:20]  ²⁵¹ tn Grk “You have a demon!”

[7:20]  ²⁵² tn Grk “Who is seeking to kill you?”

[7:21]  ²⁵³ tn Grk “Jesus answered and said to them.”

[7:21]  ²⁵⁴ tn Grk “I did one deed.”

[7:21]  ²⁵⁵ sn The “one miracle” that caused them all to be amazed was the last previous public miracle in Jerusalem recorded by the author, the healing of the paralyzed man in John 5:1-9 on the Sabbath. (The synoptic gospels record other Sabbath healings, but John does not mention them.)

[7:22]  ²⁵⁶ tn Grk “gave you circumcision.”

[7:22]  ²⁵⁷ tn Grk “a man.” While the text literally reads “circumcise a man” in actual fact the practice of circumcising male infants on the eighth day after birth (see Phil 3:5) is primarily what is in view here.

[7:23]  ²⁵⁸ tn Grk “a man.” See the note on “male child” in the previous verse.

[7:23]  ²⁵⁹ tn Grk “receives circumcision.”

[7:23]  ²⁶⁰ sn If a male child is circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses is not broken. The Rabbis counted 248 parts to a man’s body. In the Talmud (b. Yoma 85b) R. Eleazar ben Azariah (ca. a.d. 100) states: “If circumcision, which attaches to one only of the 248 members of the human body, suspends the Sabbath, how much more shall the saving of the whole body suspend the Sabbath?” So absolutely binding did rabbinic Judaism regard the command of Lev 12:3 to circumcise on the eighth day, that in the Mishnah m. Shabbat 18.3; 19.1, 2; and m. Nedarim 3.11 all hold that the command to circumcise overrides the command to observe the Sabbath.

[7:23]  ²⁶¹ tn Or “made an entire man well.”

[7:24]  ²⁶² tn Or “based on sight.”

[7:24]  ²⁶³ tn Or “honest”; Grk “righteous.”

[7:25]  ²⁶⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[7:25]  ²⁶⁵ tn Grk “Is it not this one.”

[7:25]  ²⁶⁶ tn Grk “seeking.”

[7:26]  ²⁶⁷ tn Or “speaking openly.”

[7:26]  ²⁶⁸ sn They are saying nothing to him. Some people who had heard Jesus were so impressed with his teaching that they began to infer from the inactivity of the opposing Jewish leaders a tacit acknowledgment of Jesus’ claims.

[7:26]  ²⁶⁹ tn Grk “this one.”

[7:26]  ²⁷⁰ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[7:27]  ²⁷¹ tn Grk “this one.”

[7:27]  ²⁷² sn We know where this man comes from. The author apparently did not consider this objection worth answering. The true facts about Jesus’ origins were readily available for any reader who didn’t know already. Here is an instance where the author assumes knowledge about Jesus that is independent from the material he records.

[7:27]  ²⁷³ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[7:27]  ²⁷⁴ sn The view of these people regarding the Messiah that no one will know where he comes from reflects the idea that the origin of the Messiah is a mystery. In the Talmud (b. Sanhedrin 97a) Rabbi Zera taught: “Three come unawares: Messiah, a found article, and a scorpion.” Apparently OT prophetic passages like Mal 3:1 and Dan 9:25 were interpreted by some as indicating a sudden appearance of Messiah. It appears that this was not a universal view: The scribes summoned by Herod at the coming of the Magi in Matt 2 knew that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. It is important to remember that Jewish messianic expectations in the early 1st century were not monolithic.

[7:28]  ²⁷⁵ tn Grk “the temple.”

[7:28]  ²⁷⁶ tn Grk “Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying.”

[7:28]  ²⁷⁷ sn You both know me and know where I come from! Jesus’ response while teaching in the temple is difficult – it appears to concede too much understanding to his opponents. It is best to take the words as irony: “So you know me and know where I am from, do you?” On the physical, literal level, they did know where he was from: Nazareth of Galilee (at least they thought they knew). But on another deeper (spiritual) level, they did not: He came from heaven, from the Father. Jesus insisted that he has not come on his own initiative (cf. 5:37), but at the bidding of the Father who sent him.

[7:28]  ²⁷⁸ tn Grk “And I have not come from myself.”

[7:28]  ²⁷⁹ tn The phrase “the one who sent me” refers to God.

[7:28]  ²⁸⁰ tn Grk “the one who sent me is true, whom you do not know.”

[7:29]  ²⁸¹ tn Although the conjunction “but” is not in the Greek text, the contrast is implied (an omitted conjunction is called asyndeton).

[7:29]  ²⁸² tn The preposition παρά (para) followed by the genitive has the local sense preserved and can be used of one person sending another. This does not necessarily imply origin in essence or eternal generation.

[7:29]  ²⁸³ tn Grk “and that one.”

[7:30]  ²⁸⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:30]  ²⁸⁵ tn Grk “his hour.”

[7:31]  ²⁸⁶ tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities).

[7:31]  ²⁸⁷ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[7:31]  ²⁸⁸ 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 it is “will he?”).

[7:32]  ²⁸⁹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[7:32]  ²⁹⁰ tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities like the Pharisees).

[7:32]  ²⁹¹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:32]  ²⁹² tn Or “servants.” The “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. As “servants” or “officers” of the Sanhedrin their representatives should be distinguished from the Levites serving as temple police (perhaps John 7:30 and 44; also John 8:20; 10:39; 19:6; Acts 4:3). Even when performing “police” duties such as here, their “officers” are doing so only as part of their general tasks (see K. H. Rengstorf, TDNT 8:540).

[7:32]  ²⁹³ tn Grk “to seize him.” In the context of a deliberate attempt by the servants of the chief priests and Pharisees to detain Jesus, the English verb “arrest” conveys the point more effectively.

[7:33]  ²⁹⁴ tn Grk “Yet a little I am with you.”

[7:33]  ²⁹⁵ tn The word “then” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[7:34]  ²⁹⁶ tn Grk “seek me.”

[7:35]  ²⁹⁷ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase is understood to refer to the Jewish authorities or leaders, since the Jewish leaders are mentioned in this context both before and after the present verse (7:32, 45).

[7:35]  ²⁹⁸ tn Grk “this one.”

[7:35]  ²⁹⁹ tn Grk “will not find him.”

[7:35]  ³⁰⁰ sn The Jewish people dispersed (Grk “He is not going to the Diaspora”). The Greek term diaspora (“dispersion”) originally meant those Jews not living in Palestine, but dispersed or scattered among the Gentiles.

[7:35]  ³⁰¹ 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 “is he?”).

[7:36]  ³⁰² tn Grk “What is this word that he said.”

[7:36]  ³⁰³ tn Grk “seek me.”

[7:37]  ³⁰⁴ sn There is a problem with the identification of this reference to the last day of the feast, the greatest day: It appears from Deut 16:13 that the feast went for seven days. Lev 23:36, however, makes it plain that there was an eighth day, though it was mentioned separately from the seven. It is not completely clear whether the seventh or eighth day was the climax of the feast, called here by the author the “last great day of the feast.” Since according to the Mishnah (m. Sukkah 4.1) the ceremonies with water and lights did not continue after the seventh day, it seems more probable that this is the day the author mentions.

[7:37]  ³⁰⁵ tn Grk “Jesus stood up and cried out, saying.”

[7:38]  ³⁰⁶ tn An alternate way of punctuating the Greek text of vv. 37-38 results in this translation: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. The one who believes in me, just as the scripture says, ‘From within him will flow rivers of living water.’” John 7:37-38 has been the subject of considerable scholarly debate. Certainly Jesus picks up on the literal water used in the ceremony and uses it figuratively. But what does the figure mean? According to popular understanding, it refers to the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell in the believer. There is some difficulty in locating an OT text which speaks of rivers of water flowing from within such a person, but Isa 58:11 is often suggested: “The Lord will continually lead you, he will feed you even in parched regions. He will give you renewed strength, and you will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring that continually produces water.” Other passages which have been suggested are Prov 4:23 and 5:15; Isa 44:3 and 55:1; Ezek 47:1 ff.; Joel 3:18; and Zech 13:1 and 14:8. The meaning in this case is that when anyone comes to believe in Jesus the scriptures referring to the activity of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life are fulfilled. “When the believer comes to Christ and drinks he not only slakes his thirst but receives such an abundant supply that veritable rivers flow from him” (L. Morris, John [NICNT], 424-25). In other words, with this view, the believer himself becomes the source of the living water. This is the traditional understanding of the passage, often called the “Eastern interpretation” following Origen, Athanasius, and the Greek Fathers. It is supported by such modern scholars as Barrett, Behm, Bernard, Cadman, Carson, R. H. Lightfoot, Lindars, Michaelis, Morris, Odeberg, Schlatter, Schweizer, C. H. Turner, M. M. B. Turner, Westcott, and Zahn. In addition it is represented by the following Greek texts and translations: KJV, RSV, NASB, NA²⁷, and UBS⁴. D. A. Carson, John, 322-29, has a thorough discussion of the issues and evidence although he opts for the previous interpretation. There is another interpretation possible, however, called the “Western interpretation” because of patristic support by Justin, Hippolytus, Tertullian, and Irenaeus. Modern scholars who favor this view are Abbott, Beasley-Murray, Bishop, Boismard, Braun, Brown, Bullinger, Bultmann, Burney, Dodd, Dunn, Guilding, R. Harris, Hoskyns, Jeremias, Loisy, D. M. Stanley, Thüsing, N. Turner, and Zerwick. This view is represented by the translation in the RSV margin and by the NEB. It is also sometimes called the “christological interpretation” because it makes Jesus himself the source of the living water in v. 38, by punctuating as follows: (37b) ἐάν τι διψᾷ ἐρχέσθω πρός με, καὶ πινέτω (38) ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμέ. Καθὼς εἶπεν ἡ γραφή, ποταμοὶ ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας αὐτοῦ ῥεύσουσιν ὕδατος ζῶντος. Three crucial questions are involved in the solution of this problem: (1) punctuation; (2) determining the antecedent of αὐτοῦ (autou); and (3) the source of the scripture quotation. With regard to (1) Ì⁶⁶ does place a full stop after πινέτω (pinetw), but this may be theologically motivated and could have been added later. Grammatical and stylistic arguments are inconclusive. More important is (2) the determination of the antecedent of αὐτοῦ. Can any other Johannine parallels be found which make the believer the source of the living water? John 4:14 is often mentioned in this regard, but unlike 4:14 the water here becomes a source for others also. Neither does 14:12 provide a parallel. Furthermore, such an interpretation becomes even more problematic in light of the explanation given in v. 39 that the water refers to the Holy Spirit, since it is extremely difficult to see the individual believer becoming the ‘source’ of the Spirit for others. On the other hand, the Gospel of John repeatedly places Jesus himself in this role as source of the living water: 4:10, of course, for the water itself; but according to 20:22 Jesus provides the Spirit (cf. 14:16). Furthermore, the symbolism of 19:34 is difficult to explain as anything other than a deliberate allusion to what is predicted here. This also explains why the Spirit cannot come to the disciples unless Jesus “departs” (16:7). As to (3) the source of the scripture quotation, M. E. Boismard has argued that John is using a targumic rendering of Ps 78:15-16 which describes the water brought forth from the rock in the wilderness by Moses (“Les citations targumiques dans le quatrième évangile,” RB 66 [1959]: 374-78). The frequency of Exodus motifs in the Fourth Gospel (paschal lamb, bronze serpent, manna from heaven) leads quite naturally to the supposition that the author is here drawing on the account of Moses striking the rock in the wilderness to bring forth water (Num 20:8 ff.). That such imagery was readily identified with Jesus in the early church is demonstrated by Paul’s understanding of the event in 1 Cor 10:4. Jesus is the Rock from which the living water – the Spirit – will flow. Carson (see note above) discusses this imagery although he favors the traditional or “Eastern” interpretation. In summary, the latter or “Western” interpretation is to be preferred.

[7:38]  ³⁰⁷ tn Or “out of the innermost part of his person”; Grk “out of his belly.”

[7:38]  ³⁰⁸ sn An OT quotation whose source is difficult to determine; Isa 44:3, 55:1, 58:11, and Zech 14:8 have all been suggested.

[7:39]  ³⁰⁹ tn Grk “for the Spirit was not yet.” Although only B and a handful of other NT mss supply the participle δεδομένον (dedomenon), this is followed in the translation to avoid misunderstanding by the modern English reader that prior to this time the Spirit did not exist. John’s phrase is expressed from a human standpoint and has nothing to do with the preexistence of the third Person of the Godhead. The meaning is that the era of the Holy Spirit had not yet arrived; the Spirit was not as yet at work in a way he later would be because Jesus had not yet returned to his Father. Cf. also Acts 19:2.

[7:39]  ³¹⁰ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[7:40]  ³¹¹ tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities like the chief priests and Pharisees).

[7:40]  ³¹² tn Or “truly.”

[7:40]  ³¹³ sn The Prophet is a reference to the “prophet like Moses” of Deut 18:15, by this time an eschatological figure in popular belief.

[7:41]  ³¹⁴ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[7:41]  ³¹⁵ tn An initial negative reply (“No”) is suggested by the causal or explanatory γάρ (gar) which begins the clause.

[7:41]  ³¹⁶ 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 “does he?”).

[7:42]  ³¹⁷ tn Grk “is from the seed” (an idiom for human descent).

[7:42]  ³¹⁸ sn An allusion to Ps 89:4.

[7:42]  ³¹⁹ sn An allusion to Mic 5:2.

[7:42]  ³²⁰ tn Grk “the village where David was.”

[7:43]  ³²¹ tn Or “among the common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities like the chief priests and Pharisees).

[7:43]  ³²² tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:44]  ³²³ sn Compare John 7:30 regarding the attempt to seize Jesus.

[7:45]  ³²⁴ tn Or “servants.” The “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. As “servants” or “officers” of the Sanhedrin, their representatives should be distinguished from the Levites serving as temple police (perhaps John 7:30 and 44; also John 8:20; 10:39; 19:6; Acts 4:3). Even when performing ‘police’ duties such as here, their “officers” are doing so only as part of their general tasks (See K. H. Rengstorf, TDNT 8:540).

[7:45]  ³²⁵ tn Grk “came.”

[7:45]  ³²⁶ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[7:45]  ³²⁷ tn Grk “Why did you not bring him?” The words “back with you” are implied.

[7:47]  ³²⁸ tn Grk “answered them.”

[7:47]  ³²⁹ 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 “have you?”).

[7:48]  ³³⁰ sn The chief priests and Pharisees (John 7:45) is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. Likewise the term ruler here denotes a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews. Note the same word (“ruler”) is used to describe Nicodemus in John 3:1, and Nicodemus also speaks up in this episode (John 7:50).

[7:48]  ³³¹ 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 “have they?”).

[7:49]  ³³² tn Grk “crowd.” “Rabble” is a good translation here because the remark by the Pharisees is so derogatory.

[7:50]  ³³³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:50]  ³³⁴ tn Grk “who was one of them”; the referent (the rulers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:50]  ³³⁵ tn Grk “said to them.”

[7:51]  ³³⁶ tn Grk “judge.”

[7:51]  ³³⁷ tn Grk “knows.”

[7:51]  ³³⁸ 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 “does it?”).

[7:52]  ³³⁹ tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”

[7:52]  ³⁴⁰ 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?”).

[7:52]  ³⁴¹ tc At least one early and important ms (Ì^66*) places the article before “prophet” (ὁ προφήτης, Jo profhths), making this a reference to the “prophet like Moses” mentioned in Deut 18:15.

[7:53]  ³⁴² tc This entire section, 7:53-8:11, traditionally known as the pericope adulterae, is not contained in the earliest and best mss and was almost certainly not an original part of the Gospel of John. Among modern commentators and textual critics, it is a foregone conclusion that the section is not original but represents a later addition to the text of the Gospel. B. M. Metzger summarizes: “the evidence for the non-Johannine origin of the pericope of the adulteress is overwhelming” (TCGNT 187). External evidence is as follows. For the omission of 7:53-8:11: Ì^66,75 א B L N T W Δ Θ Ψ 0141 0211 33 565 1241 1424* 2768 al. In addition codices A and C are defective in this part of John, but it appears that neither contained the pericope because careful measurement shows that there would not have been enough space on the missing pages to include the pericope 7:53-8:11 along with the rest of the text. Among the mss that include 7:53-8:11 are D Ï lat. In addition E S Λ 1424^mg al include part or all of the passage with asterisks or obeli, 225 places the pericope after John 7:36, ˹ places it after John 21:25, {115} after John 8:12, ˹³ after Luke 21:38, and the corrector of 1333 includes it after Luke 24:53. (For a more complete discussion of the locations where this “floating” text has ended up, as well as a minority opinion on the authenticity of the passage, see M. A. Robinson, “Preliminary Observations regarding the Pericope Adulterae Based upon Fresh Collations of nearly All Continuous-Text Manuscripts and All Lectionary Manuscripts containing the Passage,” Filologia Neotestamentaria 13 [2000]: 35-59, especially 41-42.) In evaluating this ms evidence, it should be remembered that in the Gospels A is considered to be of Byzantine texttype (unlike in the epistles and Revelation, where it is Alexandrian), as are E F G (mss with the same designation are of Western texttype in the epistles). This leaves D as the only major Western uncial witness in the Gospels for the inclusion. Therefore the evidence could be summarized by saying that almost all early mss of the Alexandrian texttype omit the pericope, while most mss of the Western and Byzantine texttype include it. But it must be remembered that “Western mss” here refers only to D, a single witness (as far as Greek mss are concerned). Thus it can be seen that practically all of the earliest and best mss extant omit the pericope; it is found only in mss of secondary importance. But before one can conclude that the passage was not originally part of the Gospel of John, internal evidence needs to be considered as well. Internal evidence in favor of the inclusion of 8:1-11 (7:53-8:11): (1) 7:53 fits in the context. If the “last great day of the feast” (7:37) refers to the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles, then the statement refers to the pilgrims and worshipers going home after living in “booths” for the week while visiting Jerusalem. (2) There may be an allusion to Isa 9:1-2 behind this text: John 8:12 is the point when Jesus describes himself as the Light of the world. But the section in question mentions that Jesus returned to the temple at “early dawn” (῎Ορθρου, Orqrou, in 8:2). This is the “dawning” of the Light of the world (8:12) mentioned by Isa 9:2. (3) Furthermore, note the relationship to what follows: Just prior to presenting Jesus’ statement that he is the Light of the world, John presents the reader with an example that shows Jesus as the light. Here the woman “came to the light” while her accusers shrank away into the shadows, because their deeds were evil (cf. 3:19-21). Internal evidence against the inclusion of 8:1-11 (7:53-8:11): (1) In reply to the claim that the introduction to the pericope, 7:53, fits the context, it should also be noted that the narrative reads well without the pericope, so that Jesus’ reply in 8:12 is directed against the charge of the Pharisees in 7:52 that no prophet comes from Galilee. (2) The assumption that the author “must” somehow work Isa 9:1-2 into the narrative is simply that – an assumption. The statement by the Pharisees in 7:52 about Jesus’ Galilean origins is allowed to stand without correction by the author, although one might have expected him to mention that Jesus was really born in Bethlehem. And 8:12 does directly mention Jesus’ claim to be the Light of the world. The author may well have presumed familiarity with Isa 9:1-2 on the part of his readers because of its widespread association with Jesus among early Christians. (3) The fact that the pericope deals with the light/darkness motif does not inherently strengthen its claim to authenticity, because the motif is so prominent in the Fourth Gospel that it may well have been the reason why someone felt that the pericope, circulating as an independent tradition, fit so well here. (4) In general the style of the pericope is not Johannine either in vocabulary or grammar (see D. B. Wallace, “Reconsidering ‘The Story of the Woman Taken in Adultery Reconsidered’,” NTS 39 [1993]: 290-96). According to R. E. Brown it is closer stylistically to Lukan material (John [AB], 1:336). Interestingly one important family of mss (˹³) places the pericope after Luke 21:38. Conclusion: In the final analysis, the weight of evidence in this case must go with the external evidence. The earliest and best mss do not contain the pericope. It is true with regard to internal evidence that an attractive case can be made for inclusion, but this is by nature subjective (as evidenced by the fact that strong arguments can be given against such as well). In terms of internal factors like vocabulary and style, the pericope does not stand up very well. The question may be asked whether this incident, although not an original part of the Gospel of John, should be regarded as an authentic tradition about Jesus. It could well be that it is ancient and may indeed represent an unusual instance where such a tradition survived outside of the bounds of the canonical literature. However, even that needs to be nuanced (see B. D. Ehrman, “Jesus and the Adulteress,” NTS 34 [1988]: 24–44).

[8:1]  ³⁴³ sn The Mount of Olives is a hill running north to south about 1.8 mi (3 km) long, lying east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. It was named for the large number of olive trees that grew on it.

[8:2]  ³⁴⁴ tn An ingressive sense for the imperfect fits well here following the aorist participle.

[8:3]  ³⁴⁵ tn Or “The scribes.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.

[8:3]  ³⁴⁶ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[8:4]  ³⁴⁷ tn Grk “to him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:5]  ³⁴⁸ sn An allusion to Lev 20:10 and Deut 22:22-24.

[8:5]  ³⁴⁹ sn The accusers themselves subtly misrepresented the law. The Mosaic law stated that in the case of adultery, both the man and woman must be put to death (Lev 20:10, Deut 22:22), but they mentioned only such women.

[8:6]  ³⁵⁰ tn Grk “so that they could accuse.”

[8:6]  ³⁵¹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author of 7:53–8:11.

[8:6]  ³⁵² tn Or possibly “Jesus bent down and wrote an accusation on the ground with his finger.” The Greek verb καταγράφω (katagrafw) may indicate only the action of writing on the ground by Jesus, but in the overall context (Jesus’ response to the accusation against the woman) it can also be interpreted as implying that what Jesus wrote was a counteraccusation against the accusers (although there is no clue as to the actual content of what he wrote, some scribes added “the sins of each one of them” either here or at the end of v. 8 [U 264 700 al]).

[8:7]  ³⁵³ tn Or “he straightened up.”

[8:7]  ³⁵⁴ tn Grk “and said to them.”

[8:7]  ³⁵⁵ tn Or “sinless.”

[8:8]  ³⁵⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[8:9]  ³⁵⁷ tn Or “beginning from the eldest.”

[8:10]  ³⁵⁸ tn Or “straightened up.”

[8:10]  ³⁵⁹ sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.

[8:11]  ³⁶⁰ tc The earliest and best mss do not contain 7:53–8:11 (see note on 7:53).

[8:12]  ³⁶¹ tn Grk “Then again Jesus spoke to them saying.”

[8:12]  ³⁶² sn The theory proposed by F. J. A. Hort (The New Testament in the Original Greek, vol. 2, Introduction; Appendix, 87-88), that the backdrop of 8:12 is the lighting of the candelabra in the court of women, may offer a plausible setting to the proclamation by Jesus that he is the light of the world. The last time that Jesus spoke in the narrative (assuming 7:53-8:11 is not part of the original text, as the textual evidence suggests) is in 7:38, where he was speaking to a crowd of pilgrims in the temple area. This is where he is found in the present verse, and he may be addressing the crowd again. Jesus’ remark has to be seen in view of both the prologue (John 1:4, 5) and the end of the discourse with Nicodemus (John 3:19-21). The coming of Jesus into the world provokes judgment: A choosing up of sides becomes necessary. The one who comes to the light, that is, who follows Jesus, will not walk in the darkness. The one who refuses to come, will walk in the darkness. In this contrast, there are only two alternatives. So it is with a person’s decision about Jesus. Furthermore, this serves as in implicit indictment of Jesus’ opponents, who still walk in the darkness, because they refuse to come to him. This sets up the contrast in chap. 9 between the man born blind, who receives both physical and spiritual sight, and the Pharisees (John 9:13, 15, 16) who have physical sight but remain in spiritual darkness.

[8:12]  ³⁶³ tn The double negative οὐ μή (ou mh) is emphatic in 1st century Hellenistic Greek.

[8:13]  ³⁶⁴ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[8:13]  ³⁶⁵ tn Grk “Then the Pharisees said to him.”

[8:13]  ³⁶⁶ sn Compare the charge You testify about yourself; your testimony is not true! to Jesus’ own statement about his testimony in 5:31.

[8:14]  ³⁶⁷ tn Grk “Jesus answered and said to them.”

[8:14]  ³⁶⁸ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to indicate that the pronoun (“you”) and verb (“do not know”) in Greek are plural.

[8:14]  ³⁶⁹ sn You people do not know where I came from or where I am going. The ignorance of the religious authorities regarding Jesus’ origin works on two levels at once: First, they thought Jesus came from Galilee (although he really came from Bethlehem in Judea) and second, they did not know that he came from heaven (from the Father), and this is where he would return. See further John 7:52.

[8:15]  ³⁷⁰ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to indicate that the pronoun and verb (“judge”) in Greek are plural.

[8:15]  ³⁷¹ tn Or “judge according to external things”; Grk “according to the flesh.” These translations are given by BDAG 916 s.v. σάρξ 5.

[8:15]  ³⁷² sn What is the meaning of Jesus’ statement “I do not judge anyone”? It is clear that Jesus did judge (even in the next verse). The point is that he didn’t practice the same kind of judgment that the Pharisees did. Their kind of judgment was condemnatory. They tried to condemn people. Jesus did not come to judge the world, but to save it (3:17). Nevertheless, and not contradictory to this, the coming of Jesus did bring judgment, because it forced people to make a choice. Would they accept Jesus or reject him? Would they come to the light or shrink back into the darkness? As they responded, so were they judged – just as 3:19-21 previously stated. One’s response to Jesus determines one’s eternal destiny.

[8:16]  ³⁷³ tn Grk “my judgment is true.”

[8:16]  ³⁷⁴ tn The phrase “when I judge” is not in the Greek text, but is implied by the context.

[8:16]  ³⁷⁵ tn The phrase “do so together” is not in the Greek text, but is implied by the context.

[8:17]  ³⁷⁶ sn An allusion to Deut 17:6.

[8:18]  ³⁷⁷ tn Grk “I am the one who testifies about myself.”

[8:19]  ³⁷⁸ tn Grk “Then they were saying to him.” The imperfect verb has been translated with ingressive force here because of the introduction of a new line of questioning by the Pharisees. Jesus had just claimed his Father as a second witness; now his opponents want to know who his father is.

[8:19]  ³⁷⁹ sn If you knew me you would know my Father too. Jesus’ reply is based on his identity with the Father (see also John 1:18; 14:9).

[8:20]  ³⁸⁰ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:20]  ³⁸¹ tn The term γαζοφυλάκιον (gazofulakion) can be translated “treasury” or “treasure room” in this context. BDAG 186 s.v. 1 notes, “It can be taken in this sense J 8:20 (sing.) in (or at) the treasury.” BDAG 186 s.v. 2 argues that the occurrences of this word in the synoptic gospels also refer to the treasury: “For Mk 12:41, 43; Lk 21:1 the mng. contribution box or receptacle is attractive. Acc. to Mishnah, Shekalim 6, 5 there were in the temple 13 such receptacles in the form of trumpets. But even in these passages the general sense of ‘treasury’ is prob., for the contributions would go [into] the treasury via the receptacles.” Based upon the extra-biblical evidence (see sn following), however, the translation opts to refer to the actual receptacles and not the treasury itself.

[8:20]  ³⁸² tn Grk “the temple.”

[8:20]  ³⁸³ tn Grk “his hour.”

[8:20]  ³⁸⁴ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[8:21]  ³⁸⁵ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:21]  ³⁸⁶ 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]  ³⁸⁷ tn Grk “you will seek me.”

[8:21]  ³⁸⁸ 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.

[8:22]  ³⁸⁹ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase refers to the Jewish authorities or leaders in Jerusalem. It was the Pharisees who had begun this line of questioning in John 8:13, and there has been no clear change since then in the identity of Jesus’ opponents.

[8:22]  ³⁹⁰ tn The imperfect verb has been translated with ingressive force (“began to say”) because the comments that follow were occasioned by Jesus’ remarks in the preceding verse about his upcoming departure.

[8:23]  ³⁹¹ tn Grk “And he said to them.”

[8:23]  ³⁹² tn The word “people” is supplied in English to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.

[8:24]  ³⁹³ tn Grk “thus I said to you.”

[8:24]  ³⁹⁴ tn Grk “unless you believe that I am.” In this context there is an implied predicate nominative (“he”) following the “I am” phrase. What Jesus’ hearers had to acknowledge is that he was who he claimed to be, i.e., the Messiah (cf. 20:31). This view is also reflected in English translations like NIV (“if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be”), NLT (“unless you believe that I am who I say I am”), and CEV (“if you don’t have faith in me for who I am”). For a different view that takes this “I am” and the one in 8:28 as nonpredicated (i.e., absolute), see R. E. Brown, John (AB), 1:533-38. Such a view refers sees the nonpredicated “I am” as a reference to the divine Name revealed in Exod 3:14, and is reflected in English translations like NAB (“if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins”) and TEV (“you will die in your sins if you do not believe that ‘I Am Who I Am’”).

[8:25]  ³⁹⁵ tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

[8:26]  ³⁹⁶ tn Or “I have many things to pronounce in judgment about you.” The two Greek infinitives could be understood as a hendiadys, resulting in one phrase.

[8:26]  ³⁹⁷ tn Grk “the one”; the referent (the Father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:26]  ³⁹⁸ tn Grk “true” (in the sense of one who always tells the truth).

[8:26]  ³⁹⁹ tn Grk “and what things I have heard from him, these things I speak to the world.”

[8:27]  ⁴⁰⁰ sn They did not understand…about his Father is a parenthetical note by the author. This type of comment, intended for the benefit of the reader, is typical of the “omniscient author” convention adopted by the author, who is writing from a postresurrection point of view. He writes with the benefit of later knowledge that those who originally heard Jesus’ words would not have had.

[8:28]  ⁴⁰¹ tn Grk “Then Jesus said to them” (the words “to them” are not found in all mss).

[8:28]  ⁴⁰² tn Grk “that I am.” See the note on this phrase in v. 24.

[8:28]  ⁴⁰³ tn Grk “I do nothing from myself.”

[8:28]  ⁴⁰⁴ tn Grk “but just as the Father taught me, these things I speak.”

[8:29]  ⁴⁰⁵ tn That is, “he has not abandoned me.”

[8:30]  ⁴⁰⁶ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied for clarity and smoothness in the translation.

[8:31]  ⁴⁰⁷ tn Grk “to the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory (i.e., “Judeans”), the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9; also BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e.) Here the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple and had believed his claim to be the Messiah, hence, “those Judeans who had believed him.” The term “Judeans” is preferred here to the more general “people” because the debate concerns descent from Abraham (v. 33).

[8:31]  ⁴⁰⁸ tn Grk “If you continue in my word.”

[8:31]  ⁴⁰⁹ tn Or “truly.”

[8:32]  ⁴¹⁰ tn Or “the truth will release you.” The translation “set you free” or “release you” (unlike the more traditional “make you free”) conveys more the idea that the hearers were currently in a state of slavery from which they needed to be freed. The following context supports precisely this idea.

[8:33]  ⁴¹¹ tn Grk “We are the seed” (an idiom).

[8:33]  ⁴¹² tn Grk “They answered to him.”

[8:33]  ⁴¹³ tn Or “How is it that you say.”

[8:34]  ⁴¹⁴ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[8:34]  ⁴¹⁵ tn Or “who commits.” This could simply be translated, “everyone who sins,” but the Greek is more emphatic, using the participle ποιῶν (poiwn) in a construction with πᾶς (pas), a typical Johannine construction. Here repeated, continuous action is in view. The one whose lifestyle is characterized by repeated, continuous sin is a slave to sin. That one is not free; sin has enslaved him. To break free from this bondage requires outside (divine) intervention. Although the statement is true at the general level (the person who continually practices a lifestyle of sin is enslaved to sin) the particular sin of the Jewish authorities, repeatedly emphasized in the Fourth Gospel, is the sin of unbelief. The present tense in this instance looks at the continuing refusal on the part of the Jewish leaders to acknowledge who Jesus is, in spite of mounting evidence.

[8:34]  ⁴¹⁶ tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

[8:35]  ⁴¹⁷ tn Or “household.” The Greek work οἰκία (oikia) can denote the family as consisting of relatives by both descent and marriage, as well as slaves and servants, living in the same house (more the concept of an “extended family”).

[8:35]  ⁴¹⁸ sn Jesus’ point is that while a slave may be part of a family or household, the slave is not guaranteed a permanent place there, while a son, as a descendant or blood relative, will always be guaranteed a place in the family (remains forever).

[8:36]  ⁴¹⁹ tn Or “Son.” The question is whether “son” is to be understood as a direct reference to Jesus himself, or as an indirect reference (a continuation of the generic illustration begun in the previous verse).

[8:37]  ⁴²⁰ tn Grk “seed” (an idiom).

[8:37]  ⁴²¹ tn Grk “you are seeking.”

[8:37]  ⁴²² tn Grk “my word.”

[8:37]  ⁴²³ tn Or “finds no place in you.” The basic idea seems to be something (in this case Jesus’ teaching) making headway or progress where resistance is involved. See BDAG 1094 s.v. χωρέω 2.

[8:38]  ⁴²⁴ tc The first person pronoun μου (mou, “my”) may be implied, especially if ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) follows the second mention of “father” in this verse (as it does in the majority of mss); no doubt this implication gave rise to the reading μου found in most witnesses (א D Θ Ψ 0250 Ë^1,13 33 Ï it sy). No pronoun here is read by Ì^66,75 B C L 070 pc. This problem cannot be isolated from the second in the verse, however. See that discussion below.

[8:38]  ⁴²⁵ tn Grk “The things which I have seen with the Father I speak about.”

[8:38]  ⁴²⁶ tn Grk “and you.”

[8:38]  ⁴²⁷ tc A few significant witnesses lack ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) here (Ì^66,75 B L W 070 pc), while the majority have the pronoun (א C D Θ Ψ 0250 Ë^1,13 33 565 892 Ï al lat sy). However, these mss do not agree on the placement of the pronoun: τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν ποιεῖτε (tou patro" Jumwn poieite), τῷ πατρὶ ὑμῶν (tw patri Jumwn), and τῷ πατρὶ ὑμῶν ταῦτα (tw patri Jumwn tauta) all occur. If the pronoun is read, then the devil is in view and the text should be translated as “you are practicing the things you have heard from your father.” If it is not read, then the same Father mentioned in the first part of the verse is in view. In this case, ποιεῖτε should be taken as an imperative: “you [must] practice the things you have heard from the Father.” The omission is decidedly the harder reading, both because the contrast between God and the devil is now delayed until v. 41, and because ποιεῖτε could be read as an indicative, especially since the two clauses are joined by καί (kai, “and”). Thus, the pronoun looks to be a motivated reading. In light of the better external and internal evidence the omission is preferred.

[8:39]  ⁴²⁸ tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”

[8:39]  ⁴²⁹ tn Or “Our father is Abraham.”

[8:39]  ⁴³⁰ tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

[8:39]  ⁴³¹ tc Although most mss (C W Θ Ψ 0250 Ë^1,13 33 Ï) have the imperfect ἦτε (hte, “you were”) here, making this sentence a proper second class condition, the harder reading, ἐστε (este, “you are”), is found in the better witnesses (Ì^66,75 א B D L 070 pc lat).

[8:39]  ⁴³² tc Some important mss (Ì⁶⁶ B* [700]) have the present imperative ποιεῖτε (poieite) here: “If you are Abraham’s children, then do,” while many others (א² C K L N Δ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 565 579 892 pm) add the contingent particle ἄν (an) to ἐποιεῖτε (epoieite) making it a more proper second class condition by Attic standards. The simple ἐποιεῖτε without the ἄν is the hardest reading, and is found in some excellent witnesses (Ì⁷⁵ א* B² D W Γ Θ 070 0250 1424 pm).

[8:40]  ⁴³³ tn Grk “seeking.”

[8:40]  ⁴³⁴ tn Grk “has spoken to you.”

[8:40]  ⁴³⁵ tn The Greek word order is emphatic: “This Abraham did not do.” The emphasis is indicated in the translation by an exclamation point.

[8:41]  ⁴³⁶ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied in English to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.

[8:41]  ⁴³⁷ tc ‡ Important and early witnesses (א B L W 070 it sy^s,p co) lack the conjunction here, while the earliest witnesses along with many others read οὖν (oun, “therefore”; Ì^66,75 C D Θ Ψ 0250 ˹³ 33 Ï). This conjunction occurs in John some 200 times, far more than in any other NT book. Even though the combined testimony of two early papyri for the conjunction is impressive, 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 52). 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.

[8:41]  ⁴³⁸ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:41]  ⁴³⁹ sn We were not born as a result of immorality! is ironic, because Jesus’ opponents implied that it was not themselves but Jesus who had been born as a result of immoral behavior. This shows they did not know Jesus’ true origin and were not aware of the supernatural events surrounding his birth. The author does not even bother to refute the opponents’ suggestion but lets it stand, assuming his readers will know the true story.

[8:42]  ⁴⁴⁰ tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

[8:42]  ⁴⁴¹ tn Or “I came from God and have arrived.”

[8:42]  ⁴⁴² tn Grk “For I.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

[8:42]  ⁴⁴³ tn Grk “from myself.”

[8:42]  ⁴⁴⁴ tn Grk “that one” (referring to God).

[8:43]  ⁴⁴⁵ tn Grk “you cannot hear,” but this is not a reference to deafness, but rather hearing in the sense of listening to something and responding to it.

[8:43]  ⁴⁴⁶ tn Grk “my word.”

[8:44]  ⁴⁴⁷ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to clarify that the Greek pronoun and verb are plural.

[8:44]  ⁴⁴⁸ tn Many translations read “You are of your father the devil” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NASB) or “You belong to your father, the devil” (NIV), but the Greek preposition ἐκ (ek) emphasizes the idea of source or origin. Jesus said his opponents were the devil’s very offspring (a statement which would certainly infuriate them).

[8:44]  ⁴⁴⁹ tn Grk “the desires of your father you want to do.”

[8:44]  ⁴⁵⁰ tn Grk “That one” (referring to the devil).

[8:44]  ⁴⁵¹ tn Grk “he does not stand in the truth” (in the sense of maintaining, upholding, or accepting the validity of it).

[8:44]  ⁴⁵² tn Grk “Whenever he speaks the lie.”

[8:44]  ⁴⁵³ tn Grk “he speaks from his own.”

[8:44]  ⁴⁵⁴ tn Grk “because he is a liar and the father of it.”

[8:45]  ⁴⁵⁵ tn Or “because I tell you.”

[8:46]  ⁴⁵⁶ tn Or “can convict me.”

[8:46]  ⁴⁵⁷ tn Or “of having sinned”; Grk “of sin.”

[8:46]  ⁴⁵⁸ tn Or “if I tell you.”

[8:47]  ⁴⁵⁹ tn Grk “who is of.”

[8:47]  ⁴⁶⁰ tn Grk “to God hears” (in the sense of listening to something and responding to it).

[8:47]  ⁴⁶¹ tn Grk “you do not hear” (in the sense of listening to something and responding to it).

[8:47]  ⁴⁶² tn Grk “you are not of God.”

[8:48]  ⁴⁶³ tn Grk “the Jews.” See the note on this term in v. 31. Here 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). They had become increasingly hostile as Jesus continued to teach. Now they were ready to say that Jesus was demon-possessed.

[8:48]  ⁴⁶⁴ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[8:48]  ⁴⁶⁵ tn Grk “Do we not say rightly.”

[8:48]  ⁴⁶⁶ tn Grk “and have a demon.” It is not clear what is meant by the charge Σαμαρίτης εἶ σὺ καὶ δαιμόνιον ἔχεις (Samarith" ei su kai daimonion ecei"). The meaning could be “you are a heretic and are possessed by a demon.” Note that the dual charge gets one reply (John 8:49). Perhaps the phrases were interchangeable: Simon Magus (Acts 8:14-24) and in later traditions Dositheus, the two Samaritans who claimed to be sons of God, were regarded as mad, that is, possessed by demons.

[8:49]  ⁴⁶⁷ tn Grk “I do not have a demon.”

[8:49]  ⁴⁶⁸ tn “Yet” is supplied to show the contrastive element present in the context.

[8:50]  ⁴⁶⁹ tn Grk “I am not seeking.”

[8:50]  ⁴⁷⁰ tn Grk “my glory.”

[8:50]  ⁴⁷¹ tn Grk “who seeks.”

[8:50]  ⁴⁷² tn Or “will be the judge.”

[8:51]  ⁴⁷³ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[8:51]  ⁴⁷⁴ tn Grk “If anyone keeps.”

[8:51]  ⁴⁷⁵ tn Grk “my word.”

[8:51]  ⁴⁷⁶ tn Grk “he will never see death forever.” The Greek negative here is emphatic.

[8:52]  ⁴⁷⁷ 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]  ⁴⁷⁸ 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]  ⁴⁷⁹ tn Grk “said to him.”

[8:52]  ⁴⁸⁰ tn Grk “you have a demon.”

[8:52]  ⁴⁸¹ tn “Yet” has been supplied to show the contrastive element present in the context.

[8:52]  ⁴⁸² tn Grk “If anyone keeps.”

[8:52]  ⁴⁸³ tn Grk “my word.”

[8:52]  ⁴⁸⁴ 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]  ⁴⁸⁵ tn Grk “he will never taste of death forever.” The Greek negative here is emphatic.

[8:53]  ⁴⁸⁶ 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?”).

[8:54]  ⁴⁸⁷ tn Grk “Jesus answered.”

[8:54]  ⁴⁸⁸ tn Grk “is nothing.”

[8:54]  ⁴⁸⁹ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied in English to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.

[8:55]  ⁴⁹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Yet” to indicate the contrast present in the context.

[8:55]  ⁴⁹¹ tn Grk “If I say, ‘I do not know him.’”

[8:55]  ⁴⁹² tn Grk “I keep.”

[8:55]  ⁴⁹³ tn Grk “his word.”

[8:56]  ⁴⁹⁴ tn Or “rejoiced greatly.”

[8:56]  ⁴⁹⁵ tn What is the meaning of Jesus’ statement that the patriarch Abraham “saw” his day and rejoiced? The use of past tenses would seem to refer to something that occurred during the patriarch’s lifetime. Genesis Rabbah 44:25ff, (cf. 59:6) states that Rabbi Akiba, in a debate with Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai, held that Abraham had been shown not this world only but the world to come (this would include the days of the Messiah). More realistically, it is likely that Gen 22:13-15 lies behind Jesus’ words. This passage, known to rabbis as the Akedah (“Binding”), tells of Abraham finding the ram which will replace his son Isaac on the altar of sacrifice – an occasion of certain rejoicing.

[8:57]  ⁴⁹⁶ tn Grk “Then the Jews.” See the note on this term in v. 31. Here, as in vv. 31, 48, and 52, 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). They have now become completely hostile, as John 8:59 clearly shows.

[8:57]  ⁴⁹⁷ tn Grk “said to him.”

[8:57]  ⁴⁹⁸ tn Grk ‘You do not yet have fifty years” (an idiom).

[8:57]  ⁴⁹⁹ tn Grk “And have.”

[8:58]  ⁵⁰⁰ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[8:58]  ⁵⁰¹ tn Grk “before Abraham was.”

[8:58]  ⁵⁰² sn I am! is an explicit claim to deity. Although each occurrence of the phrase “I am” in the Fourth Gospel needs to be examined individually in context to see if an association with Exod 3:14 is present, it seems clear that this is the case here (as the response of the Jewish authorities in the following verse shows).

[8:59]  ⁵⁰³ tn Grk “they took up.”

[8:59]  ⁵⁰⁴ sn Jesus’ Jewish listeners understood his claim to deity, rejected it, and picked up stones to throw at him for what they considered blasphemy.

[8:59]  ⁵⁰⁵ tc Most later witnesses (A Θ^c Ë^1,13 Ï) have at the end of the verse “passing through their midst, he went away in this manner” (διελθὼν διὰ μέσου καὶ παρῆγεν οὕτως, dielqwn dia mesou kai parhgen {outw"), while many others have similar permutations (so א^1,2 C L N Ψ 070 33 579 892 1241 al). The wording is similar to two other texts: Luke 4:30 (διελθὼν διὰ μέσου; in several mss αὐτῶν ἐπορεύετο καί [autwn eporeueto kai] is found between this phrase and παρῆγεν, strengthening the parallel with Luke 4:30) and John 9:1 (παρῆγεν; cf. παράγων [paragwn] there). The effect is to signal Jesus’ departure as a miraculous cloaking. As such, the additional statement has all the earmarks of scribal amplification. Further, the best and earliest witnesses (Ì^66,75 א* B D W Θ* lat sa) lack these words, rendering the shorter text virtually certain.

[9:1]  ⁵⁰⁶ tn Or “going along.” The opening words of chap. 9, καὶ παράγων (kai paragwn), convey only the vaguest indication of the circumstances.

[9:2]  ⁵⁰⁷ tn Grk “asked him, saying.”

[9:2]  ⁵⁰⁸ tn Grk “this one.”

[9:2]  ⁵⁰⁹ tn Grk “in order that he should be born blind.”

[9:3]  ⁵¹⁰ tn Grk “this one.”

[9:3]  ⁵¹¹ tn Grk “but so that.” There is an ellipsis that must be supplied: “but [he was born blind] so that” or “but [it happened to him] so that.”

[9:3]  ⁵¹² tn Or “deeds”; Grk “works.”

[9:3]  ⁵¹³ tn Or “manifested,” “brought to light.”

[9:3]  ⁵¹⁴ tn Grk “in him.”

[9:4]  ⁵¹⁵ tn Grk “We must work the works.”

[9:4]  ⁵¹⁶ tn Or “of him who sent me” (God).

[9:4]  ⁵¹⁷ tn Or “while.”

[9:5]  ⁵¹⁸ sn Jesus’ statement I am the light of the world connects the present account with 8:12. Here (seen more clearly than at 8:12) it is obvious what the author sees as the significance of Jesus’ statement. “Light” is not a metaphysical definition of the person of Jesus but a description of his effect on the world, forcing everyone in the world to ‘choose up sides’ for or against him (cf. 3:19-21).

[9:6]  ⁵¹⁹ tn Grk “said these things.”

[9:6]  ⁵²⁰ tn Or “clay” (moistened earth of a clay-like consistency). The textual variant preserved in the Syriac text of Ephraem’s commentary on the Diatessaron (“he made eyes from his clay”) probably arose from the interpretation given by Irenaeus in Against Heresies: “that which the Artificer, the Word, had omitted to form in the womb, he then supplied in public.” This involves taking the clay as an allusion to Gen 2:7, which is very unlikely.

[9:6]  ⁵²¹ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) was replaced by a third person pronoun and a new sentence started here in the translation.

[9:6]  ⁵²² tn Grk “on his.”

[9:7]  ⁵²³ tn The pool’s name in Hebrew is shiloah from the Hebrew verb “to send.” In Gen 49:10 the somewhat obscure shiloh was interpreted messianically by later Jewish tradition, and some have seen a lexical connection between the two names (although this is somewhat dubious). It is known, however, that it was from the pool of Siloam that the water which was poured out at the altar during the feast of Tabernacles was drawn.

[9:7]  ⁵²⁴ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. Why does he comment on the meaning of the name of the pool? Here, the significance is that the Father sent the Son, and the Son sent the man born blind. The name of the pool is applicable to the man, but also to Jesus himself, who was sent from heaven.

[9:7]  ⁵²⁵ tn Grk “So he”; the referent (the blind man) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:8]  ⁵²⁶ tn Or “formerly.”

[9:8]  ⁵²⁷ tn An ingressive force (“began saying”) is present here because the change in status of the blind person provokes this new response from those who knew him.

[9:8]  ⁵²⁸ tn Grk “the one.”

[9:9]  ⁵²⁹ tn Grk “Others were saying.”

[9:9]  ⁵³⁰ tn Grk “This is the one.”

[9:9]  ⁵³¹ tn Grk “No, but he is like him.”

[9:9]  ⁵³² tn Grk “That one”; the referent (the man himself) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:9]  ⁵³³ tn Grk “I am he.”

[9:10]  ⁵³⁴ tn Grk “So they were saying to him.”

[9:10]  ⁵³⁵ tn Grk “How then were your eyes opened” (an idiom referring to restoration of sight).

[9:11]  ⁵³⁶ tn Grk “That one answered.”

[9:11]  ⁵³⁷ tn Or “clay” (moistened earth of a clay-like consistency).

[9:11]  ⁵³⁸ tn Grk “and smeared.” Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when obvious from the context.

[9:11]  ⁵³⁹ tn Grk “said to me.”

[9:11]  ⁵⁴⁰ tn Or “and I gained my sight.”

[9:12]  ⁵⁴¹ tn Grk “And they said.”

[9:12]  ⁵⁴² tn Grk “that one.” “Man” is more normal English style for the referent.

[9:12]  ⁵⁴³ tn Grk “He said.”

[9:13]  ⁵⁴⁴ tn Grk “who was formerly blind.”

[9:13]  ⁵⁴⁵ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[9:14]  ⁵⁴⁶ tn Or “clay” (moistened earth of a clay-like consistency).

[9:14]  ⁵⁴⁷ tn Grk “and opened his eyes” (an idiom referring to restoration of sight).

[9:14]  ⁵⁴⁸ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[9:15]  ⁵⁴⁹ tn Or “how he had become able to see.”

[9:15]  ⁵⁵⁰ tn Grk “And he said to them.”

[9:15]  ⁵⁵¹ tn Or “clay” (moistened earth of a clay-like consistency).

[9:15]  ⁵⁵² tn The word “now” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate the contrast between the man’s former state (blind) and his present state (able to see).

[9:16]  ⁵⁵³ tn As a response to the answers of the man who used to be blind, the use of the imperfect tense in the reply of the Pharisees is best translated as an ingressive imperfect (“began to say” or “started saying”).

[9:16]  ⁵⁵⁴ tn Grk “he does not keep.”

[9:16]  ⁵⁵⁵ sn The Jewish religious leaders considered the work involved in making the mud to be a violation of the Sabbath.

[9:16]  ⁵⁵⁶ tn Grk “do.”

[9:16]  ⁵⁵⁷ tn Or “So there was discord.”

[9:17]  ⁵⁵⁸ tn Grk “the blind man.”

[9:17]  ⁵⁵⁹ tn Grk “since he opened your eyes” (an idiom referring to restoration of sight).

[9:17]  ⁵⁶⁰ tn Grk “And he said, ‘He is a prophet.’”

[9:18]  ⁵⁶¹ tn Or “the Jewish religious authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase refers mainly to the Pharisees, mentioned by name in John 9:13, 15, 16. References in this context to Pharisees and to the synagogue (v. 22) suggest an emphasis on the religious nature of the debate which is brought out by the translation “the Jewish religious leaders.”

[9:18]  ⁵⁶² tn The Greek text contains the words “about him” at this point: “the Jewish authorities did not believe about him…”

[9:18]  ⁵⁶³ tn Grk “they called.”

[9:18]  ⁵⁶⁴ tn Or “the man who had gained his sight.”

[9:19]  ⁵⁶⁵ tn Grk “and they asked them, saying”; the referent (the parents) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:19]  ⁵⁶⁶ tn The Greek pronoun and verb are both plural (both parents are addressed).

[9:20]  ⁵⁶⁷ tn Grk “So his parents answered and said.”

[9:21]  ⁵⁶⁸ tn Grk “who opened his eyes” (an idiom referring to restoration of sight).

[9:21]  ⁵⁶⁹ tn Or “he is of age.”

[9:22]  ⁵⁷⁰ tn Or “the Jewish religious authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Twice in this verse the phrase refers to the Pharisees, mentioned by name in John 9:13, 15, 16. The second occurrence is shortened to “the Jewish leaders” for stylistic reasons. See the note on the phrase “the Jewish religious leaders” in v. 18.

[9:22]  ⁵⁷¹ tn Grk “confessed him.”

[9:22]  ⁵⁷² tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[9:22]  ⁵⁷³ tn Or “would be expelled from.”

[9:22]  ⁵⁷⁴ sn This reference to excommunication from the Jewish synagogue for those who had made some sort of confession about Jesus being the Messiah is dismissed as anachronistic by some (e.g., Barrett) and nonhistorical by others. In later Jewish practice there were at least two forms of excommunication: a temporary ban for thirty days, and a permanent ban. But whether these applied in NT times is far from certain. There is no substantial evidence for a formal ban on Christians until later than this Gospel could possibly have been written. This may be a reference to some form of excommunication adopted as a contingency to deal with those who were proclaiming Jesus to be the Messiah. If so, there is no other record of the procedure than here. It was probably local, limited to the area around Jerusalem. See also the note on synagogue in 6:59.

[9:23]  ⁵⁷⁵ tn Or “he is of age.”

[9:23]  ⁵⁷⁶ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author explaining the parents’ response.

[9:24]  ⁵⁷⁷ tn Grk “they called.”

[9:24]  ⁵⁷⁸ tn Grk “who was blind.”

[9:24]  ⁵⁷⁹ tn Grk “Give glory to God” (an idiomatic formula used in placing someone under oath to tell the truth).

[9:24]  ⁵⁸⁰ tn The phrase “this man” is a reference to Jesus.

[9:25]  ⁵⁸¹ tn Grk “Then that one answered.”

[9:26]  ⁵⁸² tn Grk “open your eyes” (an idiom referring to restoration of sight).

[9:27]  ⁵⁸³ tn Grk “He answered them.” The indirect object αὐτοῖς (autois) has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[9:27]  ⁵⁸⁴ tn Grk “you did not hear.”

[9:27]  ⁵⁸⁵ tn “It” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when they were clearly implied in the context.

[9:27]  ⁵⁸⁶ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.

[9:28]  ⁵⁸⁷ tn Grk “And they.” 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.

[9:28]  ⁵⁸⁸ tn The Greek word means “to insult strongly” or “slander.”

[9:28]  ⁵⁸⁹ tn Grk “and said.”

[9:28]  ⁵⁹⁰ tn Grk “You are that one’s disciple.”

[9:29]  ⁵⁹¹ tn Grk “where this one.”

[9:30]  ⁵⁹² tn Grk “The man answered and said to them.” This has been simplified in the translation to “The man replied.”

[9:30]  ⁵⁹³ tn Grk “For in this is a remarkable thing.”

[9:30]  ⁵⁹⁴ tn Grk “and he opened my eyes” (an idiom referring to restoration of sight).

[9:31]  ⁵⁹⁵ tn Grk “God does not hear.”

[9:31]  ⁵⁹⁶ tn Or “godly.”

[9:31]  ⁵⁹⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:31]  ⁵⁹⁸ tn Or “hears.”

[9:31]  ⁵⁹⁹ tn Grk “this one.”

[9:32]  ⁶⁰⁰ tn Or “Never from the beginning of time,” Grk “From eternity.”

[9:32]  ⁶⁰¹ tn Grk “someone opening the eyes of a man born blind” (“opening the eyes” is an idiom referring to restoration of sight).

[9:33]  ⁶⁰² tn Grk “this one.”

[9:34]  ⁶⁰³ tn Grk “They answered and said to him.” This has been simplified in the translation to “They replied.”

[9:34]  ⁶⁰⁴ tn Or “From birth you have been evil.” The implication of this insult, in the context of John 9, is that the man whom Jesus caused to see had not previously adhered rigorously to all the conventional requirements of the OT law as interpreted by the Pharisees. Thus he had no right to instruct them about who Jesus was.

[9:34]  ⁶⁰⁵ tn Grk “and are you teaching us?”

[9:35]  ⁶⁰⁶ tn Grk “found him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:35]  ⁶⁰⁷ tc Although most witnesses (A L Θ Ψ 070 0250 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat) have θεοῦ (qeou, “of God”) instead of ἀνθρώπου (anqrwpou, “of man”) here, the better witnesses (Ì^66,75 א B D W sy^s) have ἀνθρώπου. Not only is the external evidence decidedly on the side of ἀνθρώπου, but it is difficult to see such early and diverse witnesses changing θεοῦ to ἀνθρώπου. The wording “Son of Man” is thus virtually certain.

[9:36]  ⁶⁰⁸ tn Grk “That one.”

[9:36]  ⁶⁰⁹ tn Grk answered and said.” This has been simplified in the translation to “replied.”

[9:36]  ⁶¹⁰ tn Or “And who is he, sir? Tell me so that…” Some translations supply elliptical words like “Tell me” (NIV, NRSV) following the man’s initial question, but the shorter form given in the translation is clear enough.

[9:37]  ⁶¹¹ tn Grk “that one.”

[9:37]  ⁶¹² tn The καί – καί (kai – kai) construction would normally be translated “both – and”: “You have both seen him, and he is the one speaking with you.” In this instance the English semicolon was used instead because it produces a smoother and more emphatic effect in English.

[9:38]  ⁶¹³ sn Assuming the authenticity of John 9:38-39a (see the tc note following the bracket in v. 39), the man’s response after Jesus’ statement of v. 37 is extremely significant: He worshiped Jesus. In the Johannine context the word would connote its full sense: This was something due God alone. Note also that Jesus did not prevent the man from doing this. The verb προσκυνέω (proskunew) is used in John 4:20-25 of worshiping God, and again with the same sense in 12:20. This would be the only place in John’s Gospel where anyone is said to have worshiped Jesus using this term. As such, it forms the climax of the story of the man born blind, but the uniqueness of the concept of worshiping Jesus at this point in John's narrative (which reaches its ultimate climax in the confession of Thomas in John 20:28) may suggest it is too early for such a response and it represents a later scribal addition.

[9:39]  ⁶¹⁴ tn Grk “And Jesus.” 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.

[9:39]  ⁶¹⁵ tc ‡ Some early and important witnesses (Ì⁷⁵ א* W b sa^ms ac² mf) lack the words, “He said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshiped him. Jesus said,” (vv. 38-39a). This is weighty evidence for the omission of these words. It is difficult to overstate the value of Ì⁷⁵ here, since it is the only currently available papyrus ms extant for the text of John 9:38-39. Further, א is an important and early Alexandrian witness for the omission. The versional testimony and codex W also give strong support to the omission. Nearly all other mss, however, include these words. The omission may have been occasioned by parablepsis (both vv. 37 and 39 begin with “Jesus said to him”), though it is difficult to account for such an error across such a wide variety of witnesses. On the other hand, the longer reading appears to be motivated by liturgical concerns (so R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:375), since the verb προσκυνέω (proskunew, “I worship”) is used in John 4:20-25 of worshiping God, and again with the same sense in 12:20. If these words were authentic here, this would be the only place in John’s Gospel where Jesus is the explicit object of προσκυνέω. Even if these words are not authentic, such an omission would nevertheless hardly diminish John’s high Christology (cf. 1:1; 5:18-23; 14:6-10; 20:28), nor the implicit worship of him by Thomas (20:28). Nevertheless, a decision is difficult, and the included words may reflect a very early tradition about the blind man’s response to Jesus.

[9:39]  ⁶¹⁶ tn Or “that those who do not see may see.”

[9:40]  ⁶¹⁷ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[9:40]  ⁶¹⁸ tn Grk “heard these things.”

[9:40]  ⁶¹⁹ tn Grk “and said to him.”

[9:40]  ⁶²⁰ 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 we?”).

[9:41]  ⁶²¹ tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

[9:41]  ⁶²² tn Grk “you would not have sin.”

[9:41]  ⁶²³ tn Grk “now because you say, ‘We see…’”

[9:41]  ⁶²⁴ tn Or “your sin.”

[9:41]  ⁶²⁵ sn Because you claim that you can see, your guilt remains. The blind man received sight physically, and this led him to see spiritually as well. But the Pharisees, who claimed to possess spiritual sight, were spiritually blinded. The reader might recall Jesus’ words to Nicodemus in 3:10, “Are you the teacher of Israel and don’t understand these things?” In other words, to receive Jesus was to receive the light of the world, to reject him was to reject the light, close one’s eyes, and become blind. This is the serious sin of which Jesus had warned before (8:21-24). The blindness of such people was incurable since they had rejected the only cure that exists (cf. 12:39-41).

[10:1]  ⁶²⁶ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[10:1]  ⁶²⁷ sn There was more than one type of sheepfold in use in Palestine in Jesus’ day. The one here seems to be a courtyard in front of a house (the Greek word used for the sheepfold here, αὐλή [aulh] frequently refers to a courtyard), surrounded by a stone wall (often topped with briars for protection).

[10:1]  ⁶²⁸ tn Or “entrance.”

[10:3]  ⁶²⁹ tn Or “porter” (British English).

[10:3]  ⁶³⁰ tn The words “the door” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

[10:3]  ⁶³¹ tn Grk “For this one.”

[10:3]  ⁶³² tn Grk “And he.” 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.

[10:3]  ⁶³³ sn He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Some interpreters have suggested that there was more than one flock in the fold, and there would be a process of separation where each shepherd called out his own flock. This may also be suggested by the mention of a doorkeeper in v. 3 since only the larger sheepfolds would have such a guard. But the Gospel of John never mentions a distinction among the sheep in this fold; in fact (10:16) there are other sheep which are to be brought in, but they are to be one flock and one shepherd.

[10:4]  ⁶³⁴ tn The word “sheep” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[10:4]  ⁶³⁵ tn Grk “because they know.”

[10:5]  ⁶³⁶ tn Or “someone whom they do not know.”

[10:5]  ⁶³⁷ tn Grk “know.”

[10:5]  ⁶³⁸ tn Or “the voice of someone they do not know.”

[10:6]  ⁶³⁹ sn A parable is a fairly short narrative that has symbolic meaning. The Greek word παροιμίαν (paroimian) is used again in 16:25, 29. This term does not occur in the synoptic gospels, where παραβολή (parabolh) is used. Nevertheless it is similar, denoting a short narrative with figurative or symbolic meaning.

[10:6]  ⁶⁴⁰ tn Grk “these.”

[10:6]  ⁶⁴¹ tn Or “comprehend.”

[10:7]  ⁶⁴² tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[10:7]  ⁶⁴³ tn Or “I am the sheep’s door.”

[10:8]  ⁶⁴⁴ tn Grk “are” (present tense).

[10:8]  ⁶⁴⁵ tn Or “the sheep did not hear them.”

[10:9]  ⁶⁴⁶ tn Since the Greek phrase εἰσέρχομαι καὶ ἐξέρχομαι (eisercomai kai exercomai, “come in and go out”) is in some places an idiom for living or conducting oneself in relationship to some community (“to live with, to live among” [cf. Acts 1:21; see also Num 27:17; 2 Chr 1:10]), it may well be that Jesus’ words here look forward to the new covenant community of believers. Another significant NT text is Luke 9:4, where both these verbs occur in the context of the safety and security provided by a given household for the disciples. See also BDAG 294 s.v. εἰσέρχομαι 1.b.β.

[10:9]  ⁶⁴⁷ sn That is, pasture land in contrast to cultivated land.

[10:10]  ⁶⁴⁸ tn That is, “to slaughter” (in reference to animals).

[10:10]  ⁶⁴⁹ tn That is, more than one would normally expect or anticipate.

[10:11]  ⁶⁵⁰ tn Or “model” (see R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:386, who argues that “model” is a more exact translation of καλός [kalos] here).

[10:11]  ⁶⁵¹ tn Or “The good shepherd dies willingly.”

[10:12]  ⁶⁵² sn Jesus contrasts the behavior of the shepherd with that of the hired hand. This is a worker who is simply paid to do a job; he has no other interest in the sheep and is certainly not about to risk his life for them. When they are threatened, he simply runs away.

[10:12]  ⁶⁵³ tn Grk “leaves.”

[10:12]  ⁶⁵⁴ tn Or “flees.”

[10:12]  ⁶⁵⁵ tn Or “seizes.” The more traditional rendering, “snatches,” has the idea of seizing something by force and carrying it off, which is certainly possible here. However, in the sequence in John 10:12, this action precedes the scattering of the flock of sheep, so “attacks” is preferable.

[10:13]  ⁶⁵⁶ tn Grk “does not have a care for the sheep.”

[10:13]  ⁶⁵⁷ tc The phrase “he runs away” is lacking in several important mss (Ì^{44vid,45,66,75} א A*^vid B D L [W] Θ 1 33 1241 al co). Most likely it was added by a later scribe to improve the readability of vv. 12-13, which is one long sentence in Greek. It has been included in the translation for the same stylistic reasons.

[10:14]  ⁶⁵⁸ tn Grk “And I.” 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.

[10:14]  ⁶⁵⁹ tn The direct object is frequently omitted in Greek and must be supplied from the context. Here it could be “sheep,” but Jesus was ultimately talking about “people.”

[10:15]  ⁶⁶⁰ tn Or “I die willingly.”

[10:15]  ⁶⁶¹ tn Or “on behalf of” or “for the sake of.”

[10:16]  ⁶⁶² tn Grk “And I have.” 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.

[10:16]  ⁶⁶³ tn Or “that do not belong to”; Grk “that are not of.”

[10:16]  ⁶⁶⁴ sn The statement I have other sheep that do not come from this sheepfold almost certainly refers to Gentiles. Jesus has sheep in the fold who are Jewish; there are other sheep which, while not of the same fold, belong to him also. This recalls the mission of the Son in 3:16-17, which was to save the world – not just the nation of Israel. Such an emphasis would be particularly appropriate to the author if he were writing to a non-Palestinian and primarily non-Jewish audience.

[10:16]  ⁶⁶⁵ tn Grk “they will hear my voice.”

[10:16]  ⁶⁶⁶ tn Grk “voice, and.”

[10:16]  ⁶⁶⁷ tn The word “and” is not in the Greek text, but must be supplied to conform to English style. In Greek it is an instance of asyndeton (omission of a connective), usually somewhat emphatic.

[10:17]  ⁶⁶⁸ tn Grk “Because of this the Father loves me.”

[10:17]  ⁶⁶⁹ tn Or “die willingly.”

[10:18]  ⁶⁷⁰ tn Or “give it up.”

[10:18]  ⁶⁷¹ tn Or “of my own accord.” “Of my own free will” is given by BDAG 321 s.v. ἐμαυτοῦ c.

[10:18]  ⁶⁷² tn Or “I have the right.”

[10:18]  ⁶⁷³ tn Or “I have the right.”

[10:18]  ⁶⁷⁴ tn Or “order.”

[10:19]  ⁶⁷⁵ tn Or perhaps “the Jewish religious leaders”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase could be taken to refer to the Jewish religious leaders, since the Pharisees were the last to be mentioned specifically by name, in John 9:40. However, in light of the charge about demon possession, which echoes 8:48, it is more likely that Jewish people in general (perhaps in Jerusalem, if that is understood to be the setting of the incident) are in view here.

[10:20]  ⁶⁷⁶ tn Or “is insane.” To translate simply “he is mad” (so KJV, ASV, RSV; “raving mad” NIV) could give the impression that Jesus was angry, while the actual charge was madness or insanity.

[10:21]  ⁶⁷⁷ tn Or “the sayings.”

[10:21]  ⁶⁷⁸ tn Grk “open the eyes of the blind” (“opening the eyes” is an idiom referring to restoration of sight).

[10:21]  ⁶⁷⁹ 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 “can it?”).

[10:22]  ⁶⁸⁰ tn That is, Hanukkah or the ‘Festival of Lights.’ The Greek name for the feast, τὰ ἐγκαίνια (ta enkainia), literally means “renewal” and was used to translate Hanukkah which means “dedication.” The Greek noun, with its related verbs, was the standard term used in the LXX for the consecration of the altar of the Tabernacle (Num 7:10-11), the altar of the temple of Solomon (1 Kgs 8:63; 2 Chr 7:5), and the altar of the second temple (Ezra 6:16). The word is thus connected with the consecration of all the houses of God in the history of the nation of Israel.

[10:22]  ⁶⁸¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[10:23]  ⁶⁸² sn It was winter. The feast began on 25 Kislev, in November-December of the modern Gregorian calendar.

[10:23]  ⁶⁸³ tn Grk “in the temple.”

[10:23]  ⁶⁸⁴ tn Or “portico,” “colonnade”; Grk “stoa.”

[10:24]  ⁶⁸⁵ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders. The question they ask Jesus (“Are you the Christ?”) is the same one they sent and asked of John the Baptist in the desert (see John 1:19-34). See also the note on the phrase “the Jewish people” in v. 19.

[10:24]  ⁶⁸⁶ tn Grk “said to him.” This has been translated as “asked” for stylistic reasons.

[10:24]  ⁶⁸⁷ tn Grk “How long will you take away our life?” (an idiom which meant to keep one from coming to a conclusion about something). The use of the phrase τὴν ψυχὴν ἡμῶν αἴρεις (thn yuchn Jhmwn airei") meaning “to keep in suspense” is not well attested, although it certainly fits the context here. In modern Greek the phrase means “to annoy, bother.”

[10:24]  ⁶⁸⁸ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[10:24]  ⁶⁸⁹ tn Or “publicly.”

[10:25]  ⁶⁹⁰ tn Grk “answered them.”

[10:25]  ⁶⁹¹ tn Or “the works.”

[10:28]  ⁶⁹² tn Grk “And I give.”

[10:28]  ⁶⁹³ tn Or “will never die” or “will never be lost.”

[10:28]  ⁶⁹⁴ tn Or “no one will seize.”

[10:29]  ⁶⁹⁵ tn Or “is superior to all.”

[10:29]  ⁶⁹⁶ tn Or “no one can seize.”

[10:30]  ⁶⁹⁷ tn Grk “I and the Father.” The order has been reversed to reflect English style.

[10:30]  ⁶⁹⁸ tn The phrase ἕν ἐσμεν ({en esmen) is a significant assertion with trinitarian implications. ἕν is neuter, not masculine, so the assertion is not that Jesus and the Father are one person, but one “thing.” Identity of the two persons is not what is asserted, but essential unity (unity of essence).

[10:31]  ⁶⁹⁹ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders. See the notes on the phrases “Jewish people” in v. 19 and “Jewish leaders” in v. 24.

[10:32]  ⁷⁰⁰ tn Grk “Jesus answered them.”

[10:32]  ⁷⁰¹ tn Or “good works.”

[10:33]  ⁷⁰² tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here again the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders. See the notes on the phrase “Jewish people” in v. 19 and “Jewish leaders” in vv. 24, 31.

[10:33]  ⁷⁰³ tn Grk “answered him.”

[10:33]  ⁷⁰⁴ tn Or “good work.”

[10:33]  ⁷⁰⁵ sn This is the first time the official charge of blasphemy is voiced openly in the Fourth Gospel (although it was implicit in John 8:59).

[10:33]  ⁷⁰⁶ tn Grk “and because.”

[10:33]  ⁷⁰⁷ tn Grk “you, a man, make yourself to be God.”

[10:34]  ⁷⁰⁸ tn Grk “answered them.”

[10:34]  ⁷⁰⁹ sn A quotation from Ps 82:6. Technically the Psalms are not part of the OT “law” (which usually referred to the five books of Moses), but occasionally the term “law” was applied to the entire OT, as here. The problem in this verse concerns the meaning of Jesus’ quotation from Ps 82:6. It is important to look at the OT context: The whole line reads “I say, you are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you.” Jesus will pick up on the term “sons of the Most High” in 10:36, where he refers to himself as the Son of God. The psalm was understood in rabbinic circles as an attack on unjust judges who, though they have been given the title “gods” because of their quasi-divine function of exercising judgment, are just as mortal as other men. What is the argument here? It is often thought to be as follows: If it was an OT practice to refer to men like the judges as gods, and not blasphemy, why did the Jewish authorities object when this term was applied to Jesus? This really doesn’t seem to fit the context, however, since if that were the case Jesus would not be making any claim for “divinity” for himself over and above any other human being – and therefore he would not be subject to the charge of blasphemy. Rather, this is evidently a case of arguing from the lesser to the greater, a common form of rabbinic argument. The reason the OT judges could be called gods is because they were vehicles of the word of God (cf. 10:35). But granting that premise, Jesus deserves much more than they to be called God. He is the Word incarnate, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world to save the world (10:36). In light of the prologue to the Gospel of John, it seems this interpretation would have been most natural for the author. If it is permissible to call men “gods” because they were the vehicles of the word of God, how much more permissible is it to use the word “God” of him who is the Word of God?

[10:35]  ⁷¹⁰ sn The parenthetical note And the scripture cannot be broken belongs to Jesus’ words rather than the author’s. Not only does Jesus appeal to the OT to defend himself against the charge of blasphemy, but he also adds that the scripture cannot be “broken.” In this context he does not explain precisely what is meant by “broken,” but it is not too hard to determine. Jesus’ argument depended on the exact word used in the context of Ps 82:6. If any other word for “judge” had been used in the psalm, his argument would have been meaningless. Since the scriptures do use this word in Ps 82:6, the argument is binding, because they cannot be “broken” in the sense of being shown to be in error.

[10:36]  ⁷¹¹ tn Or “dedicated.”

[10:37]  ⁷¹² tn Or “do.”

[10:37]  ⁷¹³ tn Or “works.”

[10:38]  ⁷¹⁴ tn Or “works.”

[10:38]  ⁷¹⁵ tn Or “so that you may learn.”

[10:39]  ⁷¹⁶ tc It is difficult to decide between ἐζήτουν οὖν (ezhtoun oun, “then they were seeking”; Ì⁶⁶ א A L W Ψ Ë^1,13 33 pm lat), ἐζήτουν δέ (ezhtoun de, “now they were seeking”; Ì⁴⁵ and a few versional witnesses), καὶ ἐζήτουν (kai ezhtoun, “and they were seeking”; D), and ἐζήτουν (Ì^75vid B Γ Θ 700 pm). Externally, the most viable readings are ἐζήτουν οὖν and ἐζήτουν. Transcriptionally, the οὖν could have dropped out via haplography since the verb ends in the same three letters. On the other hand, it is difficult to explain the readings with δέ or καί if ἐζήτουν οὖν is original; such readings would more likely have arisen from the simple ἐζήτουν. Intrinsically, John is fond of οὖν, using it some 200 times. Further, this Gospel begins relatively few sentences without some conjunction. The minimal support for the δέ and καί readings suggests that they arose either from the lone verb reading (which would thus be prior to their respective Vorlagen but not necessarily the earliest reading) or through carelessness on the part of the scribes. Indeed, the ancestors of Ì⁴⁵ and D may have committed haplography, leaving later scribes in the chain to guess at the conjunction needed. In sum, the best reading appears to be ἐζήτουν οὖν.

[10:39]  ⁷¹⁷ tn Grk “they were seeking.”

[10:39]  ⁷¹⁸ tn Grk “he departed out of their hand.”

[10:40]  ⁷¹⁹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:40]  ⁷²⁰ tn The word “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[10:40]  ⁷²¹ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[10:40]  ⁷²² tn Grk “formerly.”

[10:41]  ⁷²³ tn Grk “And many.” 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.

[10:41]  ⁷²⁴ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[10:41]  ⁷²⁵ tn Grk “did.”

[10:41]  ⁷²⁶ tn Grk “this one.”

[10:42]  ⁷²⁷ tn Grk “in him.”