John 6:49

6:49 Your ancestors ¹  ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.

John 3:14

3:14 Just as ²  Moses lifted up the serpent ³  in the wilderness, ⁴  so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ⁵ 

John 1:23

1:23 John ⁶  said, “I am the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Make straight ⁷  the way for the Lord,’ ⁸  as Isaiah the prophet said.”

John 6:31

6:31 Our ancestors ⁹  ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” ¹⁰ 

John 11:54

11:54 Thus Jesus no longer went ¹¹  around publicly ¹²  among the Judeans, ¹³  but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, ¹⁴  and stayed there with his disciples.

[6:49]  ¹ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[3:14]  ² tn Grk “And just as.”

[3:14]  ³ sn Or the snake, referring to the bronze serpent mentioned in Num 21:9.

[3:14]  ⁴ sn An allusion to Num 21:5-9.

[3:14]  ⁵ sn So must the Son of Man be lifted up. This is ultimately a prediction of Jesus’ crucifixion. Nicodemus could not have understood this, but John’s readers, the audience to whom the Gospel is addressed, certainly could have (compare the wording of John 12:32). In John, being lifted up refers to one continuous action of ascent, beginning with the cross but ending at the right hand of the Father. Step 1 is Jesus’ death; step 2 is his resurrection; and step 3 is the ascension back to heaven. It is the upward swing of the “pendulum” which began with the incarnation, the descent of the Word become flesh from heaven to earth (cf. Paul in Phil 2:5-11). See also the note on the title Son of Man in 1:51.

[1:23]  ³ tn Grk “He”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:23]  ⁴ sn This call to “make straight” is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance.

[1:23]  ⁵ sn A quotation from Isa 40:3.

[6:31]  ⁴ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[6:31]  ⁵ sn A quotation from Ps 78:24 (referring to the events of Exod 16:4-36).

[11:54]  ⁵ tn Grk “walked.”

[11:54]  ⁶ tn Or “openly.”

[11:54]  ⁷ tn Grk “among the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the residents of Judea in general, who would be likely to report Jesus to the religious authorities. The vicinity around Jerusalem was no longer safe for Jesus and his disciples. On the translation “Judeans” cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e. See also the references in vv. 8, 19, 31, 33, 36, and 45.

[11:54]  ⁸ tn There is no certain identification of the location to which Jesus withdrew in response to the decision of the Jewish authorities. Many have suggested the present town of Et-Taiyibeh, identified with ancient Ophrah (Josh 18:23) or Ephron (Josh 15:9). If so, this would be 12-15 mi (19-24 km) northeast of Jerusalem.