John 6:52

6:52 Then the Jews who were hostile to Jesus ¹  began to argue with one another, ²  “How can this man ³  give us his flesh to eat?”

John 6:60

6:60 Then many of his disciples, when they heard these things, ⁴  said, “This is a difficult ⁵  saying! ⁶  Who can understand it?” ⁷ 

[6:52]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Grk “with one another, saying.”

[6:52]  ³ tn Grk “this one,” “this person.”

[6:60]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Or “hard,” “demanding.”

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

[6:60]  ⁷ 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.