John 6:60

6:60 Then many of his disciples, when they heard these things, ¹  said, “This is a difficult ²  saying! ³  Who can understand it?” ⁴ 

John 7:31

7:31 Yet many of the crowd ⁵  believed in him and said, “Whenever the Christ ⁶  comes, he won’t perform more miraculous signs than this man did, will he?” ⁷ 

John 10:41

10:41 Many ⁸  came to him and began to say, “John ⁹  performed ¹⁰  no miraculous sign, but everything John said about this man ¹¹  was true!”

John 11:45

The Response of the Jewish Leaders

11:45 Then many of the people, ¹²  who had come with Mary and had seen the things Jesus ¹³  did, believed in him.

John 11:55

11:55 Now the Jewish feast of Passover ¹⁴  was near, and many people went up to Jerusalem ¹⁵  from the rural areas before the Passover to cleanse themselves ritually. ¹⁶ 

John 12:42

12:42 Nevertheless, even among the rulers ¹⁷  many believed in him, but because of the Pharisees ¹⁸  they would not confess Jesus to be the Christ, ¹⁹  so that they would not be put out of ²⁰  the synagogue. ²¹ 

[6:60]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Or “hard,” “demanding.”

[6:60]  ³ tn Or “teaching”; Grk “word.”

[6:60]  ⁴ 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.

[7:31]  ⁵ tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities).

[7:31]  ⁶ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[7:31]  ⁷ 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?”).

[10:41]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[10:41]  ¹¹ tn Grk “did.”

[10:41]  ¹² tn Grk “this one.”

[11:45]  ¹³ tn Or “the Judeans”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the friends, acquaintances, and relatives of Lazarus or his sisters who had come to mourn, since the Jewish religious authorities are specifically mentioned as a separate group in John 11:46-47. See also the notes on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 8 and “the Jewish people of the region” in v. 19, as well as the notes on the word “people” in vv. 31, 33 and the phrase “people who had come to mourn” in v. 36.

[11:45]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:55]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “the Passover of the Jews.” This is the final Passover of Jesus’ ministry. The author is now on the eve of the week of the Passion. Some time prior to the feast itself, Jerusalem would be crowded with pilgrims from the surrounding districts (ἐκ τῆς χώρας, ek th" cwra") who had come to purify themselves ceremonially before the feast.

[11:55]  ¹⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[11:55]  ¹⁹ tn Or “to purify themselves” (to undergo or carry out ceremonial cleansing before participating in the Passover celebration).

[12:42]  ²¹ sn The term rulers here denotes members of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews. Note the same word (“ruler”) is used to describe Nicodemus in 3:1.

[12:42]  ²² sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[12:42]  ²³ tn The words “Jesus to be the Christ” are not in the Greek text, but are implied (see 9:22). As is often the case in Greek, the direct object is omitted for the verb ὡμολόγουν (Jwmologoun). Some translators supply an ambiguous “it,” or derive the implied direct object from the previous clause “believed in him” so that the rulers would not confess “their faith” or “their belief.” However, when one compares John 9:22, which has many verbal parallels to this verse, it seems clear that the content of the confession would have been “Jesus is the Christ (i.e., Messiah).”

[12:42]  ²⁴ tn Or “be expelled from.”

[12:42]  ²⁵ sn Compare John 9:22. See the note on synagogue in 6:59.