John 7:30-32

7:30 So then they tried to seize Jesus, ¹  but no one laid a hand on him, because his time ²  had not yet come. 7:31 Yet many of the crowd ³  believed in him and said, “Whenever the Christ ⁴  comes, he won’t perform more miraculous signs than this man did, will he?” ⁵ 

7:32 The Pharisees ⁶  heard the crowd ⁷  murmuring these things about Jesus, ⁸  so the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers ⁹  to arrest him. ¹⁰ 

[7:30]  ¹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:30]  ² tn Grk “his hour.”

[7:31]  ³ tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities).

[7:31]  ⁴ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[7:31]  ⁵ 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]  ⁵ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[7:32]  ⁶ tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities like the Pharisees).

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

[7:32]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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.